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Do population size bottlenecks reduce evolutionary potential?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 1999

Richard Frankham ,
Kelly Lees ,
Margaret E. Montgomery ,
Phillip R. England ,
Edwin H. Lowe  and
David A. Briscoe
Richard Frankham
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Kelly Lees
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia NSW Department of Agriculture, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia; Margaret E. Montgomery, School of Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW 2052, Australia.
Margaret E. Montgomery
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
Phillip R. England
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Edwin H. Lowe
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
David A. Briscoe
Affiliation:
Key Centre for Biodiversity and Bioresources, School of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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Abstract

Single locus neutralist models predict that population size bottlenecks will reduce genetic variation and increase inbreeding, thereby reducing evolutionary potential. However, experimental evaluations of the effects of bottlenecks on quantitative genetic variation do not always follow predictions, especially for characters related to reproductive fitness. Populations of Drosophila melanogaster were subjected to population bottlenecks of a single pair for one or three generations, and their ability to tolerate increasing concentrations of NaCl was compared with those of their outbred base populations, and related highly inbred lines. Bottlenecked populations became extinct at significantly lower concentrations of NaCl than their non-bottlenecked base populations. Population bottlenecks should be avoided in managing species of conservation concern.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Conservation forum , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , November 1999 , pp. 255 - 260
Copyright
© 1999 The Zoological Society of London

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