Conservation of Small Populations

The priority for conservation biology is the preservation of biological diversity. To accomplish this goal, scientists must identify populations that are endangered with extinction. Small populations, such as the Florida panthers, are especially at risk because they have low genetic diversity, making it difficult for them to resist disease or adapt to changes in their environment.

These cats previously ranged from Florida to Louisiana along the Gulf Coast. Due to land development, their habitat was reduced to a small area in Southern Florida. By 1973, there were only around 25 panthers left. Such a small population led to inbreeding, which caused kinked tails, heart defects, and other genetic abnormalities that reduced their reproductive capacity.

Once a population reaches a critically small size, it can experience what is called an extinction vortex, a circular chain of events that build on one another to further decrease population size, leading to extinction. It works this way. A small population is prone to inbreeding, or mating with close relatives. As a result, there will be less genetic diversity in the population. Lower genetic diversity leads to lower survival and reproduction rates in the population over time, further decreasing the population size to the point of extinction.

One way to prevent an extinction vortex is to import individuals from other populations. For example, conservation biologists introduced female panthers from Texas into the Florida population to increase its size and genetic diversity. Today, there are about 125 Florida panthers due to these conservation efforts. Although the population has grown, conservation is still required. GPS collars are used to track individual panthers, allowing conservationists to monitor the health of the population.