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The Genetic Management of Endangered Species
| Article
# : |
15037 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1988 |
2,552 Words |
| Author
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Dwight G. Smith
Dwight G. Smith is professor and chairman of the biology
department at Southern Connecticut State University in New
Haven. His latest book, Plants, was released this summer by
Pearson Publishing Company of Boston. |
The task of saving a critically endangered species is becoming a science that follows a familiar formula. Years of painstaking attention to the propagation of animals and birds nearing extinction has begun to yield proven procedures for preserving endangered species. Two of the key steps are (1) establishing a captive breeding colony to maximize the production of eggs and young by tested captive propagation methods, and (2) releasing suitably mature young into a safe habitat to augment numbers in the wild.
To enhance the species' recovery, new techniques are continuously being tested and added. The newest and most promising of these utilizes recent developments in biotechnology to assist in the genetic management of endangered species. This high-tech management may ultimately lead to selective breeding programs that will result in vigorous offspring, well adapted to the demands of a human-modified environment. For now, genetic engineering allows scientists to develop pedigree charts which are used to guide the mating of captive pairs. This solves one of the long-standing problems in the management of almost every endangered species--the tendency for inbreeding in small populations whose few closely related individuals are likely to mate and produce genetically disadvantaged offspring.
All of the nearly 200 whooping cranes alive today, for example, are the descendants of the 15 individuals which comprised the entire migratory population in 1941. Similarly, all future California condors will be the offspring of the 28 now in captivity [see "The Eclipse of the California Condor," THE WORLD & I, February 1988]. These and other endangered species with small populations, such as the
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