Standard coloration is a result of thousands of years of evolution for survival. Heterozygosity:
Visit the AZA’s Conservation Genetics Center or explore the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s Frozen Zoo® — the world’s largest repository of living genetic material.
Perhaps the most profound shift is the use of albinism as a biomarker for habitat fragmentation. In the wild, when a population of a species (say, the green sea turtle or the eastern gray squirrel) begins producing albino offspring at a higher-than-expected rate, it signals a crisis. Standard coloration is a result of thousands of
"He stays here as an ambassador," Sarah decided. "He teaches the public that genetics matters. But he is genetically retired. We stop the line there."
Discuss the of global zoo associations.
The ultimate goal of conservation biology is to support viable wild populations. Here lies the controversial question: Should an albino animal ever be released into the wild? The standard answer is no. A stark white tortoise or a bright pink iguana has no survival chance.
Because albinism is a recessive trait, producing albino offspring reliably requires breeding two individuals that carry the mutated gene. To guarantee this expression, some facilities historically resorted to intentional inbreeding—mating fathers to daughters, or siblings to siblings. In the wild, when a population of a
Zoo genetics uses molecular techniques to guide breeding programs, such as Species Survival Plans (SSPs), to maintain high genetic diversity, minimize inbreeding, and retain the evolutionary potential of species.