Translocation of captive-bred individuals to reinforce wild populations may be an important conservation approach for some species, but can detrimental when employed boost exploited populations, particularly where repeated long-term reinforcement aims compensate unregulated offtake. We review evidence that captive breeding alters multiple physiological, life-history and temperamental traits thr...

The assessment report of the 4th International Panel on Climate Change confirms that global warming is strongly affecting biological systems and that 20-30% of species risk extinction from projected future increases in temperature. It is essential that any measures taken to conserve individual species and their constituent populations against climate-mediated declines are appropriate. The relea...

Supportive breeding is a strategy consisting in maintaining a pool of locally-adapted wild genitors in captivity whose offspring are released in the wild at an early developmental stage. In this study, we tested the utility of this strategy in preventing phenotypic and genetic divergences between captive-bred and wild animals that could be detrimental for wild populations. Combining microsatell...

I. Specific Aims More than 25% of all mammals in the world are considered “threatened” with half of all species showing a downward trend in population and others considered extinct outside of captivity (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 2008 Red List of Threatened Species). This is true despite the numerous traditional conservation strategies that have been employed includin...

In Callitrichidae, reproduction in subordinate females is generally inhibited but occurs in rare cases, possibly in association with the presence of an unrelated male, important food resources or low dispersal opportunities. This study investigates the occurrence of groups with multiple breeding females in captive golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), the factors leading to ...

Female Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds re-entered a decoy trap with greater frequency than did the males. It appeared that this difference in behavior was due to the location of the trap in the breeding territories of these two species. Although the Brown-headed Cowbird is a nest parasite, it does exhibit many of the same breeding territorial relationships between the sexes as t...

Abstract The Chiricahua leopard frog ( Lithobates chiricahuensis ) is a threatened species endemic to the southwestern United States and Northern Mexico. Captive breeding programs were established support reintroduction efforts, yet reproductive output has been lower than needed for recovery of species. This study aimed evaluate effects captivity on amphibian reproduction by (1) determining if ...

Canada lynx face some unique breeding restrictions, which may have implications for population viability and captive management. The goal of this study was to improve our understanding of basic reproductive physiology in Canada lynx. Using fecal hormone metabolite analysis, we established normative patterns of fecal estrogen (fE) and progestagen (fP) expression in captive and wild female Canada...