The Journal of Heredity 2000:91(5)
© 2000 The American Genetic Association 91:402-405
Brief communication. Karyotype identity of two subspecies of Eld's deer [Cervus eldi (Cervinae, Artiodactyla)] and its consequences for conservation
1Parc zoologique de Paris, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Laboratoire de conservation des espèces animales, 53, avenue de St Maurice, 75012 Paris, France 2Laboratoire de Zoologie, Mammiféres at Oiseaux, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France *Corresponding author E-mail: claro@mnhn.fr
Among the three subspecies generally recognized within the Eld's deer (Cervus eldi) - C. e. eldi, C. e. thamin, and C. e. siamensis - C. e. siamensis is considered to be particularly endangered following its disappearance from a major portion of its original range. The only captive breeding population of this subspecies is in the zoological parks at the Paris Museum of Natural History. Taking into account its low effective population size (Ne = 7) and the increasing levels of inbreeding, the continued breeding of this 'micropopulation' in isolation from closely related subspecies and in particular from C. e. thamin, which is much more common in zoos as well as in the nature, is questioned. As an initial step in determining if crosses between these subspecies could be performed without risk of outbreeding depression due, in part, to gross differences in their karyotypes, a comparative chromosome banding analysis (RBG-bands) of C. e. siamensis and C. e. thamin was undertaken. No chromosomal differences were identified between the taxa at the level of resolution obtained. The study suggests that, at least from a karyotypic perspective, no obvious differences delimit the two subspecies, and hybridization between endangered C. e. siamensis and C. e. thamin is not likely to lead to impaired fertility in hybrid animals.