Captivity Flashcards
What does captivity mean?
Imprisonment? Held against will?
To what extent are humans in society captive?
We are bound by laws, conventions and rituals
When should captive breeding be done?
When natural numbers of species are low, or their habitat has been destroyed, degraded
What is the ultimate goal of captivity?
To reunite the species with its original habitat
What is in situ conservation?
Conservation in its original habitat
What is ex situ conservation?
Conservation not in its original habitat
Give an example of where ex situ conservation may be carried out for animals
In zoos, wildlife parks or game reserves
Give an example of where ex situ conservation may be carried out for plants
In botanical gardens, educational establishments, seed banks
Why do some species decline in the wild?
Inbreeding, habitat loss, competition from invasive species, overexploitation
What happens if populations of wild animals were too small, which type of conservation is suitable?
Not in situ, more likely ex situ as high likelihood of failure if population was too small
Historically, what have zoos been used for?
Collections of animals, like a hobby
How did zoos evolve?
They evolved into places of public exhibition and entertainment
What is the current status of zoos?
They are used for conservation, education (biology and status of species involved)
Traditionally what type of species was best represented in zoos?
Large mammals – e.g. gorilla
What about the huge numbers of endangered invertebrates?
They are not well represented in zoos, but money gained from donations towards conservation of larger animals such as the gorilla can be used for their conservation
What is the best conservation strategy?
In situ is the best option
Why is in situ strategy the best strategy?
It allows for the natural preservation or wild communities, allows natural evolutionary change.
Give an example of two species that have been bred in captivity after going extinct in the wild
Père Davids deer
Przewalski’s horse
What is the purpose of ex situ strategies?
Educational value to conservation
Can periodically release captive bred individuals into the wild to maintain their numbers and genetic variability
What are three limitations of ex situ strategies?
Population sizes are normally small due to limited facilities in zoos. I.e sizes of enclosures can be small
Adaptation. Species may adapt to being in captivity
Learning. Species may lose knowledge that they would gain in the wild
Give two more examples of limitations to ex situ strategies
Genetic variability. Species may all come from one locality
Vulnerability. Entire populations can be destroyed by natural disasters
Describe ex situ conservation in plants
We use plants for crops, medicine and horticultural
Give a benefit of ex situ conservation in plans
Education and awareness of plant diversity
Their seeds can be stored and used in reintroductions in the future
Define botanical gardens
They are institutions that hold documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education
How many botanical gardens are their worldwide?
1500
How many plant species do worldwide botanical gardens have?
35,000 species (representing 15% of the world’s total flora)
Kew gardens aims to conserve what percentage of the world’s total flora?
10% in the Millennium seed bank
What are the benefits of botanical gardens?
Plants are easier to maintain in controlled environments
They can be grown in quantity and pruned to size
What are the purposes of seed banks?
Important for native and agricultural preservation
Varieties of seeds which are disease resistant are good for what?
Production!
Long term seed production should consider what four things? Low…..
Low moisture
Low temperature
Low ethylene concentration
Low oxygen
What two types of seed are there?
Orthodox and recalcitrant
Which type of seed can tolerate drying?
Orthodox
What percentage of water do recalcitrant seeds contain?
15-25%
What are the characteristics of recalcitrant seeds?
They are normally large, like an acorn
In an effort to maintain genetic diversity in seed banks what measures are taken?
Samples taken from five populations in a range
Seeds collected from a minimum of 10 and ideally 50 individuals per population
