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Inbreeding, heterozygosity and fitness in a reintroduced population of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)

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Abstract

It is crucial to understand the genetic health and implications of inbreeding in wildlife populations, especially of vulnerable species. Using extensive demographic and genetic data, we investigated the relationships among pedigree inbreeding coefficients, metrics of molecular heterozygosity and fitness for a large population of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in South Africa. Molecular metrics based on 19 microsatellite loci were significantly, but modestly correlated to inbreeding coefficients in this population. Inbred wild dogs with inbreeding coefficients of ≥0.25 and subordinate individuals had shorter lifespans than outbred and dominant contemporaries, suggesting some deleterious effects of inbreeding. However, this trend was confounded by pack-specific effects as many inbred individuals originated from a single large pack. Despite wild dogs being endangered and existing in small populations, findings within our sample population indicated that molecular metrics were not robust predictors in models of fitness based on breeding pack formation, dominance, reproductive success or lifespan of individuals. Nonetheless, our approach has generated a vital database for future comparative studies to examine these relationships over longer periods of time. Such detailed assessments are essential given knowledge that wild canids can be highly vulnerable to inbreeding effects over a few short generations.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife, especially the management teams at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park and the uMkhuze section of iSimangaliso Wetland Park. We also appreciate the assistance of Thanda Private Game Reserve and the wildlife management team. We are grateful to Rob Fleischer, Emily Latch, Sarah Haas, Kalon Armstrong and Nancy Rotzel of the Smithsonian’s Conservation Biology Institute for help with laboratory protocols and procedures. Sarah Arnoff, Jan Graf, Gabriella Flacke, Mariana Venter, Carla Naude-Graaff, Sboniso (Zama) Zwane, Brendan Whittington-Jones, Chris Kelly and Warren Becker provided invaluable assistance in the field. We thank Robert Sivinski and Scott Wilson of the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center for statistical advice. This research was supported by the Smithsonian Institution Undersecretary for Science Endowment Fund, the University of Pretoria, Rotterdam Zoo Thandiza Fund, Humboldt State University Sponsored Program Foundation, Conservation Endowment Fund of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, Knowsley Safari Park, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Khaki Fever Work Wear, Pittsburgh Zoo Conservation Fund and the Morris Animal Foundation. International travel was generously provided by British Airways.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, 20008, USA

    Penny A. Spiering, Amy S. Wilson & Jesús E. Maldonado

  2. Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA

    Penny A. Spiering, Micaela Szykman Gunther & David E. Wildt

  3. Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Penny A. Spiering, Michael J. Somers & Michele Walters

  4. Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, 95521, USA

    Micaela Szykman Gunther

  5. Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa

    Michael J. Somers

  6. Biosystematics Research & Biodiversity Collections Division, South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Michele Walters

  7. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Natural Resources and the Environment, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa

    Michele Walters

Authors
  1. Penny A. Spiering
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  2. Micaela Szykman Gunther
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  3. Michael J. Somers
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  4. David E. Wildt
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  6. Amy S. Wilson
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  7. Jesús E. Maldonado
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Correspondence to Penny A. Spiering.

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Spiering, P.A., Szykman Gunther, M., Somers, M.J. et al. Inbreeding, heterozygosity and fitness in a reintroduced population of endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). Conserv Genet 12, 401–412 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-010-0147-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-010-0147-z

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