Establishing populations of endangered species in captivity is becoming an increasingly common component of species recovery programs for insurance against extinction, and/or for reintroductions. It is important for the success of these efforts that captive populations are genetically representative of wild source populations, and that genetic diversity is maintained over time. Our study presents SNP data from wild and captive populations of the critically endangered Australian orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster). We examine the genetic effects of a decision made in the 2010/2011 breeding season to recruit half of the juvenile cohort (n = 21), from a wild population in decline, to supplement an existing captive program. We report that heterozygosity among wild birds decreased in the years after this action. Following multiple releases of captive-reared birds back into the wild (occurring annually since 2013), captive and wild populations have attained similar overall levels of heterozygosity, and genetic differentiation between these populations is low. Parentage analyses confirm that captive-bred released individuals have successfully paired with wild birds and produced offspring. Our study suggests that translocation of wild individuals into captivity, from wild populations in decline, can potentially have deleterious lasting impacts on genetic diversity levels in these populations. However, our data also confirm that in captivity, founder diversity can be successfully preserved over time, and addition of wild founders can improve captive population health. The genetic diversity retained in captive populations can also be reintroduced to wild populations at a later date, provided that captive-release individuals are able to reproductively contribute to their recipient population.

为了防止灭绝和/或重新引入物种，在人工圈养中建立濒危物种种群正在成为物种恢复计划中越来越普遍的组成部分。对于这些努力的成功，重要的是，圈养种群在遗传上可以代表野生来源种群，并且随着时间的流逝，遗传多样性得以维持。我们的研究提供了来自极度濒危的澳大利亚橙腹鹦鹉（Neophema chrysogaster）野生和圈养种群的SNP数据）。我们研究了在2010/2011繁殖季节做出的一项决定的遗传效应，该决定从数量下降的野生种群中招募一半的青少年（n = 21），以补充现有的圈养计划。我们报告说，这种行动后，野生鸟类之间的杂合度降低了。自从将圈养饲养的鸟多次释放回到野外（自2013年以来每年发生一次）之后，圈养种群和野生种群的杂合度总体水平相近，而这些种群之间的遗传分化也很低。亲子关系分析证实，圈养的获释个体已与野鸟成功配对并产生了后代。我们的研究表明，野生个体易位，从野生种群数量下降到圈养，可能会对这些人群的遗传多样性水平产生有害的持久影响。但是，我们的数据还证实，在人工饲养条件下，随着时间的推移，可以成功保留创始人的多样性，而增加野生创始人可以改善圈养种群的健康状况。保留在圈养种群中的遗传多样性也可以在晚些时候重新引入野生种群，只要俘获释放的个体能够对其受体种群进行生殖贡献。