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- Title
Beyond the beneficial effects of translocations as an effective tool for the genetic restoration of isolated populations.
- Authors
Bouzat, Juan L.; Johnson, Jeff A.; Toepfer, John E.; Simpson, Scott A.; Esker, Terry L.; Westemeier, Ronald L.
- Abstract
Translocations are becoming increasingly popular as appropriate management strategies for the genetic restoration of endangered species and populations. Although a few studies have shown that the introduction of novel alleles has reversed the detrimental effects of inbreeding over the short-term (i.e., genetic rescue), it is not clear how effective such translocations are for both maintaining neutral variation that may be adaptive in the future (i.e., genetic restoration) and increasing population viability over the long-term. In addition, scientists have expressed concerns regarding the potential genetic swamping of locally adapted populations, which may eliminate significant components of genetic diversity through the replacement of the target population by the source individuals used for translocations. Here we show that bird translocations into a wild population of greater prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) in southeastern Illinois were effective in both removing detrimental variation associated with inbreeding depression as well as restoring neutral genetic variation to historical levels. Furthermore, we found that although translocations resulted in immediate increases in fitness, the demographic recovery and long-term viability of the population appears to be limited by the availability of suitable habitat. Our results demonstrate that although translocations can be effective management tools for the genetic restoration of wild populations on the verge of extinction, their long-term viability may not be guaranteed unless the initial conditions that led to most species declines (e.g., habitat loss) are reversed.
- Subjects
ILLINOIS; CHROMOSOMAL translocation; GENETIC polymorphisms; POPULATION genetics; CROSSING over (Genetics); CHROMOSOME polymorphism; INBREEDING; ANIMAL populations; HABITATS; GREATER prairie chicken
- Publication
Conservation Genetics, 2009, Vol 10, Issue 1, p191
- ISSN
1566-0621
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10592-008-9547-8