Inbreeding depression in captive animal populations

Abstract

One of the negative effects of inbreeding is inbreeding depression, caused by reduced genetic diversity. Inbreeding depression is the reduction of fitness due to inbreeding. Multiple studies have shown that inbreeding depression is found in wild and captive populations. Especially small, isolated or captive populations have a high risk of inbreeding and therefore are more likely to be affected by inbreeding depression. Captive populations, in zoos, are especially prone to inbreeding and important for species conservation. It is therefore important to gain more insight in the effects of inbreeding depression in captive animal populations. This review answers the question if inbreeding depression is a serious problem. The results show that inbreeding depression in captive populations is not easy to measure, but still can be a big problem. Especially for small, endangered populations in which inbreeding cannot be avoided, inbreeding depression is more of a problem than for larger populations. Inbreeding depression can lead to reduced reproduction chances, survival rates and birth weights, all negatively affecting population fitness. When pedigree information is not readily available, it is very difficult to make a proper genetic management strategy and inbreeding (depression) problems might arise. Therefore it is very important to have more research done on how best to avoid inbreeding and inbreeding depression, to increase the chances of successful species conservation programs. A better studbook management and data collection method should help in future research on inbreeding depression. Also the use of genetic analysis should be continued to gain more pedigree information to reduce inbreeding (depression) in captive populations.