Year
2017
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
School of Biological Sciences
Abstract
Captive breeding programmes (CBPs) offer a method for preventing the extinction of threatened species by assisting with species recovery, primarily by generating animals for reintroduction and supplementing wild populations. However, CBPs often have difficulty establishing self-sustaining populations, unable to maintain consistent reproduction and survivorship in captivity for reintroducing animals back into the wild. A contributing factor leading to this issue may be captive conditions producing phenotypes that differ from wild phenotypes. These phenotypic changes may lead to captive individuals having reduced survivorship, as well as reduced reproductive success, both in captivity and following reintroduction. Ultimately, a range of factors will determine the success of reintroductions; however, the phenotypic changes occurring in captivity, and how this may impact reintroduction success remains largely unknown. In this thesis, I outline how an animal’s phenotype may contribute to the success or failure of CBPs, and in turn, reintroduction success. I used a mammalian and an amphibian species as models to examine phenotypic changes in captivity and specifically looked at developmental, morphological and behavioural phenotypes.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Stephanie Kirsten Courtney, Using model systems to investigate the effects of captivity on phenotypic variation: implications for captive breeding programmes, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, 2017. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1/169
FoR codes (2008)
0602 ECOLOGY, 0603 EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 0608 ZOOLOGY, 050202 Conservation and Biodiversity, 050211 Wildlife and Habitat Management
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.