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Captive ring‐tailed lemur breeding in semi‐free ranging conditions and genetic parentage analysis
- Source :
- Zoo Biology. 38:281-291
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2019.
-
Abstract
- The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), one of the most iconic and widely recognized primates in the world, is threatened in its native range and classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The global conservation strategy for the species includes ex situ conservation efforts led by zoological institutions in the framework of regional captive breeding programs. To maximize the conservation of genetic diversity and optimize breeding programs, an accurate pedigree must be established in captive populations. Our study documents the formation and subsequent monitoring of a large ring-tailed lemur group in a French zoological institution. Based on staff's behavioral observations and DNA analyses using 11 microsatellite markers, we were able to document the survival and reproduction rates of the lemurs in this situation and reconstruct the pedigree of infants born in the institution. In total, 22 of the 28 imported animals as well as 4 locally born individuals gave birth to 58 infants of which 28 survived. The consistent genotypes obtained from the 53 sampled animals allowed us to identify 25 of the sires and 27 of the dams for the 28 surviving infants. A total of 12 different females and 14 different males produced the 28 surviving infants, suggesting that no individual dominates reproduction. This pioneering study has practical applications for the captive management of the species, which can be raised to the individual level instead of the group level.
- Subjects :
- Male
0106 biological sciences
Conservation of Natural Resources
Endangered species
Zoology
Captivity
Lemur
Breeding
Lemur catta
010603 evolutionary biology
01 natural sciences
biology.animal
Captive breeding
Animals
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology
Genetic diversity
biology
05 social sciences
General Medicine
biology.organism_classification
Ex situ conservation
Pedigree
Threatened species
Animals, Zoo
Female
Animal Science and Zoology
France
Microsatellite Repeats
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10982361 and 07333188
- Volume :
- 38
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Zoo Biology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....0143ca5faf35ad1325a09570aa55c371