Reproductive biology and genealogy in the endangered Iberian lynx: Implications for conservation

Abstract

For endangered species, the availability of genealogies and a good knowledge of mating patterns are valuable resources for conservation purposes. Here we studied mating patterns in the endangered Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus, and reconstructed a partial genealogy of the intensively monitored population in Doñana from 1990 to 2013. Using microsatellites in combination with field information we assigned 146 out of the 175 analysed individuals to at least one parent with confidence above 0.9. We detected breeding events for 30% of individuals in the population (n = 181), which follows a positively skewed distribution (maximum: 7 breeding events for females, 9 for males). On average, individuals reproduce with approximately 1.6 mates in their life, from 2 years-old to a maximum of 10 years for males and 11 years for females. This broadening of the previously reported breeding age is likely due to stochastic changes in the demography that resulted in lack of competition and a high turnover of the territories. We identified several crosses between close relatives (e.g. full-sibs) which resulted in highly inbred offspring. To our knowledge, this is one of the most comprehensive studies on reproductive patterns of an endangered felid in the wild. This novel information highlights the importance of both field and genetic data to broaden the knowledge of the species and to improve conservation programs.