Abstract
Interspecific introgression is considered a potential threat to endangered taxa. One example where this has had a major impact on conservation policy is the lesser white-fronted goose (LWfG). After a dramatic decline in Sweden, captive breeding birds were released between 1981–1999 with the aim to reinforce the population. However, the detection of greater white-fronted goose (GWfG) mitochondrial DNA in the LWfG breeding stock led to the release program being dismantled, even though the presence of GWfG introgression in the actual wild Swedish LWfG population was never documented. To examine this, we sequenced the complete genomes of 21 LWfG birds from the Swedish, Russian and Norwegian populations, and compared these with genomes from other goose species, including the GWfG. We found no evidence of interspecific introgression into the wild Swedish LWfG population in either nuclear genomic or mitochondrial data. Moreover, Swedish LWfG birds are genetically distinct from the Russian and Norwegian populations and display comparatively low genomic diversity and high levels of inbreeding. Our findings highlight the utility of genomic approaches in providing scientific evidence that can help improve conservation management as well as policies for breeding and reinforcement programmes.
Highlights
Interspecific introgression is considered a potential threat to endangered taxa
One particular case where concerns about interspecific introgression have had a major impact on conservation policy is the lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus, LWfG) population in S weden[8]
When focusing on LWfG alone, we found that the Swedish birds display slightly lower genomic diversity than both Russian and Norwegian LWfG birds (Fig. 4A)
Summary
Interspecific introgression is considered a potential threat to endangered taxa One example where this has had a major impact on conservation policy is the lesser white-fronted goose (LWfG). After a dramatic decline in Sweden, captive breeding birds were released between 1981–1999 with the aim to reinforce the population. Interspecific introgression has often been highlighted as a potential threat to endangered taxa due to the risk of outbreeding depression[1] The reason for this is that the introduction of genes from a different taxon into a small threatened population can reduce the fitness of h ybrids[1,2]. As a response to the dwindling population numbers, in 1977 the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management initiated an ex-situ breeding programme with the objective to release birds to reinforce the Swedish LWfG population[12]. From 1981 to 1999, a total of 341 birds were released into an area that was known to hold native LWfG breeding pairs prior to the start of the reinforcement p rogramme[11,15]
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