ELIMINATION OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION FROM CAPTIVE POPULATIONS - SPEKES GAZELLE REVISITED

in a review of the evidence for reduction in the severity of inbreedin g depression in Speke's gazelle [Templeton and Read, pp. 241-261 in Ge netics and Conservation: A Reference for Managing Wild Animal and Plan t Populations, C.M. Schoenwald-Cox, S.M. Chambers, B. MacBryde, and L. Thomas, eds., Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley, 1983; Templeton and Read, Zoo Biology 3:177-199, 1984] a flaw was found in the statistical analy sis. Reanalysis of the 1983 data showed no significant reduction in th e severity of inbreeding depression. An updated analysis using data fr om the 1992 Speke's Gazelle North American Regional Studbook [Fischer, St. Louis, St. Louis Zoological Park, 1993] also showed no significan t reduction in the severity of inbreeding depression. While there is e mpirical evidence suggesting reduction in the severity of inbreeding d epression in captive populations is possible through reduction of the founder base, maintenance of genetic variation must remain the primary goal of genetic management strategies for captive populations of exot ic wildlife. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.