OBJECTIVES
1) To study how pumas recognize kin and the general mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance in a non-threatened population and to address how this information might inform studies in threatened populations.
2) To measure the link between population size and inbreeding rates in puma concolor in the 4 Southern California locations.
3) To identify whether the kin recognition mechanism is faulty in Southern California population, and if they had to genetically change in order to allow inbreeding.
The aim of the current study is to measure kin selection in natural and urban populations of pumas and to measure the link between the population size and the inbreeding rates in the puma concolor. We also wish to observe if the kin recognition …show more content…
The ability to migrate in large feline mammals is necessary if large carnivores are to persist near cities in the future. QUOTE ABOUT FELINE MAMMALS AND THEIR LARGE HUNTING GROUNDS. OMG SO LARGE. MUCH LARGNESS. GREAT WIDE SPACE. PUMAS NEED TO PRANCE AROUND. Inbreeding, especially in a small population, can have serious implications on the survival and fitness of the offspring. Kinks in the heart, tail, and sperm are often found in inbred feline populations, creating a deleterious effect on their survival. In the 1980s the Florida panther, Puma concolor cory, had been reduced to a very small and inbred population that appeared to be on the brink of extinction (Benson, 2011). The release of females from another subspecies into that area helped the situation by bringing in new mates for the males, but this problem is also currently occurring with the puma population in Southern California. The pumas of the Santa Ana Mountains are genetically isolated due to the ongoing spread of cities, and they are beginning to display signs of significant bottleneck (Ernest, 2014). In a previous study it was shown that two coastal populations of pumas (Santa Ana Mountains and Santa Monica Mountains) had especially low genetic variation and gene flow (Ernest 2013). There are natural barriers to the puma’s movements such as the ocean, but the …show more content…
Only by collecting of extensive demographic and behavioral data on most of the population will we be able to identify the behaviors that are affecting genetic diversity. If there is a direct correlation between puma inbreeding and population size then anthropological constrains be the cause of the inbreeding. There may also be the change the puma females are choosing to mate with kin such as some animals do in the Puurtinen 2011 study, and this new behavior would be perhaps caused by a genetic defect that spread in the population. Maintaining and restoring habitat connectivity is very important for small populations of large carnivores. If migrations are not frequent enough to maintain genetic diversity, we can result in dominance of the gene pool by few males, which may be detrimental to the populations’
1) To study how pumas recognize kin and the general mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance in a non-threatened population and to address how this information might inform studies in threatened populations.
2) To measure the link between population size and inbreeding rates in puma concolor in the 4 Southern California locations.
3) To identify whether the kin recognition mechanism is faulty in Southern California population, and if they had to genetically change in order to allow inbreeding.
The aim of the current study is to measure kin selection in natural and urban populations of pumas and to measure the link between the population size and the inbreeding rates in the puma concolor. We also wish to observe if the kin recognition …show more content…
The ability to migrate in large feline mammals is necessary if large carnivores are to persist near cities in the future. QUOTE ABOUT FELINE MAMMALS AND THEIR LARGE HUNTING GROUNDS. OMG SO LARGE. MUCH LARGNESS. GREAT WIDE SPACE. PUMAS NEED TO PRANCE AROUND. Inbreeding, especially in a small population, can have serious implications on the survival and fitness of the offspring. Kinks in the heart, tail, and sperm are often found in inbred feline populations, creating a deleterious effect on their survival. In the 1980s the Florida panther, Puma concolor cory, had been reduced to a very small and inbred population that appeared to be on the brink of extinction (Benson, 2011). The release of females from another subspecies into that area helped the situation by bringing in new mates for the males, but this problem is also currently occurring with the puma population in Southern California. The pumas of the Santa Ana Mountains are genetically isolated due to the ongoing spread of cities, and they are beginning to display signs of significant bottleneck (Ernest, 2014). In a previous study it was shown that two coastal populations of pumas (Santa Ana Mountains and Santa Monica Mountains) had especially low genetic variation and gene flow (Ernest 2013). There are natural barriers to the puma’s movements such as the ocean, but the …show more content…
Only by collecting of extensive demographic and behavioral data on most of the population will we be able to identify the behaviors that are affecting genetic diversity. If there is a direct correlation between puma inbreeding and population size then anthropological constrains be the cause of the inbreeding. There may also be the change the puma females are choosing to mate with kin such as some animals do in the Puurtinen 2011 study, and this new behavior would be perhaps caused by a genetic defect that spread in the population. Maintaining and restoring habitat connectivity is very important for small populations of large carnivores. If migrations are not frequent enough to maintain genetic diversity, we can result in dominance of the gene pool by few males, which may be detrimental to the populations’