利用笼养种群在适宜栖息地开展再引入工作是保护和恢复濒危动物野外种群数量的有效方法。近交衰退是影响笼养种群健康程度的主要风险,因此需要在开展再引入项目前对笼养种群的近交程度进行评估。本研究以微卫星为遗传标记,对我国特有濒危雉类——黄腹角雉(Tragopan caboti)的一个笼养种群和一个野外种群的近交水平进行了评估和比较,从而为即将开始的再引入项目和长期保护提供保障。利用富集文库法和跨物种扩增法共筛选出15对多态性较高的微卫星位点。近交系数(FIS)的分析结果表明,北京师范大学角雉繁育中心的笼养种群和江西武夷山的野外种群均不存在显著的近交现象。笼养种群来源地的多样化,较大的建群者数量和科学的繁殖管理方式是防止所研究的笼养种群发生近交衰退的有效途径。因此,我们认为北京师范大学角雉繁育中心的笼养个体是开展再引入项目的理想种源。当前急需解决的问题是:如何将笼养种群的健康管理与野外种群的长期保护政策有效结合起来。
Reintroduction of captive-bred animals into suitable habitats is an important technique for the long-term conservation and recovery of populations of endangered species in fragmented landscapes.Inbreeding depression is an inherent risk when using captive populations for reintroduction programs and needs to be carefully assessed prior to reintroduction.In this study,we evaluated inbreeding levels within a captive breeding program and one remnant wild population of Cabot's Tragopan (Tragopan caboti),an endangered pheasant species endemic to China,for which reintroduction is now an essential conservation strategy for long-term population persistence.Fifteen highly polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed to genotype individuals.Inbreeding coefficients (FIS) reveal that there is no evidence of inbreeding within the Tragopan Breeding Center of Beijing Normal University (TBCBNU) captive population and the remnant population from the Wuyi-Yandang Mountains.Diversity of origin,large founder population size and a rational breeding strategy are the most critical factors preventing inbreeding depression within the TBCBNU captive population.We suggest that the TBCBNU population is a suitable candidate stock for T.caboti reintroduction programs and that there is an urgent need to better coordinate and strengthen reproduction management of captive T.caboti populations to sustain the long-term ex situ conservation of the species.