Inbreeding depression

Inbreeding depression is reduced survival or reproduction in offspring of related parents, often because increased homozygosity exposes harmful recessive alleles.

Homozygosity: The state of carrying two identical alleles at a genetic locus. Mating between relatives increases homozygosity, making recessive harmful alleles more likely to affect traits.
Conservation genetics: The use of genetic principles to maintain biodiversity and viable populations. Conservation programs assess inbreeding depression when small populations lose genetic variation.
Florida panther: A population of pumas in southern Florida that experienced severe isolation and low genetic diversity. Its low diversity and health problems prompted genetic-restoration efforts.
Heterosis: The increased vigor or fitness of hybrid offspring compared with their parents or a reference population. It often describes the fitness gain that follows crossing inbred lineages.
Inbreeding coefficient: A measure of the probability that two alleles at a locus are identical by descent. It quantifies relatedness, but does not by itself predict the size of fitness decline.
Recessive allele: An allele whose effect is masked in a heterozygote by a dominant allele. Harmful recessive alleles are more often expressed when inbreeding pairs identical copies.
Captive breeding: The controlled reproduction of animals in human-managed settings. Breeding plans track relatedness to limit declines in offspring survival and reproduction.
Isle Royale wolf: A wolf population isolated on an island in Lake Superior. Long isolation and inbreeding were associated with skeletal abnormalities and population decline.
Outbreeding depression: Reduced fitness in offspring produced by crossing genetically divergent populations. It is the opposing risk to inbreeding depression when populations are crossed.
Mutation–selection balance: The equilibrium between the introduction of harmful mutations and their removal by natural selection. It helps explain why deleterious recessive alleles persist despite inbreeding exposing them.

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