Reintroduction of confiscated and displaced mammals risks outbreeding and introgression in natural populations, as evidenced by orang-utans of divergent subspecies.
Sci Rep
; 6: 22026, 2016 Feb 25.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26911345
ABSTRACT
Confiscated and displaced mammals are often taken to sanctuaries, where the explicit goal may be reintroduction to the wild. By inadvertently collecting animals from different source populations, however, such efforts risk reintroducing individuals that have not been in genetic contact for significant periods of time. Using genetic analyses and 44 years of data from Camp Leakey, an orang-utan rehabilitation site on Borneo, we determined the minimum extent to which orang-utans representing non-native, geographically and reproductively isolated taxa were reintroduced into the surrounding wild population. We found two reintroduced females were from a non-native subspecies, and have since produced at least 22 hybridized and introgressed descendants to date, of which at least 15 are living. Given that Bornean orang-utan subspecies are thought to have diverged from a common ancestor around 176,000 years ago, with marked differentiation over the last 80,000 years, we highlight the need for further evaluation of the effects of hybridizing orang-utans of different taxa--particularly in light of the ~1500 displaced orang-utans awaiting urgent reintroduction. As endangered mammals are increasing in number in sanctuaries worldwide, we stress the need for re-examination of historical reintroductions, to assess the extent and effects of de facto translocations in the past.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cruzamento
/
Mamíferos
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sci Rep
Ano de publicação:
2016
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido
País de publicação:
ENGLAND
/
ESCOCIA
/
GB
/
GREAT BRITAIN
/
INGLATERRA
/
REINO UNIDO
/
SCOTLAND
/
UK
/
UNITED KINGDOM