A project to stimulate genetic admixture among the wildlife species in Lashgardar Protected Area in Malayer, Hamedan Province, will be carried out this year to stem a decline in their populations, the head of the Department of Environment said.
Isa Kalantari made the statement in response to a letter by Mohammad Kazemi, a lawmaker representing Malayer in the Parliament, in which he had warned of the loss of wild goat and sheep in the region, DOE's news portal reported.
"Research teams from the provincial DOE office have scrutinized the lack of growth in the wildlife populations of Lashgardar and identified such issues as consecutive droughts and inbreeding as major causes," he said.
To curb the trend, a limited number of wild goats and sheep, three males and three females of each species, from Khan-Gormaz Protected Area in Tuyserkan will be introduced to Lashgardar in the first stage to encourage interbreeding.
"If it proves successful, a larger number of the animals at the same gender ratio will be transferred next year," Kalantari said.
Diversity at Issue
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals that are closely related genetically. This could result in a lack of genetic diversity which would generally lead to a decreased biological fitness of a population, which is its ability to survive and reproduce.
Interbreeding, on the other hand, is when two or more previously isolated and genetically distinct populations begin to mate and breed creating more diverse genetic qualities.
Genetic diversity serves as a way for populations to adapt to changing environments with more individuals likely to possess variations of genes that are suited for the ecological conditions.
Lashgardar Protected Area is spread across 15.5 hectares of land on the east and southeast of Malayer.
It is home to 18 mammal and 75 bird species as well as several reptiles. Wild goat and sheep, wolf, jackal, fox, porcupine and rabbit are among the major mammals, and indigenous birds include partridge, sandgrouse, golden eagle, common cuckoo and kestrel. Various species of snakes also live in the area.
