Effective population size in the captive breeding program of the Lake Victoria cichlid Paralabidochromis chilotes
✍ Scribed by A.C. Fiumera; L. Wu; P.G. Parker; P.A. Fuerst
- Book ID
- 101269044
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 64 KB
- Volume
- 18
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0733-3188
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✦ Synopsis
Microsatellite DNA markers were used to monitor levels of genetic variation in 3 generations of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association [AZA] Species Survival Plan [SSP] captive breeding program for the Lake Victoria cichlid Paralabidochromis chilotes. Temporal changes in the frequency of 15 alleles, across four polymorphic loci, were used to estimate effective population size (N e ). The upper limit of the 95% confidence interval for N e never exceeded eight individuals, with all of the corresponding N e /N ratios falling below 0.15. A test of the proportion of expected heterozygous individuals between the F 1 and F 3 generations indicated a significant decline in expected heterozygosity of 5% per generation. Alternative husbandry protocols, including subdividing the captive population, are addressed to reduce the further loss of genetic variation.