Con Bio lec 12: Captive Breeding Programs in Zoos, Aquariums, etc.
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Why can captive breeding programs be important for endangered species?
They may be the last best hope for some species.
What increasing role have zoos played beyond displaying animals?
Genetic research and management.
How many primary conservation functions of captive breeding are listed?
Four.
What are the four primary conservation functions of captive breeding?
Substitutes for wild individuals in basic biological research of endangered species
Opportunity for the development of care and management techniques
Demographic and genetic reservoirs that will augment existing wild populations
A remnant of those species for which there is no immediate opportunity to survive in the wild.
How do captive populations support basic biological research?
They substitute for wild individuals in research on endangered species.
How do captive populations improve animal care?
They provide opportunities to develop care and management techniques.
How do captive populations support existing wild populations?
They provide demographic and genetic reservoirs for augmentation.
How can captive populations act as a last resort?
They preserve remnants of species with no immediate opportunity to survive in the wild.
What historical breeding approach is described?
Active breeding.
What is active breeding?
Bringing the best animals together for mating or using animals that breed on their own, assuming those breeders are the fittest.
What did best often mean under captive conditions?
The most docile animals or those that adapted quickly to captivity.
Do docility and rapid adaptation to captivity necessarily improve survival in the wild?
No.
How can adaptation to captivity affect reintroduction success?
Animals well suited to captivity may be less likely to survive in the wild.
What four approaches are listed for reducing genetic adaptation to captivity?
Reduce time in captivity, reduce selection strength, equalize family sizes, and add unrelated immigrants.
Why reduce the amount of time animals spend in captivity?
To limit genetic adaptation to captive conditions.
Why reduce the strength of selection in captivity?
To avoid strongly favoring traits useful only in captivity.
What does equalizing family sizes accomplish?
It limits selection among families so selection occurs mainly within families.
What kind of immigrants can slow genetic adaptation to captivity?
Unrelated individuals from wild or captive populations.
Is adding wild animals to captive breeding programs generally encouraged in the handout?
No. It is usually discouraged.
How do captive breeding programs commonly obtain unrelated immigrants?
By transferring animals between zoos.
What organization coordinates the captive breeding and management plans described?
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Approximately how many captive species' plans are coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in the handout?
500.
What two broad purposes guide most captive management plans?
Maintenance and possible recovery in the wild.
What does maintenance mean in captive population management?
Managing captive populations as self-sustaining closed populations with no further input from wild stock.
What is a closed captive population?
A self-sustaining captive population receiving no further animals from the wild.
Are animals managed for possible reintroduction even when no release is currently planned?
Yes.
What example illustrates maintaining a captive population for possible future reintroduction?
Polar bears.
Where did many founders of the captive polar bear population come from?
Rehabilitated wild animals removed because of conflicts with humans.
Were the original captive polar bears intended for reintroduction?
No.
Why is the captive polar bear population managed for possible reintroduction?
In case wild populations undergo an even greater reduction.
What three goals of modern zoo breeding programs are emphasized for the exam?
Preserve original genetic diversity, mitigate inbreeding depression, and reduce adaptation to captivity.
What does preserving original genetic diversity mean as a zoo breeding goal?
Retaining the genetic variation present in the founding population.
What problems associated with inbreeding depression should breeding programs mitigate?
Low survivorship and reduced vitality.
What does retaining wildness mean?
Reducing adaptation to the captive environment.
What does SSP stand for?
Species Survival Plan.
Where is the Species Survival Plan used?
North America.
What does PMP stand for?
Population Management Plan.
How is the Population Management Plan presented in relation to the SSP?
As a related subset in the North American management structure.
What does EEP stand for in the handout?
European Endangered Species Program.
Where is the EEP used?
Europe.
What does ESB stand for?
European Studbook.
What databases hold detailed information about captive individuals of a species?
Studbooks.
What information do studbooks contain?
Known information about each captive individual, including relationships to other individuals.
What analysis uses studbook data?
Pedigree analysis.
What is pedigree analysis?
An analysis of the relatedness of individuals in a population to one another by determining each individual’s parental ancestry and subsequent offspring
How is pedigree analysis used in captive breeding?
To choose pairings for reproduction.
Which species is used to illustrate pedigree analysis?
The okapi.
What habitat does the okapi occupy?
Mature tropical moist forest in Africa.
