Synergizing Ecological Modelling and Genetic Conservation Strategies for Species Reintroduction and Habitat Restoration

Abstract

Reintroduction and restoration of habitats are popular methods of restoring threatened animal species and reintroduction is a success that has not been consistently successful because of the lack of integration of ecological and genetic factors. This work will bring forward a combined framework that will integrate ecological modelling and genetic conservation approaches to aid in the evidence-based animal reintroduction planning. An assessment of habitat suitability and landscape connectivity was done among candidate reintroduction sites, and values of Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) were 0.48 to 0.82, and a landscape connectivity index of 0.31-0.76. Genetic analyses of candidate source populations showed that there was an anticipated heterozygosity range of 0.54-0.71 and inbreeding coefficients of 0.04-0.18, which is a wide range of variation in genetic viability. A combination of ecological and genetic measures gave composite scores of viabilities between 0.32 and 0.84 among site-population interactions. The scenarios that incorporated high habitat and connectivity with genetically strong source populations were always found to score high viability (>0.75), and the ones that incorporated fragmented habitats and genetically weak populations were found to score low viability (<0.50). The results show that ecological suitability and genetic quality are not sufficient factors to guarantee the success of reintroduction. The suggested framework offers a clear and quantitative methodology for setting priorities in reintroduction sites, source population selection, and habitat restoration to increase long-term population survival.