The Ryman-Laikre （R-L） effect is an increase in inbreeding and a reduction in total effective population size （NET） in a combined captive-wild system, which arises when a few captive parents produce large numbers ...The Ryman-Laikre （R-L） effect is an increase in inbreeding and a reduction in total effective population size （NET） in a combined captive-wild system, which arises when a few captive parents produce large numbers of offspring. To facilitate evaluation of the R-L effect for scenarios that are relevant to marine stock enhancement and aquaculture, we extended the original R-L formula to explicitly account for several key factors that determine NeT, including the numbers of captive and wild adults, the ratio of captive to wild Ne/N （β）, productivity of captive and wild breeders, and removal of individuals from the wild for captive breeding. We show how to provide quantitative answers to questions such as： What scenarios lead to no loss of effective size？ What is the maximum effective size that can be achieved？ and What scenarios insure that NeTWill be no smaller than a specified value？ Important results include the following： （1） For large marine populations, the value of β becomes increasingly important as the captive contribution increases. Captive propagation will sharply reduce NeT unless the captive contribution is very small or β is very large （～10^3 or higher）. （2） Very large values of β are only possible if wild Ne/N is tiny. Therefore, large wild populations undergoing captive enhancement at even modest levels will suffer major reductions in effective size unless wild Ne is a tiny fraction of the census size （about 10 4 or lower）.展开更多
Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reprod...Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reproductive traits. Egg-laying dates differed among the three populations such that at the most northern latitude egg-laying was latest, and earliest at the most southern latitutde. Clutch size, clutch mass, egg mass, egg shape, within clutch variability in egg sizes and relative clutch mass differed among the three populations, whereas post-oviposition body mass did not. Except for egg-laying date, none of the traits examined varied in a geographically continuous trend. CZ and DH females, although separated by a distance of approximately 1100 km as the crow flies, were similar in nearly all traits examined. JS females were distinguished from CZ and DH females by their higher fecundity （clutch size）, greater reproductive output （clutch mass） and more rounded eggs. Our data do not validate the prediction that larger offspring should be produced in colder localities. The absence of an egg size-number trade-off in each of the three populations presumably suggests that P. korros is among species where eggs are well optimized for size within a population.展开更多
文摘The Ryman-Laikre （R-L） effect is an increase in inbreeding and a reduction in total effective population size （NET） in a combined captive-wild system, which arises when a few captive parents produce large numbers of offspring. To facilitate evaluation of the R-L effect for scenarios that are relevant to marine stock enhancement and aquaculture, we extended the original R-L formula to explicitly account for several key factors that determine NeT, including the numbers of captive and wild adults, the ratio of captive to wild Ne/N （β）, productivity of captive and wild breeders, and removal of individuals from the wild for captive breeding. We show how to provide quantitative answers to questions such as： What scenarios lead to no loss of effective size？ What is the maximum effective size that can be achieved？ and What scenarios insure that NeTWill be no smaller than a specified value？ Important results include the following： （1） For large marine populations, the value of β becomes increasingly important as the captive contribution increases. Captive propagation will sharply reduce NeT unless the captive contribution is very small or β is very large （～10^3 or higher）. （2） Very large values of β are only possible if wild Ne/N is tiny. Therefore, large wild populations undergoing captive enhancement at even modest levels will suffer major reductions in effective size unless wild Ne is a tiny fraction of the census size （about 10 4 or lower）.
基金The work was carried out in compliance with the current laws on animal welfare and research in China, and was supported by grants from Natural Science Foundation of China （30770378 and 31071910）, Zhejiang Provincial Foundation of Natural Science （Z3090461）, Hangzhou Bureau of Science and Technology （20100332T20） and Zhejiang Department of Science and Technology for Innovation Teams （2010R50039-26）. We thank Jian-Fang Gao, Rui-Bin Hu, Yan-Fu Qu and Ling Zhang for their help during the research.
文摘Abstract We collected gravid gray rat snakes Ptyas korros from three geographically distinct populations in China, Chenzhou （CZ）, Jiangshan （JS） and Dinghai （DH）, to study geographical variation in female reproductive traits. Egg-laying dates differed among the three populations such that at the most northern latitude egg-laying was latest, and earliest at the most southern latitutde. Clutch size, clutch mass, egg mass, egg shape, within clutch variability in egg sizes and relative clutch mass differed among the three populations, whereas post-oviposition body mass did not. Except for egg-laying date, none of the traits examined varied in a geographically continuous trend. CZ and DH females, although separated by a distance of approximately 1100 km as the crow flies, were similar in nearly all traits examined. JS females were distinguished from CZ and DH females by their higher fecundity （clutch size）, greater reproductive output （clutch mass） and more rounded eggs. Our data do not validate the prediction that larger offspring should be produced in colder localities. The absence of an egg size-number trade-off in each of the three populations presumably suggests that P. korros is among species where eggs are well optimized for size within a population.
