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Effective population size in the captive breeding program of the Lake Victoria cichlid Paralabidochromis chilotes
Author(s) -
Fiumera A.C.,
Wu L.,
Parker P.G.,
Fuerst P.A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2361(1999)18:3<215::aid-zoo5>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - biology , population , captive breeding , effective population size , cichlid , microsatellite , loss of heterozygosity , zoology , genetic variation , allele , ecology , demography , genetics , endangered species , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , sociology , habitat , gene
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. Zoo Biol 18:215–222, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.