Genetic rescue guidelines with examples from Mexican wolves and Florida panthers
Abstract
In populations or species with low fitness (high genetic load), a new management strategy called genetic rescue has been advocated to help avoid extinction. In this strategy, unrelated individuals from another population are introduced into the population with low fitness in an effort to reduce genetic load. Here we present ten guidelines that can be used to evaluate when genetic rescue is a good management option, the appropriate procedures for genetic rescue planning and management, and the potential negative genetic consequences of genetic rescue. These guidelines are then used to evaluate the genetic rescue aspects of the recovery programs for the Mexican wolf and the Florida panther.
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A widely used intervention strategy involves identifying genetically diverse populations of the same species to serve as donor populations, whose individuals can be translocated to increase genetic variation in the at-risk group.
“A widely used intervention strategy involves identifying genetically diverse populations of the same species to serve as donor populations, whose individuals can be translocated to increase genetic variation in the at-risk group (194, 195).”
From Topological Approaches in Animal Comparative Genomics (2026) · cites this paper as [194]
Cites
The Effects of a Bottleneck on Inbreeding Depression and the Genetic Load
Kirkpatrick, M., & Jarne, P. (2000) · The American Naturalist · doi:10.1086/303312 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
An investigation of inbreeding depression and purging in captive pedigreed populations
Boakes, E. H., Wang, J., & Amos, W. (2007) · Heredity · doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6800923 · Cited by 217 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Other management approaches that have been recommended in conservation genetics are more controversial, such as purging inbreeding depression (Boakes et al. 2007) or supplementation of natural populations with captive-raised individuals (Ryman and Laikre 1991).”
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Genetic erosion impedes adaptive responses to stressful environments
Bijlsma, R., & Loeschcke, V. (2012) · Evolutionary Applications · doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2011.00214.x · Cited by 345 · see citing works
Conservation Genomics in a Changing Arctic
Colella, J. P., Talbot, S. L., Brochmann, C., Taylor, E. B., Hoberg, E. P., & Cook, J. A. (2020) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.09.008 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Noninvasive Sampling Reveals Short-Term Genetic Rescue in an Insular Red Fox Population
Quinn, C. B., Alden, P. B., & Sacks, B. N. (2019) · Journal of Heredity · doi:10.1093/jhered/esz024 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Topological Approaches in Animal Comparative Genomics
Schultz, D. T., & Simakov, O. (2026) · Annual Review of Animal Biosciences · doi:10.1146/annurev-animal-030424-084541 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hedrick, P. W., & Fredrickson, R.
- Affiliations
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Montana (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hedrick, Philip W.
- Venue
- Conservation Genetics
- Published
- 2009-10-17
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 615-626
- ISSN
- 1566-0621 (ISSN-L)
- 1572-9737
- OpenAlex
- W2083373139
- Cited by
- 361
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 16 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 10.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Conservation Genetics (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Social Fund
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic diversity and population structure
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education
- Keywords
- genetic rescue, Mexican wolf, Florida panther, genetic load, population management, extinction prevention, reintroduction
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