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<p>To support long-term species survival without unintentionally contributing to decline, species conservation efforts—especially for species like the European mink (<i>Mustela lutreola</i>), a small carnivore listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and regionally across its remaining range—must carefully balance genetic management strategies. Tallinn Zoo started a conservation breeding operation in 1980, which in 1992 — under the umbrella of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) — became the European mink EAZA Ex situ Programme (EEP). In 2004, the Spanish government initiated an additional captive breeding programme for this species. These two programmes have been kept separate so far. Here, we aimed to provide the first description of the genetic diversity and structure of the EEP captive population of European mink, as well as compare it to the Spanish captive population. For this, we used mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers combined with the analysis of the studbooks for both programmes and analysed 190 individuals. We found lower genetic diversity values for the Spanish captive population compared to the EEP population, in line with previous studies on wild populations. Overall, the European mink captive population was found to be genetically quite fragmented even within the EEP. Given the critical status of the European mink and the high risk of wild population loss, joint management of eastern and western captive populations—alongside more effective implementation of the One Plan Approach—is urgently needed to preserve genetic diversity in captivity and support long-term conservation.</p>

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Genetic structure of the Eastern and Western captive populations of the critically endangered European mink: implications for conservation breeding programmes

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月13日

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  • Grete Nummert-Meister,
  • Kristel Nemvalts,
  • Madis Põdra,
  • María Díez-León,
  • Tiit Maran

摘要

To support long-term species survival without unintentionally contributing to decline, species conservation efforts—especially for species like the European mink (Mustela lutreola), a small carnivore listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN and regionally across its remaining range—must carefully balance genetic management strategies. Tallinn Zoo started a conservation breeding operation in 1980, which in 1992 — under the umbrella of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) — became the European mink EAZA Ex situ Programme (EEP). In 2004, the Spanish government initiated an additional captive breeding programme for this species. These two programmes have been kept separate so far. Here, we aimed to provide the first description of the genetic diversity and structure of the EEP captive population of European mink, as well as compare it to the Spanish captive population. For this, we used mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers combined with the analysis of the studbooks for both programmes and analysed 190 individuals. We found lower genetic diversity values for the Spanish captive population compared to the EEP population, in line with previous studies on wild populations. Overall, the European mink captive population was found to be genetically quite fragmented even within the EEP. Given the critical status of the European mink and the high risk of wild population loss, joint management of eastern and western captive populations—alongside more effective implementation of the One Plan Approach—is urgently needed to preserve genetic diversity in captivity and support long-term conservation.