Data from: Does recognized genetic management in supportive breeding prevent genetic changes in life-history traits?

Supportive breeding is one of the last resort conservation strategies to
avoid species extinction. Management of captive populations is challenging
because several harmful genetic processes need to be avoided. Several
recommendations have been proposed to limit these deleterious effects, but
empirical assessments of these strategies remain scarce. We investigated
the outcome of a genetic management in a supportive breeding for the
Houbara Bustard. At the phenotypic level, we found an increase over
generations in the mean values of gamete production, body mass and
courtship display rate. Using an animal model, we found that phenotypic
changes reflected genetic changes as evidenced by an increase in breeding
values for all traits. These changes resulted from selection acting on
gamete production and to a lesser extent on courtship display. Selection
decreased over years for female gametes, emphasizing the effort of
managers to increase the contribution of poor breeders to offspring
recruited in the captive breeding. Our results shed light on very fast
genetic changes in an exemplary captive programme that follows worldwide
used recommendations and emphasizes the need of more empirical evidence of
the effects of genetic guidelines on the prevention of genetic changes in
supportive breeding.