Improving the management of a highly inbred species: the case of the White-winged Wood

摘要: Studbook data on captive White-winged Wood Duck were analysed to help in the forward planning of an ongoing breeding programme. Conservative assumptions were made to fill gaps in the data set and enable analyses. The population growth rate seems to have declined since 1985, but this is due at least in part to deliberate management decisions and to missing data. The present population of 70 individuals is descended from just sevenfounders with afoundergenome equivalentscore of 258. This score could be improved only slightly by breeding to equalise the genetic contributions ofindividual founders. The data were analysed to assess the minimum viable population size required to maintain a population with 90% heterozygosity retained for 200years. A realistic minimum population size of 500 to 600 could achieve this goal only with an increase in the number offounders to between ten and 20, and an …