THE STUDY OF RELATEDNESS AND GENETIC DIVERSITY IN CRANES

Authors

George F. Gee, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Herbert C. Dessauer, Louisiana State University Medical Center
Jonathan Longmire, Los Alamos National Laboratory
W. Elwood Briles, Northern Illinois University
Raymond C. Simon, National Fish Health Laboratory, National Fisheries Center

Date of this Version

1992

Document Type

Article

Citation

Gee, G.F., H.C. Dessauer, J. Longmire, W.E. Briles, and R.C. Simon. The study of relatedness and genetic diversity in cranes. In: Wood D. A., ed. 1992. Proceedings 1988 North American Crane Workshop, Feb. 22–24, 1988. Lake Wales, Florida (Tallahassee, FL: State of Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Nongame Wildlife Program Technical Report #12, 1992), pp. 225-230.

Comments

Used by permission of the North American Crane Working Group.

Abstract

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is responsible for recovery of endangered species in the wild and, when necessary, maintenance in captivity. These programs provide an immediate measure of insurance against extinction. A prerequisite inherent in all of these programs is the preservation of enough genetic diversity to maintain a viable population and to maintain the capacity of the population to respond to change. Measures of genetic diversity examine polymorphic genes that are not influenced by selection pressures. Examples of these techniques and those used to determine relatedness are discussed. Studies of genetic diversity, electrophoresis of blood proteins, relatedness, blood typing, and restriction fragment length polymorphisms which are being used by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center are discussed in detail.