Genetic management of a breeding programme for the riverine rabbit Bunolagus monticularis

Abstract

The genetic similarity of a captive population of riverine rabbits Bunolagus monticularis was determined by DNA fingerprinting for assessing the suitability of individuals for inclusion in a captive breeding programme. A high degree of similarity was found among the fingerprints of individual rabbits and specimen 008 is the least inbred individual. The only male that produced spermatozoa after electroejaculation was 002 and this may indicate inbreeding depression. Although the inclusion of other individuals as founders is discussed, the initiation of a breeding programme with more than one of these captive rabbits is strongly discouraged. Fingerprint data suggest a high degree of genetic similarity of individuals within demes in the wild and the average heterozygosity of the wild rabbits is estimated at 0.02. Additional founders should thus be captured over a wide range of their geographical distribution. The genetic management of the captive breeding population is of vital importance.