Where do all wild okapi populations occur in the handout?
The Democratic Republic of Congo.
What threats to okapi habitat are listed?
Civil wars and slash-and-burn cultivation.
How do okapi perform in captivity?
They thrive, with longevity and high fecundity.
Where is the okapi studbook database kept?
At the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium.
What is fecundity?
Reproductive capacity.
What are founders in a pedigree?
Unrelated individuals that establish a new population.
What does a pedigree track after the founder generation?
Descendants through each generation.
What do circles represent in the pedigree?
Females, or dams.
What do squares represent in the pedigree?
Males, or sires.
What do individuals with wild parents represent in the described pedigree?
Founders from the wild or other unrelated populations.
What is the kinship coefficient, kᵢⱼ?
The probability that alleles randomly selected from homologous loci in individuals i and j are identical by descent from a common ancestor.
What does identical by descent mean?
Inherited from a common ancestor.
What sibling kinship value is given in the handout?
0.25.
What is individual mean kinship, mkᵢ?
The average kinship between one individual and all individuals in the population.
How do you calculate individual mean kinship?
mkᵢ = Σⱼkᵢⱼ ÷ N.
What does N represent in the mean kinship calculations?
The number of individuals in the population.
How can pairwise kinships in a captive population be displayed?
In a matrix.
What does one row of a kinship matrix show?
One individual's kinship with each individual in the group.
What do the bolded entries for okapi 160 represent in the referenced matrix?
Its kinship with the other okapi in the group.
What is the sum of the kinship row for okapi 160 in the worked example?
1.875.
How many individuals are used in the okapi mean kinship example?
10.
What is the individual mean kinship of okapi 160?
1.875 ÷ 10 = 0.1875.
What is population mean kinship, MK?
The average of the individual mean kinships in the population.
How do you calculate population mean kinship?
MK = Σᵢmkᵢ ÷ N.
What sum of individual mean kinships is given in the worked example?
1.588.
What is the population mean kinship in the worked example?
1.588 ÷ 10 = 0.1588.
What does GD stand for in the captive breeding calculations?
Gene diversity.
Should gene diversity, GD, be confused with the broad concept of genetic diversity?
No. GD is a specific measure.
What is the most commonly used measure of genetic variability in captive populations, especially zoos, according to the handout?
Gene diversity.
What is the definition of gene diversity, GD?
The probability that two randomly sampled alleles at the same locus are not identical by descent.
What is the equation for gene diversity?
GD = 1 − MK.
What is GD if MK = 0.1588?
0.8412.
What relationship exists between GD and MK?
An inverse relationship.
What does high population mean kinship indicate?
Most individuals are related and gene diversity is low.
What does low population mean kinship indicate?
A larger proportion of unrelated individuals and higher gene diversity.
What is the objective of mean kinship breeding strategies?
Minimize population mean kinship, rather than only minimizing kinship between one pair.
What strategy is described as the choice for managed captive populations?
The mean kinship strategy.
What relationships are considered when selecting breeding pairs using mean kinship?
Their relationships to one another and to the population as a whole.
What two aspects of alleles underlie the mean kinship strategy?
The number of different alleles and their frequencies.
What determines the original number of alleles in a closed captive population?
The diversity of its founders.
Can managed pair selection create new founder alleles in a closed population?
No.
What aspect of genetic variation can managers manipulate through pair selection?
Allele frequencies.
What happens to gene diversity when population mean kinship is minimized?
It is maximized.
Which animals should be prioritized for breeding under the mean kinship strategy?
Animals with low individual mean kinship.
Why prioritize animals with low mean kinship?
They are least related to the rest of the population.
What other breeding restriction can help minimize population mean kinship?
Preventing or reducing breeding by individuals with high mean kinship.
What does an animal's mean kinship reflect?
Its average relatedness to all individuals in the captive program.
What does a high mean kinship animal tend to carry?
Many common alleles.
What does a low mean kinship animal tend to carry?
Fewer common alleles and relatively underrepresented genetic material.
How does breeding low mean kinship animals affect rare alleles?
It can increase their representation in the captive population.
How does breeding low mean kinship animals affect overall gene diversity?
It can raise gene diversity.
What three calculation equations should you know from these notes?
mkᵢ = Σⱼkᵢⱼ/N; MK = Σᵢmkᵢ/N; GD = 1 − MK.