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Parentage and Sibship Relationships Among Captive Snakes at the Phoenix Zoo—2024 Data Summary

Data Report 1204
Ecosystems Mission Area—Species Management Research Program
By: , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/dr1204

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Introduction

The narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2014). This species has a strong association with aquatic habitats, and these habitats have been highly altered by impoundments, land-use changes, and the introduction and spread of non-native aquatic species, which contributed to declines in Arizona and New Mexico for the last 30–40 years. Captive breeding programs can be used for genetic rescue and conservation of threatened and endangered species (Frankham, 2010). Often based on pedigree analyses, captive management plans aim to retain genetic diversity, limit inbreeding, and avoid adaptation to captivity (Foose and Ballou, 1988; Hedrick and Miller, 1992; Ivy and others, 2009; Frankham, 2010). In 2011, the Arizona Center for Nature Conservation/Phoenix Zoo (hereafter Phoenix Zoo) developed an ex-situ captive breeding management plan for T. rufipunctatus, with the aim to propagate and release individual T. rufipunctatus back into their native range (Blais and others, 2022). We sequenced 125 microsatellite loci to generate genetic toolsets to track pedigree and assess paternity and sibship relationships for this captive breeding program. Specifically, we used microsatellite loci to assign paternity and relatedness among eight litters composed of multiple female and male snakes born between 2014 and 2023 at the Phoenix Zoo breeding facility. We also completed sibship analysis for six wild gartersnakes collected from Canyon Creek, Arizona, that were brought into the Phoenix Zoo breeding facility in 2017 and 2018.

Suggested Citation

Wood, D.A., Mitelberg, A., and Vandergast, A.G., 2025, Parentage and sibship relationships among captive snakes at the Phoenix Zoo—2024 data summary: U.S. Geological Survey Data Report 1204, 20 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/dr1204.

ISSN: 2771-9448 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results and Discussion
  • Summary
  • References Cited
  • Appendix 1. Microsatellite Locus, Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction Group Number, Percent Missing Data, Allelic Diversity, Observed and Expected Heterozygosity, and Frequency of Null Alleles of 125 Microsatellite Loci Genotyped Across Four Thamnophis rufipunctatus Populations
  • Appendix 2. Breeding Adult Relatedness Estimates
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Parentage and sibship relationships among captive snakes at the Phoenix Zoo—2024 data summary
Series title Data Report
Series number 1204
DOI 10.3133/dr1204
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Western Ecological Research Center
Description Report: vi, 20 p.; Data Release
Country United States
State Arizona
Other Geospatial Phoenix Zoo
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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