Firefly Translocation: A Case Study of Genetic and Behavioral Evaluation in Thailand

Abstract

Conservation translocation is frequently used to conserve the threatened fauna by releasing individuals from the wild or captive populations into a particular area. This approach, however, is not successful in many cases because the translocated populations could not self-sustain in the new habitats. In this chapter, I reviewed the concept of translocation for conservation and the factors associated with the success rate. I used example problems from several cases involving different insect taxa. With its often high potential to mass rear in captivity, captive breeding can be a powerful tool by assuring large population size for insect translocation, which can result in a high success rate. However, genetic consequences from inbreeding and genetic adaptation to captivity can reduce the fitness of the captive population to establish successfully in the wild. Additionally, as the evidence in Japanese fireflies shows, the genetic differences between the translocated and local populations should be considered for a sustainable translocation program. A case study involved genetic and behavioral evaluation of S. aquatilis populations to assess the possibility of including the species for the firefly translocation program in Thailand. Although the results revealed no genetic variation among populations, examination of the variation in flash signals showed that the long-distance population had a longer courtship flash pulse than other populations in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. With no geographical barrier, the light pollution and urbanization are probably important fragmented barriers causing adaptation of flash communication to increase the fitness. As a consequence, firefly translocation should consider flash variation between populations to prevent this potential pre-mating isolation mechanism from resulting in probable lower translocation success rates.