Inbreeding depression in ring-tailed lemurs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lemur catta</Emphasis>): genetic diversity predicts parasitism,immunocompetence, and survivorship |
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Authors: | Marie J E Charpentier Cathy V Williams Christine M Drea |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, 108 Biological Sciences Bldg., Science Drive, Box 90383, Durham, NC, USA;(2) Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;(3) CEFE-CNRS, Montpellier, France;(4) Duke Lemur Center, Durham, NC, USA |
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Abstract: | The consequences of inbreeding have been well studied in a variety of taxa, revealing that inbreeding has major negative impacts
in numerous species, both in captivity and in the wild; however, as trans-generational health data are difficult to obtain
for long-lived, free-ranging species, similar analyses are generally lacking for nonhuman primates. Here, we examined the
long-term effects of inbreeding on numerous health estimates in a captive colony of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), housed under semi-natural conditions. This vulnerable strepsirrhine primate is endemic to Madagascar, a threatened hotspot
of biodiversity; consequently, this captive population represents an important surrogate. Despite significant attention to
maintaining the genetic diversity of captive animals, breeding colonies invariably suffer from various degrees of inbreeding.
We used neutral heterozygosity as an estimate of inbreeding and showed that our results reflect genome-wide inbreeding, rather
than local genetic effects. In particular, we found that genetic diversity affects several fitness correlates, including the
prevalence and burden of Cuterebra parasites and a third (N = 6) of the blood parameters analyzed, some of which reflect immunocompetence. As a final validation of inbreeding depression
in this captive colony, we showed that, compared to outbred individuals, inbred lemurs were more likely to die earlier from
diseases. Through these analyses, we highlight the importance of monitoring genetic variation in captive animals—a key objective
for conservation geneticists—and provide insight into the potential negative consequences faced by small or isolated populations
in the wild.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Heterozygosity Inbreeding depression Strepsirrhine primate Parasitism Blood parameters Captive breeding |
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