Restoring faith in conservation action: Maintaining wild genetic diversity through the Tasmanian devil insurance program
Katherine A. Farquharson, Elspeth A. McLennan, Yuanyuan Cheng, Lauren F. Alexander, Samantha Fox, Andrew V. Lee, Katherine Belov, Carolyn J. Hogg
Abstract
). Populations have declined by 80% since 1996 due to a contagious cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). However, predicted local extinctions have not occurred. Recent suggestions of selection for "resistance" alleles in the wild precipitated concerns that insurance population devils may be unsuitable for translocations. Using 830 wild samples collected at 31 locations between 2012 and 2021, and 553 insurance metapopulation devils, we show that the insurance metapopulation is representative of current wild genetic diversity. Allele frequencies at DFTD-associated loci were not substantially different between captive and wild devils. Methods presented here are valuable for others investigating evolutionary potential in threatened species, particularly ones under significant selective pressures.