Abstract
The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a popular game species for which restocking with farm-reared individuals is a common practice. In some areas, the number of released quails greatly surpasses the number of wild breeding common quail. However, common quail are difficult to raise in captivity and this casts suspicion about a possible hybrid origin of the farmed individuals from crosses with domestic Japanese quail (C. japonica). In this study we used a panel of autosomal microsatellite markers to characterize the genetic origin of quails reared for hunting purposes in game farms in Spain and of quails from an experimental game farm which was founded with hybrids that have been systematically backcrossed with wild common quails. The genotypes of these quail were compared to those of wild common quail and domestic strains of Japanese quail. Our results show that more than 85% of the game farm birds were not common quail but had domestic Japanese quail ancestry. In the experimental farm a larger proportion of individuals could not be clearly separated from pure common quails. We conclude that the majority of quail sold for restocking purposes were not common quail. Genetic monitoring of individuals raised for restocking is indispensable as the massive release of farm-reared hybrids could represent a severe threat for the long term survival of the native species.
Highlights
Restocking has become one of the most commonly used practices for the conservation and management of endangered and game species
A total of 224 alleles were found, 145 of which were exclusive to the reference wild common quails and eight to the reference domestic Japanese quails, implying great power for hybrid identification
Domestic Japanese quails showed the lowest average number of alleles per locus, allelic richness and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) while the highest values were found in wild common quails (Table 2)
Summary
Restocking has become one of the most commonly used practices for the conservation and management of endangered and game species. One important reason for restocking is to supplement fisheries and game bags in order to increase productivity or maintain recreational activities [1]. In some cases this may threaten local gene pools [2]. The common quail (Coturnix coturnix) is a migratory Galliformes species distributed across Eurasia during its breeding period [16] and currently has an unfavourable conservation status in Europe due to a large historical decline [17]. The common quail is a popular game species with an important socio-economic impact. In Spain, more than 1,300,000 quails have been hunted annually during the period 1973–2010 (Yearbook of Agro-alimentary Statistics of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food)
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