Lecture 12
Captive breeding
Why Captive breeding?
• 2 – 3k vertebrates will require breeding programs in
the next 200 years to prevent extinction
• The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has endorsed
captive breeding as an essential component in
conservation
• Four ways in which they contribute:
– establish populations in secure ex situ locations
– educate and engage the public on conservation issues, and
provide a focus for fund-raising efforts
– provide opportunities for research on the basic biology of
species, yielding knowledge that can be applied to
conservation in the wild
– provide animals for reintroduction programs, where
applicable
Currently there is…
• 1150 zoos and aquaria housing 1.2 million animals
• breeding space for about 800 endangered
• NOT enough breeding space!!!
Stages in captive breeding and
reintroduction
• Recognizing decline of the wild population and its
genetic consequences
• Founding a captive population
• Growing the captive populations to a secure size
• Maintaining the captive population over
generations
• Choosing individuals for reintroduction
• Managing the reintroduced population
(probably fragmented) in the wild
The genetic value
• Captive populations should be founded from at least
20–30 unrelated breeding individuals
• The target size is the population size required to
retain 90% of genetic diversity for 100 years
• HOWEVER:
• Captive populations deteriorate through inbreeding
depression, loss of genetic diversity
• AND
• accumulation of new deleterious
mutations and through genetic
adaptations to captivity that
are maladaptive in the wild
Please download
Ralls et al. 2000
California condor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2mV-TPueA