![]() This is not an error of the zoos but reflects the difficulty of establishing kinship relationships in the absence of genetic data. ( 2010) discovered that a known breeding pair consisted of first order relatives from the founder population of wild-born captive gorillas. However, accurate pedigree determination can be challenging because importation records of wild caught gorillas can be inaccurate. ( 2002).īreeding protocols of the North American Gorilla SSP include determining breeding pairs based on pedigree information (Nsubuga et al. The gorilla Species Survival Plan (SSP) goals for maintaining genetic diversity are to maintain >90% of the genetic diversity of the previous generation, over 100 years, following Frankham et al. The captive North American population of ∼370 individuals has the potential to lose genetic diversity through random genetic drift if not properly managed as a single population, thus it is critical to have a breeding program that aims to maximize genetic diversity in order to avoid inbreeding depression. Captive populations, with no influx of wild individuals, may potentially face the same problems regarding loss of genetic diversity as small wild populations without appropriate genetic management (Ballou and Lacy 1995). With the exception of the mountain gorilla populations in Bwindi and Karisoke, which have seen a population increase and stabilization in the last 20 years due to “extreme” conservation efforts, other wild populations continue to decline (Guschanski et al. beringei) is listed as critically endangered (Walsh et al. ![]() Eastern gorillas are listed as endangered at the species level and the mountain gorilla subspecies ( G. gorilla) are separated from eastern gorillas ( Gorilla beringei beringei, Gorilla beringei graueri) by the Congo River in central Africa. In the wild, western gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla diehli, G. Further, they were designated as critically endangered in 2007 (Walsh et al. ![]() The captive collection of gorillas in North America began over 100 years ago with wild individuals imported from Africa however, since coming under protection of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1975 there have been no new wild gorillas added to zoos (Nsubuga et al. Due to rapidly increasing human encroachment into gorilla habitat, captive gorilla populations represent an important aid to long-term conservation as a representative species communicating conservation issues in great ape range countries to the public. Wild populations of western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are facing dramatically declining numbers, as high as 80% over three generations, as a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation, the illegal bushmeat trade, and diseases such as Ebola (Walsh et al. Our results highlight the utility of genetic management approaches for endangered nonhuman primate species. Genetic structure results supported the management of North American captive gorillas as a single population. Analyses suggested no genetic evidence for a population bottleneck of the captive population. Captive gorillas had significantly higher levels of allelic diversity ( t 7 = 4.49, P = 0.002) and heterozygosity ( t 7 = 4.15, P = 0.004) than comparative wild populations, yet the population has lost significant allelic diversity while in captivity when compared to founders ( t 7 = 2.44, P = 0.04). We genotyped 26 individuals from the North American captive gorilla collection at 11 autosomal microsatellite loci in order to compare levels of genetic diversity to wild populations, investigate genetic signatures of a population bottleneck and identify the genetic structure of the captive-born population. ![]() As wild populations continue to decline, the genetic management of the North American captive western lowland gorilla population will be an important component of the long-term conservation of the species. Western lowland gorillas ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) are designated as critically endangered and wild populations are dramatically declining as a result of habitat destruction, fragmentation, diseases (e.g., Ebola) and the illegal bushmeat trade. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |