Retriever and Pointer: Software to Evaluate Inbreeding and Genetic Management in Captive Populations

Simple Summary Small populations can suffer from high inbreeding rates and the associated loss of diversity, inbreeding depression, and expression of genetic defects. Two questions are important for population managers in this respect: (1) What is the status of my population regarding inbreeding? and (2) what is the effect of measures to decrease inbreeding rates? The Retriever and Pointer software has been developed to answer these questions. Retriever extracts relevant data and inbreeding levels from studbook data and Pointer simulates populations to indicate what the effect is of different forms of genetic management. This paper describes the software and gives examples of its use. The Retriever and Pointer software has been developed for genetic management of (small) captive populations The Retriever program uses as input pedigree data and extracts data on population structure that determine inbreeding rates such as skewness of sire contributions. Levels and rates of inbreeding and kinship and effective population sizes are determined as well. Data on population structure can be used as input for the Pointer program. This program uses stochastic simulation to evaluate a population and provides expected levels and rates of inbreeding and kinship, and optionally allelic diversity. The user can simulate different options for genetic management such as sire restrictions, restrictions on inbreeding levels, mean kinships and breeding circles. Both Retriever and Pointer can analyze populations with subpopulations and different rates of exchange between them. Although originally devised for dogs, the software can be, and has been, used for any captive population including livestock and zoo populations, and a number of examples are provide The pointer software is also suitable in education where students may generate their own populations and evaluate effects of different population structures and genetic management on genetic diversity. Input is provided via a graphical user interface. The software can be downloaded for free.

Automated summary

Small populations can suffer from high inbreeding rates and associated genetic issues. The Retriever and Pointer software have been developed to assess inbreeding levels and simulate the effects of genetic management measures. These tools can be used for genetic management of various captive populations and have potential applications in education.