Captive breeding and the conservation of the threatened houbara bustards

Translocation of captive-bred individuals to reinforce wild populations may be an important conservation approach for some species, but can detrimental when employed boost exploited populations, particularly where repeated long-term reinforcement aims compensate unregulated offtake. We review evidence that captive breeding alters multiple physiological, life-history and temperamental traits through founder effects, genetic drift unintended adaption captivity; degrades learnt behaviours; compromises biogeography, population structure viability introgression. highlight these risks the globally threatened African houbara Chlamydotis undulata Asian C. macqueenii , 2 bustard species hunted throughout much their ranges now subject large-scale captive-breeding programmes translocations. In eastern Morocco, annual releases are 2‒3 times higher than original numbers, no investigation potentially deleterious effects has, our knowledge, been published, although most have replaced by domestic stock, which reportedly not self-sustaining. Despite decades reinforcement, we aware any analysis contribution dynamics, or genomic consequences. release also promoting rather preventing declines, need contextualise themselves rigorous analyses demographic rates threats, maintenance phylogeographic concordance released with supplemented profiling crucial survival measurement modelling impacts on physiological behavioural fitness populations.