The Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus Conservation Breeding Program

Abstract

The Iberian Lynx Conservation Breeding Program follows a multidisciplinary approach, integrated within the National Strategy for the Conservation of the Iberian lynx, which is carried out in cooperation with national, regional and international institutions. The main goals of the ex situ conservation programme are to: (1) maintain a genetically and demographically managed captive population; (2) create new Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus freeranging populations through re-introduction. To achieve the first goal, the Conservation Breeding Program aims to maintain 85% of the genetic diversity presently found in the wild for the next 30 years. This requires developing and maintaining 60-70 Iberian lynx as breeding stock. Growth projections indicate that the ex situ programme should achieve such a population target by the year 2010. Once this goal is reached, re-introduction efforts could begin. Thus, current ex situ efforts focus on producing psychologically and physically sound captive-born individuals. To achieve this goal, we use management and research techniques that rely on multidisciplinary input and knowledge generated on species' life history, behaviour, nutrition, veterinary and health aspects, genetics, reproductive physiology, endocrinology and ecology. Particularly important is adapting our husbandry schemes based on research data to promote natural behaviours in captivity (hunting, territoriality, social interactions) and a stress-free environment that is conducive to natural reproduction.

Ancient DNA evidence of Iberian lynx palaeoendemism

“…It is for this reason, that it is argued that increasing the dispersal capacity of endangered species will possibly be the most efficient climate adaptation strategy for conservationist to control extinction rates (Thomas, 2011). In Spain, lynx from captive breeding programmes are already being reintroduced to its past historical range (Vargas et al, 2008). This study demonstrates that the Iberian lynx geographic distribution extended to regions of southern France and as far as northern Italy during the Pleistocene and Holocene.…”

The Role of Genomics in Conservation and Reproductive Sciences

“…(Pukazhenthi and Wildt 2004 ;Comizzoli et al 2009 ;Wildt et al 2010 ). Among the growing number of examples of captive populations that are have had important roles in augmenting or establishing wild populations are Puerto Rican parrots (Brock and White 1992 ), California condors (Geyer et al 1993 ), Micronesian kingfi shers (Haig et al 1995 ), whooping cranes (Jones et al 2002 ) and primate species [e.g., lion-tailed macaques (Morin and Ryder 1991 ), bonobos (Reinartz and Boese 1977 )], black-footed ferrets (Cain et al 2011 ), and Iberian lynx (Vargas et al 2008 ;Gañán et al 2010 ).…”

Putting susceptibility on the map to improve conservation planning, an example with terrestrial mammals

“…There is a broad spectrum of proposals to complement this approach, such as land use zoning, which proposes a range of management actions for the whole territory (Watts et al, 2009); prioritizing management of specific threats according to local sensibilities (Carwardine et al, 2012;Auerbach et al, 2015); dynamic reserves' delimitation, accounting for dynamic features of the landscape (Leroux et al, 2007); or specific plans for most endangered species (Vargas et al, 2008), among others. In fact, most of the world land is not a protected area (IUCN & UNEP-WCMC, 2015), but other conservation actions can, to a greater or lesser extent, be implemented independently of the protection level of an area; thus there is a need to create guidelines to identify what can and should be done in different regions.…”