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- P-ISSN2765-2203
- E-ISSN2765-2211
- KCI Candidate
Abstract
Detrimental effects of inbreeding have been studied by many researchers for a long time. However, only a few studies have shown the occurrence of inbreeding depression due to evolutionary changes as a purging process. In this study, two different populations (inbreeding and outbreeding) of Drosophila melanogaster were compared to assess inbreeding effects on artificial population bottlenecks. For inbreeding conditions, a couple of D. melanogaster (one virgin and one male) were selected from an inbred population and cultured in a vial. For outbreeding conditions, a couple of D. melanogaster were selected from different populations and cultured in a vial. There were significant differences in body lengths of adults, but not in other parameters such as the total number of adults, the rate of survival, and the rate of wing mutants. The mean body length of adults of outbreeding populations was longer than that of inbreeding populations in the first generation (G1; P = 0.004), but not in the second generation (G2; P = 0.066). Although the other three parameters (total number of adults, rate of survival, and rate of wing mutants) showed differences in their mean values between inbreeding and outbreeding populations, these differences were not statistically significant. This might be due to genetic purging. This study demonstrated one additional experimental case related to inbreeding depression in artificial bottlenecked populations. Further studies are necessary to confirm the clear interaction between inbreeding depression and genetic purging using more generations and replicates (or samples) of D. melanogaster.
Abstract
To restore the Gold-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax chosenicus), a Korean endangered frog, 600 captive-reared individuals were reintroduced between August and September 2019 into an aquatic garden in the National Institute of Ecology where P. chosenicus had previously inhabited. After reintroduction, six post-release monitoring sessions were conducted from August 2019 to May 2020. Monitoring was performed using three methods (counting calls, observation, and capture) from sunset to midnight near release sites, eliminating potential threat factors. Snout-vent lengths and body weights of recaptured individuals were measured before they were released immediately. We noted that both snout-vent lengths and body weights of recaptured individuals were slightly higher than those before. The average recapture rate was 4.66%. Reintroduced frogs were recaptured at the last monitoring session conducted in May 2020, indicating that these reintroduced frogs hibernated during the winter successfully. We found that these reintroduced frogs successfully settled after release. This result will be useful for establishing management strategies for endangered frogs in Korea. Particularly, post-release monitoring could be an essential approach in the restoration program of a target species.
