Data from: Genetic rescue increases fitness and aids rapid recovery of an endangered marsupial population

Genetic rescue has now been attempted in several threatened species, but
the contribution of genetics per se to any increase in population health
can be hard to identify. Rescue is expected to be particularly useful when
individuals are introduced into small isolated populations with low levels
of genetic variation. Here we consider such a situation by documenting
genetic rescue in the mountain pygmy possum, Burramys parvus. Rapid
population recovery occurred in the target population after the
introduction of a small number of males from a large genetically diverged
population. Initial hybrid fitness was more than two-fold higher than
non-hybrids; hybrid animals had a larger body size, and female hybrids
produced more pouch young and lived longer. Genetic rescue likely
contributed to the largest population size ever being recorded at this
site. These data point to genetic rescue as being a potentially useful
option for the recovery of small threatened populations.