Rabier Robin, Lesobre Loïc, Robert Alexandre
Reneco International Wildlife Consultant LLC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 135, 75005, Paris, France.
Sci Rep. 2021 Apr 9;11(1):7813. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-87436-z.
Although captive breeding programs are valuable for conservation, they have been shown to be associated with genetic changes, such as adaptation to captivity or inbreeding. In addition, reproductive performance is strongly age-dependent in most animal species. These mechanisms that potentially impact reproduction have often been studied separately, while their interactions have rarely been addressed. In this study, using a large dataset of nine male and female reproductive parameters measured for 12,295 captive houbara bustards (Chlamydotis undulata undulata) over 24 years, we investigated the relative and interactive effects of age, inbreeding and number of generations in captivity on reproduction. We clearly identified (1) senescence patterns in all parameters studied; (2) negative effects of inbreeding on sperm characteristics, display behavior, egg weight, egg volume and hatching probability; and (3) changes in phenotypic values for seven parameters according to number of generations in captivity. However, the effect sizes associated with age were substantially greater than those associated with inbreeding and number of generations in captivity. Beyond the independent effects of these three factors on reproductive parameters, the results highlighted their interactive effects and thus the importance of integrating them in the design of genetic management plans for conservation breeding programs.
尽管圈养繁殖计划对保护物种很有价值，但已表明其与遗传变化有关，例如对圈养环境的适应或近亲繁殖。此外，在大多数动物物种中，繁殖性能强烈依赖于年龄。这些可能影响繁殖的机制通常是分开研究的，而它们之间的相互作用却很少被探讨。在本研究中，我们利用一个大型数据集，该数据集包含了在24年里对12295只圈养的阿拉伯鸨（Chlamydotis undulata undulata）测量的九个雄性和雌性繁殖参数，我们研究了年龄、近亲繁殖和圈养代数对繁殖的相对影响和交互作用。我们明确确定了：（1）所有研究参数中的衰老模式；（2）近亲繁殖对精子特征、求偶行为、蛋重、蛋体积和孵化概率的负面影响；以及（3）七个参数的表型值随圈养代数的变化。然而，与年龄相关的效应大小远大于与近亲繁殖和圈养代数相关的效应大小。除了这三个因素对繁殖参数的独立影响外，结果还突出了它们的交互作用，因此强调了在保护繁殖计划的遗传管理计划设计中整合这些因素的重要性。
