Abstract:
It is crucial to understand the genetic health and
implications of inbreeding in wildlife populations, especially
of vulnerable species. Using extensive demographic
and genetic data, we investigated the relationships among
pedigree inbreeding coefficients, metrics of molecular
heterozygosity and fitness for a large population of
endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in South
Africa. Molecular metrics based on 19 microsatellite loci
were significantly, but modestly correlated to inbreeding
coefficients in this population. Inbred wild dogs with
inbreeding coefficients of C0.25 and subordinate individuals
had shorter lifespans than outbred and dominant
contemporaries, suggesting some deleterious effects of
inbreeding. However, this trend was confounded by packspecific
effects as many inbred individuals originated from
a single large pack. Despite wild dogs being endangered
and existing in small populations, findings within our
sample population indicated that molecular metrics were
not robust predictors in models of fitness based on breeding
pack formation, dominance, reproductive success or lifespan
of individuals. Nonetheless, our approach has generated
a vital database for future comparative studies to
examine these relationships over longer periods of time.
Such detailed assessments are essential given knowledge
that wild canids can be highly vulnerable to inbreeding
effects over a few short generations.
