9520609 BRYANT The proposed research centers on the effects of (1) adaptation to the captive environment, (2) population size, and (3) founder size on population fitness, genetic variation, and evolutionary flexibility. By combining life history, quantitative genetic, and allozyme assays, evidence will be gathered on the correlation between different types of genetic variation and population fitness. Preliminary data on adaptation to the captive environment has shown highly significant changes in a whole suite of life history traits and a significant loss of fitness. The loss of fitness may be due to an increase in the frequency of detrimental recessive alleles. The hypothesis that the level of genetic variation in populations of endangered species correlates strongly with that population's fitness and evolutionary potential is widely accepted but has yet to be tested empirically. The proposed research will provide empirical evidence with application to (1) predicting minimum viable population sizes of animals needed for reserves and zoological parks, (2) recommending breeding strategies for captive species of animals, and (3) assessing the likelihood of successful reintroduction of captive bred animals to the wild.
