Savage, J., Crane, J.M.S., Kākāpō Recovery Team et al. (1 more author) (2022) Low hatching success in the critically endangered kākāpō is driven by early embryo mortality not infertility. Animal Conservation, 25 (3). pp. 352-360. ISSN 1367-9430
Abstract
In many endangered species, reproductive failure is a major barrier to recovery. The critically endangered kākāpō Strigops habroptilus exemplifies this challenge: 61% of their eggs fail to hatch, and of these 73% show no sign of development. Undeveloped eggs have previously been attributed to male infertility, but recent studies of non-threatened bird species suggest fertilisation failure is rare in the wild. The underlying causes of fertilisation failure and embryo death differ, so distinguishing between them is essential for effective conservation management. Here we show that the majority (72%, n = 124) of undeveloped kākāpō eggs are fertilised, and combine this with conservation programme data on natural copulations, artificial inseminations, and paternity of developed eggs, to generate the most precise estimate to date of fertility in a wild population. We also demonstrate, for the first time in a wild bird, that artificial insemination results in greater numbers of sperm reaching the egg.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 The Authors. Animal Conservation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Zoological Society of London. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | conservation; embryo mortality; infertility; kākāpō; hatching failure; artificial insemination |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ROYAL SOCIETY DH160200 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/T00200X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 25 Oct 2021 13:34 |
Last Modified: | 10 Feb 2023 14:11 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/acv.12746 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:179589 |