The genetic rescue of two bottlenecked South Island robin populations using translocations of inbred donors

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 280; no. 1752; p. 20122228
• Main Authors: Heber, S., Varsani, A., Kuhn, S., Girg, A., Kempenaers, B., Briskie, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 07.02.2013
• Subjects: Animals; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Endangered Species; Female; Fitness; Genetic Diversity; Genetic Fitness; Genetic Rescue; Genotype; Hemagglutination; Hybridization, Genetic; Immunocompetence; Inbreeding; Male; Microsatellite Repeats; New Zealand; Phytohemagglutinins - metabolism; Polymorphism, Genetic; Population Bottlenecks; Population Dynamics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology; Songbirds - genetics; Songbirds - immunology; Songbirds - physiology; Spermatozoa - physiology; Translocations; New Zealand
• ISSN: 0962-8452; 1471-2954
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.2228

Populations forced through bottlenecks typically lose genetic variation and exhibit inbreeding depression. ‘Genetic rescue’ techniques that introduce individuals from outbred populations can be highly effective in reversing the deleterious effects of inbreeding, but have limited application for the majority of endangered species, which survive only in a few bottlenecked populations. We tested the effectiveness of using highly inbred populations as donors to rescue two isolated and bottlenecked populations of the South Island robin (Petroica australis). Reciprocal translocations significantly increased heterozygosity and allelic diversity. Increased genetic diversity was accompanied by increased juvenile survival and recruitment, sperm quality, and immunocompetence of hybrid individuals (crosses between the two populations) compared with inbred control individuals (crosses within each population). Our results confirm that the implementation of ‘genetic rescue’ using bottlenecked populations as donors provides a way of preserving endangered species and restoring their viability when outbred donor populations no longer exist.