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i don't know if i will be able to explain my thoughts to well and really this is just a random though that's been bugging me, i was sitting thinking about this and wondered about the effects of captive breeding and the affects of uncontrolled breeding programs, poorly defined species tagging and un-monitored distribution of the captive bred population vs genetic variation and the strength of the gene pool in the larger picture of captive breed tarantulas...i am probably thinking to much about issues that don't need to be considered but for me i just cant seem to get this idea out of my head....you see i was wondering how all these successful breeding programs where there is no monitoring of distribution will eventually lead. I brought some tarantulas and with the intention to breed then i set about buying more of the same species from a different supplier to ensure that i had two different gene pools going into the mix, however given that from these specific eggsac there was approximately 300 eggs in each individual clutch how could i be sure that the parents where indeed from different breeding stock, ok i am sure that given the breeders must think along the same line, they would insure that they included the concept of genetic diversity with there own breeding stock.
So i wondered, (this is a very simplistic version of what i was wondering) if say there was 2 people breeding one type of spider 5 years ago with an input population of 600 spiderlings being produced for sale, supposing that 60% of the population was males and mature in 2 years leaving 40% female taking perhaps the same time to mature but living for 10 years as a pose to the 2 years that males live...now if only 10% of the males and females are used for breeding into alternative genetic material, this is supposing that the other half of the bred spider comes from a genetic background that is a fresh source...so lets say 36 males and 24 females are bred into a new source...and that as an average there are 200 spiders from each captive bred program then you have the potential for 7,200 spiders from the males if they mate once and are consumed or die, and from the females if they are bred only twice in there life cycle then that's 9,600 spiderlings giving a total potential with those set variables of 16,800 spiderlings going out for sale. these then take 2 years to mature and are bred and so on so forth, the numbers increase rapidly...you get the picture...
Now assuming that all these spiders are bred into new genetic sources then the problems with inbreeding and the lack of natural selection via mother natures best efforts to ensure the procreation of strong genes wouldn't be an issue per-say...but given that in the captive environment we care for our creatures with all the best intentions and due to the necessity to see the off spring as a way of making money FOR SOME its in our interest to keep as many alive as possible ie, even the week survive! then inbreeding and poor diversity is a real issue in the larger picture...
But what for me makes it worse, is the fact that there are so many people breeding tarantulas but nobody monitoring where they eventually end up and thus nobody is able to say for sure that the spiders they are breeding are not being inbred. ok ok nobody except those boffin types are going to keep data bases on the distribution of all the spiders they sell and so are able to trace the breed lines to ensure at least some sort of diversity. BUT should we...after all we all talk about breeding to reduce the need to take wild caught specimens to help stave off the reduction of wild populations, but, does anybody pay any attention to what may be a time bomb within the breeding of captive breds due to the lack of control over specific genetic distribution...is this a problem or potential problem i dont know, but looking at the population growth and the lack of natural selective process our need to care may if not done correctly result in problems that will only arise after the damage has already been done, correcting it would be almost impossible....
Now to be honest i am not even sure that Tarantulas are even affected by inbreed problems, and i guess this logic may apply to all insects given the numbers buy which they exist, but i feel sure that a closed loop breeding cycle can in the long term and in the larger picture only do damage, breeding the week into the week and into the same family lines surly can only be detrimental. So if we choose to help the species and understand what they have to offer surly we have a responsibility to try to maintain a healthy level of diversity to at least give them and us the best chance.
if you throw into the mixing pot poorly described species and incorrect labelling with uncontrolled distribution poor diversity and the survival of the week gene...well it sounds bleak...i guess its not as bad as it sounds but it does make you wonder where it will lead in the end.......just a though that's all
So i wondered, (this is a very simplistic version of what i was wondering) if say there was 2 people breeding one type of spider 5 years ago with an input population of 600 spiderlings being produced for sale, supposing that 60% of the population was males and mature in 2 years leaving 40% female taking perhaps the same time to mature but living for 10 years as a pose to the 2 years that males live...now if only 10% of the males and females are used for breeding into alternative genetic material, this is supposing that the other half of the bred spider comes from a genetic background that is a fresh source...so lets say 36 males and 24 females are bred into a new source...and that as an average there are 200 spiders from each captive bred program then you have the potential for 7,200 spiders from the males if they mate once and are consumed or die, and from the females if they are bred only twice in there life cycle then that's 9,600 spiderlings giving a total potential with those set variables of 16,800 spiderlings going out for sale. these then take 2 years to mature and are bred and so on so forth, the numbers increase rapidly...you get the picture...
Now assuming that all these spiders are bred into new genetic sources then the problems with inbreeding and the lack of natural selection via mother natures best efforts to ensure the procreation of strong genes wouldn't be an issue per-say...but given that in the captive environment we care for our creatures with all the best intentions and due to the necessity to see the off spring as a way of making money FOR SOME its in our interest to keep as many alive as possible ie, even the week survive! then inbreeding and poor diversity is a real issue in the larger picture...
But what for me makes it worse, is the fact that there are so many people breeding tarantulas but nobody monitoring where they eventually end up and thus nobody is able to say for sure that the spiders they are breeding are not being inbred. ok ok nobody except those boffin types are going to keep data bases on the distribution of all the spiders they sell and so are able to trace the breed lines to ensure at least some sort of diversity. BUT should we...after all we all talk about breeding to reduce the need to take wild caught specimens to help stave off the reduction of wild populations, but, does anybody pay any attention to what may be a time bomb within the breeding of captive breds due to the lack of control over specific genetic distribution...is this a problem or potential problem i dont know, but looking at the population growth and the lack of natural selective process our need to care may if not done correctly result in problems that will only arise after the damage has already been done, correcting it would be almost impossible....
Now to be honest i am not even sure that Tarantulas are even affected by inbreed problems, and i guess this logic may apply to all insects given the numbers buy which they exist, but i feel sure that a closed loop breeding cycle can in the long term and in the larger picture only do damage, breeding the week into the week and into the same family lines surly can only be detrimental. So if we choose to help the species and understand what they have to offer surly we have a responsibility to try to maintain a healthy level of diversity to at least give them and us the best chance.
if you throw into the mixing pot poorly described species and incorrect labelling with uncontrolled distribution poor diversity and the survival of the week gene...well it sounds bleak...i guess its not as bad as it sounds but it does make you wonder where it will lead in the end.......just a though that's all
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