Fitness costs associated with ancestry to isolated populations of an endangered species

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Issue Date
2020
Author
Wilder, Aryn P.
Navarro, Asako Y.
King, Shauna N. D.
Miller, William B.
Thomas, Steven M.
Steiner, Cynthia C.
Ryder, Oliver A.
Shier, Debra M.
Subject
CONNECTIVITY
INBREEDING
POPULATION GENETICS
POCKET MICE
CALIFORNIA
HABITATS
Journal title
Conservation Genetics
Volume
21
Issue
3
Begin page
589
End page
601

Metadata
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DOI
10.1007/s10592-020-01272-8
Alternative link
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-020-01272-8
Abstract
... The endangered Pacific pocket mouse (Perognathus longimembris pacificus) persists in three isolated populations in southern California. Mitochondrial and microsatellite data indicated that effective population sizes were extremely small (Ne< 50), and continued declines prompted a conservation breeding program founded by individuals from each population....
Description
Restoring migration between fragmented populations can help reduce the risk of extinction. The endangered Pacific pocket mouse persists in three isolated populations in southern California. Continued declines coinciding with dramatic losses of genetic diversity prompted a conservation breeding program. Established by interbreeding founders from wild populations to provide a source of individuals for reintroductions, the breeding program also offers six generations of data and insight for managing wild populations. The data showed that reproductive success was higher in interbred individuals than founders from the smallest population, indicating a benefit to migration for this population. However, a sustained negative correlation between an individual’s reproductive success and its level of ancestry to the smallest population is consistent with a high load of harmful mutations. Together, the results suggest that facilitated migration should be unidirectional to (but not from) the smallest population to avoid introducing harmful genetic load into healthier populations.
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12634/327
Type
Article
Rights
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
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