Can Sexual Selection Theory Inform Genetic Management of Captive Populations? a Review Remi Charge, 1 Celine Teplitsky,2 Gabriele Sorci3 and Matthew Low4
Evolutionary Applications Evolutionary Applications ISSN 1752-4571 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Can sexual selection theory inform genetic management of captive populations? A review Remi Charge, 1 Celine Teplitsky,2 Gabriele Sorci3 and Matthew Low4 1 Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, University of Jyvaskyl€ a,€ Jyvaskyl€ a,€ Finland 2 Centre d’Ecologie et de Sciences de la Conservation UMR 7204 CNRS/MNHN/UPMC, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France 3 Biogeosciences, UMR CNRS 6282, Universite de Bourgogne, Dijon, France 4 Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden Keywords Abstract conservation biology, evolutionary theory, sexual selection. Captive breeding for conservation purposes presents a serious practical challenge because several conflicting genetic processes (i.e., inbreeding depression, random Correspondence genetic drift and genetic adaptation to captivity) need to be managed in concert Remi Charge Department of Biological and to maximize captive population persistence and reintroduction success probabil- Environmental Science, Centre of Excellence in ity. Because current genetic management is often only partly successful in achiev- Biological Interactions, University of Jyvaskyl€ a,€ ing these goals, it has been suggested that management insights may be found in P.O Box 35, Jyvaskyl€ a,€ 40014, Finland. Tel.: 358(0)40 805 3852; sexual selection theory (in particular, female mate choice). We review the theo- fax: 358(0)1 461 7239; retical and empirical literature and consider how female mate choice might influ- e-mail: remi.r.charge@jyu.fi ence captive breeding in the context of current genetic guidelines for different sexual selection theories (i.e., direct benefits, good genes, compatible genes, sexy Received: 28 February 2014 sons).