Genetic analysis of a successful repatriation programme: giant Galápagos tortoises

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 271; no. 1537; pp. 341 - 345
• Main Authors: Milinkovitch, Michel C., Monteyne, Daniel, Gibbs, James P., Fritts, Thomas H., Tapia, Washington, Snell, Howard L., Tiedemann, Ralph, Caccone, Adalgisa, Powell, Jeffrey R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 22.02.2004
• Subjects: Alleles; Animals; Breeding; Breeding Programme; Conservation Genetics; Conservation of Natural Resources; DNA; DNA Primers; Ecuador; Española; Evolutionary genetics; Genetic Carrier Screening; Genetic loci; Genetic Variation; Geochelone; Geochelone nigra; Giant Galápagos Tortoise; Medical genetics; Microsatellite Repeats - genetics; Microsatellites; Population genetics; Repatriation; Reproduction - physiology; Tortoises; Turtles - genetics; Turtles - physiology; Ecuador, Galapagos Is

As natural populations of endangered species dwindle to precarious levels, remaining members are sometimes brought into captivity, allowed to breed and their offspring returned to the natural habitat. One goal of such repatriation programmes is to retain as much of the genetic variation of the speci...