Courtney Jones Stephanie K, Munn Adam J, Byrne Phillip G
Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney New South Wales 2052, Australia.
R Soc Open Sci. 2018 May 9;5(5):172470. doi: 10.1098/rsos.172470. eCollection 2018 May.
Captive breeding programmes are increasingly relied upon for threatened species management. Changes in morphology can occur in captivity, often with unknown consequences for reintroductions. Few studies have examined the morphological changes that occur in captive animals compared with wild animals. Further, the effect of multiple generations being maintained in captivity, and the potential effects of captivity on sexual dimorphism remain poorly understood. We compared external and internal morphology of captive and wild animals using house mouse () as a model species. In addition, we looked at morphology across two captive generations, and compared morphology between sexes. We found no statistically significant differences in external morphology, but after one generation in captivity there was evidence for a shift in the internal morphology of captive-reared mice; captive-reared mice (two generations bred) had lighter combined kidney and spleen masses compared with wild-caught mice. Sexual dimorphism was maintained in captivity. Our findings demonstrate that captive breeding can alter internal morphology. Given that these morphological changes may impact organismal functioning and viability following release, further investigation is warranted. If the morphological change is shown to be maladaptive, these changes would have significant implications for captive-source populations that are used for reintroduction, including reduced survivorship.
圈养繁殖计划在濒危物种管理中越来越受到依赖。圈养环境中可能会出现形态变化，而这些变化对重新引入的后果往往未知。与野生动物相比，很少有研究考察圈养动物所发生的形态变化。此外，对于多代圈养所产生的影响以及圈养对两性异形的潜在影响，人们仍知之甚少。我们以家鼠（）作为模式物种，比较了圈养动物和野生动物的外部及内部形态。此外，我们研究了两代圈养动物的形态，并比较了两性之间的形态。我们发现外部形态没有统计学上的显著差异，但在圈养一代后，有证据表明圈养繁殖的小鼠内部形态发生了变化；与野生捕获的小鼠相比，圈养繁殖的小鼠（繁殖了两代）肾脏和脾脏的总质量更轻。两性异形在圈养环境中得以维持。我们的研究结果表明，圈养繁殖会改变内部形态。鉴于这些形态变化可能会影响放归后的生物体功能和生存能力，因此有必要进行进一步调查。如果形态变化被证明是适应不良的，那么这些变化将对用于重新引入的圈养来源种群产生重大影响，包括存活率降低。
