Genetic impacts of conservation management actions in a critically endangered parrot species

Morrison, Caitlin E.; Johnson, Rebecca N.; Grueber, Catherine E.; Hogg, Carolyn J.

doi:10.1007/s10592-020-01292-4

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…the decrease of their population growth rate in parallel to the decline of their population size (Crates et al ., 2017). In the case of the critically endangered orange‐bellied parrot Neophema chrysogaster , establishment of acaptive population temporarily decreased genetic diversity of the wild population (Morrison et al ., 2020), and release of captive bred birds to the wild has not corrected their population decline (Stojanovic et al, 2020). For swift parrots, cessation of deforestation of breeding and foraging habitat may stop exacerbating habitat limitation and predation (Stojanovic et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of three techniques for genetic estimation of effective population size in a critically endangered parrot

Olah

Stojanović

Webb

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

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Understanding the current population size of small, spatially aggregating populations of species is essential for their conservation. Reliable estimates of the effective population size (Ne) can be used to provide an early warning for conservation managers of the risks to genetic viability of small populations. Critically endangered, migratory swift parrots Lathamus discolor exist in a single panmictic population in Australia. In their Tasmanian breeding range, they are at severe risk of predation by introduced sugar gliders, exacerbated by deforestation. We used three genetic approaches to estimate Ne using DNA samples genotyped by microsatellite markers and existing life‐history data of swift parrots. Based on all samples, we revealed small contemporary Ne estimates across methods (range: 44–140), supporting the need to urgently address threatening processes. Using the 0.5 Ne/N ratio calculated from demographic data suggests that the minimum potential contemporary population size is below 300 individual swift parrots. This is considerably lower than the published estimates derived from expert elicitation, and accords with modeled estimates of extinction risk in this species. Our study has important implications for other threatened species with unknown population sizes and demonstrates that by utilizing available genetic data, reasonable estimates of Ne can be derived.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of three techniques for genetic estimation of effective population size in a critically endangered parrot

Olah

Stojanović

Webb

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

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“…A captive insurance population of the OBP was established in 1986 with 10 wild birds (seven of which bred) and, although the population was supplemented intermittently over the years, it suffered from low fecundity in the 2000s (Morrison, Johnson, Grueber, & Hogg, 2020). An additional harvest of 21 juveniles in the summer of 2010/2011, which equated to almost half of the wild juvenile population, improved genetic diversity of the captive population, but had a negative genetic impact on the remaining wild population (Morrison, Johnson, et al, 2020). For any long‐term captive breeding program, adaptation to captivity is of concern (Frankham, 2008) and a recent multispecies analysis suggests that such breeding programs limit the number of generations in captivity (Farquharson, Hogg, & Grueber, 2021).…”

Section: Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Using phylogenetics to explore interspecies genetic rescue options for a critically endangered parrot

Hogg

Morrison

Dudley

et al. 2021

Conservat Sci and Prac

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As the global biodiversity crisis deepens, with increasing habitat fragmentation and a changing climate, innovative options for conserving species are being explored. One such conservation action is genetic rescue: introduction of new alleles to promote population fitness. However, for critically endangered species where only one viable population remains, options for introducing new alleles are limited. Interspecies hybridization offers a potential solution but requires resolution of evolutionary relationships, a sound understanding of species biology, social license, and permissive legislative frameworks. Here, we show how phylogenetics and species biology can inform genetic rescue options for the orange-bellied parrot (OBP; Neophema chrysogaster), a critically endangered Australian bird with one small remaining wild population. Our phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear loci for all congeneric species provided strong support for OBPs being the sister species to a group comprising elegant, rock, and blue-winged parrots. Accounting for species distribution, behavior, and ecology, a captive trial of interspecific hybridization with the blue-winged parrot is recommended, including assessment of the fitness of hybrid individuals. Introduction of new alleles into the OBP genome would achieve the conservation goal of improving genetic diversity in a critically endangered species. Concurrently, legislative issues will need to be resolved.

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“…Even some of Australia's most well-resourced captive programs (e.g. Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii and orange-bellied parrots Neophema chrysogaster) have theorised or realised genetic issues (Farquharson et al 2017;Grueber et al 2017;Morrison et al 2020). There is a clear focus within many programs on understanding and maximising genetic diversity (Hogg 2013), including for captive amphibians (Lees et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating biobanking could produce significant cost benefits and minimise inbreeding for Australian amphibian captive breeding programs

Howell

Mawson

Frankham

et al. 2021

Reprod. Fertil. Dev.

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Captive breeding is an important tool for amphibian conservation despite high economic costs and deleterious genetic effects of sustained captivity and unavoidably small colony sizes. Integration of biobanking and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) could provide solutions to these challenges, but is rarely used due to lack of recognition of the potential benefits and clear policy direction. Here we present compelling genetic and economic arguments to integrate biobanking and ARTs into captive breeding programs using modelled captive populations of two Australian threatened frogs, namely the orange-bellied frog Geocrinia vitellina and the white bellied frog Geocrinia alba. Back-crossing with frozen founder spermatozoa using ARTs every generation minimises rates of inbreeding and provides considerable reductions in colony size and program costs compared with conventional captive management. Biobanking could allow captive institutions to meet or exceed longstanding genetic retention targets (90% of source population heterozygosity over 100 years). We provide a broad policy direction that could make biobanking technology a practical reality across Australia's ex situ management of amphibians in current and future holdings. Incorporating biobanking technology widely across this network could deliver outcomes by maintaining high levels of source population genetic diversity and freeing economic resources to develop ex situ programs for a greater number of threatened amphibian species.

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Genetic impacts of conservation management actions in a critically endangered parrot species

Cited by 29 publications

References 27 publications

Comparison of three techniques for genetic estimation of effective population size in a critically endangered parrot

Comparison of three techniques for genetic estimation of effective population size in a critically endangered parrot

Using phylogenetics to explore interspecies genetic rescue options for a critically endangered parrot

Integrating biobanking could produce significant cost benefits and minimise inbreeding for Australian amphibian captive breeding programs

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