SREL Reprint #1747

Influence of genetic variability on population growth: implications for conservation

P. L. Leberg

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Introduction: Conservation biologists often assume that the genetic variation of a population may affect its short-term viability (Leberg, 1990). This assumption is largely based on noting that individuals that have lost heterozygosity due to inbreeding, generally exhibit a depression of fitness traits, such as growth, survival and fecundity (Gall, 1987). Additionally, individuals that have low levels of heterozygosity, as estimated by protein electrophoresis, often have lower values for fitness traits than individuals with high heterozygosity (Allendorf & Leary, 1986). Differences in fitness traits have been observed in fish from populations with different levels of heterozygosity (Quattro & Vrijenhoek, 1989). These relationships suggest that a population of highly heterozygous individuals should be more viable than a population of less heterozygous individuals because individuals of the former population would have higher growth, fecundity, and survival rates than individuals of the latter population (Quattro & Vrijenhoek, 1989; Leberg, 1990). However, this prediction has rarely been tested in vertebrates.

Keywords: generic variabiliry; conservation; inbreeding; population viability; Gambusia holbrooki

SREL Reprint #1747

Leberg, P. L. 1990. Influence of genetic variability on population growth: implications for conservation. Journal of Fish Biology 37: 193-195.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).