PARENT SESSION
Poster Session 39: Late Breaking and Newsworthy Posters
Friday, August 12, 8:30 AM - 10:30 AM, Exhibit Hall 220 A-E, Level 2, Palais des congrès de Montréal
A model for the reintroduction of the South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) to the Meihuashan National Nature Reserve.
Odom, Karan *,1, 1 Zoology Department, Delaware, OH
ABSTRACT- The captive population of 47 South China Tigers (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is all that is left of the subspecies that comprises the central range of tigers on the Asian continent. I modeled the potential success of the Meihuashan National Nature Reserve (MNNR) reintroduction program under the current land allotment, a planned land expansion, and the amount of land that would be available if surrounding reserves were linked by corridors. Deforestation rates and increased mortality due to inbreeding were also added to the model. The results indicate the necessity of greater land designation to obtain a stable tiger population, forestry practices that minimize deforestation in the area, and selective breeding to obtain the greatest genetic diversity possible.
Key words: Tiger, tigris, China, model