Data from: Genetic approaches refine ex situ lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) conservation

Ex situ conservation management remains an important tool in the face of
continued habitat loss and global environmental change. Here, we use
microsatellite marker variation to evaluate conventional assumptions of
pedigree-based ex situ population management and directly inform a captive
lowland tapir breeding program within a range country. We found relatively
high levels of genetic variation (Ntotal = 41; mean HE = 0.67 over 10
variable loci) and little evidence for relatedness among founder
individuals (Nfounders = 10; mean relatedness = -0.05). Seven of 29
putative parent-offspring relationships were excluded by parentage
analysis based on allele-sharing, and we identified two individuals of
high genetic value to the population (mk ≤ 0.007) that would otherwise
have been excluded from the breeding program. Traditional assumptions of
founders being unrelated and individuals of unknown origin being highly
related led to overestimates of mean kinship and inbreeding, and
underestimates of gene diversity, when compared to values found when
genetic markers were used to inform kinship. We discuss our results within
the context of recent studies that have assessed the utility of neutral
molecular markers for ex situ conservation.