Understanding the consequences of population bottlenecks and long-term captivity on the phenotype and recovery potential of extinct-in-the-wild bird

题目：了解种群瓶颈和长期圈养对灭绝野生鸟类表型和恢复潜力的影响。概要：当一小部分个体分离出来形成一个“创始人群体”时，就会出现群体瓶颈。它们的发生可能是由于自然事件，如岛屿殖民化，或在人口严重下降之后，需要采取保护行动，如圈养、人口重新引入或辅助殖民化。由于其规模小，创始种群易受变异损失和遗传效应的影响，如强烈的遗传漂变和近亲繁殖。我的项目调查了瓶颈和长期圈养对三种高度保护的野生灭绝物种的影响，即锡克（关岛翠鸟），索科罗鸽子和越南野鸡，所有这些物种的原始种群都很小。我使用形态测量和繁殖成功数据来确定这些物种在最初的瓶颈事件和随后的圈养时间内的表型变化。我的项目将有助于了解种群瓶颈和长期圈养对野生灭绝物种的表型后果，并旨在确定这些后果如何转化为对物种恢复潜力的影响。研究结果将为未来的保护策略提供信息，以帮助拯救圈养物种并规划保护易位。

Title: Understanding the consequences of population bottlenecks and long-term captivity on the phenotype and recovery potential of extinct-in-the-wild bird species. Executive summary: Population bottlenecks occur when a small number of individuals split off to form a 'founder population'. They can happen due to natural events such as island colonisation, or after severe population declines that require conservation action such as translocations into captivity, population reintroductions or assisted colonisations. Due to their small size, founder populations are susceptible to losses in variation and genetic effects such as strong genetic drift and inbreeding. My project investigates the consequences of bottlenecks and long-term captivity on three extinct-in-the-wild species of high conservation concern, the sihek (Guam kingfisher), Socorro dove and Vietnam pheasant, all of which had small founding populations. I use morphometric measurements and reproductive success data to determine phenotypic change in these species during initial bottleneck events and over subsequent time spent in captivity. My project will benefit understanding of the phenotypic consequences of population bottlenecks and long-term captivity on extinct-in-the-wild species and aims to determine how these consequences might translate into impacts on species recovery potential. Results will inform future conservation strategies when rescuing species into captivity and planning conservation translocations.