All of the black-footed ferrets alive today descended from just 18 individuals Why do you think this might be of particular concern to the species survival?

Answer 1

The black footed ferret captive breeding program has produced many kits; however, problems associated with inbreeding may develop. There are only 7 genetic founders represented in the breeding pool. Genetic analysis initially recommended maintaining 200 breeding animals in captivity to maintain 80% of the genetic diversity of founders for over 200 years (Ballou & Oakleaf 1989); this was later increased to 240 adults. To increase the productive capacity of breeding animals, captive management strives to maintain a ratio of 3 males:5 females. Emphasis is placed on genetic management of the captive population because of the comparative ease of managing its genetics relative to wild populations (Russell et al. 1994), and because mortality of reintroduced animals is high. Therefore, only genetically "surplus" animals (i.e., high inbreeding coefficients and high representation in the captive population) and numbers produced in excess of those needed to replace loss of captive animals are available for reintroduction (Godbey & Biggins 1994). Genetic studies to determine relatedness of "founders" were called for in 1985 but never conducted and ferret lineages remain estimates based on the locations of animals captured from the wild. In addition, animals of disputed paternity entered the breeding population in 1987-88. As a result, genetic management has been compromised.

Source: Umich.edu/~esupdate/library/96.10-11/reading