Deciphering genetic mate choice: not so simple in group-housed conservation breeding programs

Incorporating mate choice into conservation breeding programs can improve reproduction and the retention of natural behaviours. However, different types of genetic-based mate choice can have varied consequences for genetic diversity management. As a result, it is important to examine mechanisms of mate choice in captivity to assess its costs and benefits. Most research in this area has focused on experimental pairing trials, however this resource-intensive approach is not always feasible in captive settings and can interfere with other management constraints. We used generalised linear mixed models and permutation approaches to investigate overall breeding success in group-housed Tasmanian devils at three non-mutually exclusive mate choice hypotheses: (i) advantage of heterozygous individuals, (ii) advantage of dissimilar mates, and (iii) optimum genetic distance, using both 1,948 genome-wide SNPs and 12 MHC-linked microsatellites. The managed devil insurance population is the largest s...