Conservation ex situ Flashcards
What is conservation ex situ?
Conservation ex situ means conversing endangered species by activities that take place outside its normal environment.
How have zoos changed?
Zoos have changed to wildlife parks. They enable repopulation by introducing captive-bred animals to the wild.
Why is captive breeding difficult?
Animals may fail to breed successfully, limited genetic variation, decrease in genetic variation, the species is less able to adapt to changing conditions, animals reintroduced into the wild need to find food and survive predation.
What domestic techniques could be applied to wild animals?
Sperm freezing, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilisation and embryo-transfer techniques are used with domestic animals. Research on a similar domestic species can increases speed of development on a target species.
Why is conservation of plants easier?
Produce dormant seed, can be collected from wild without too much disturbance, stored in huge numbers without occupying too much space; captive-bred individuals can be replanted in the wild.
What are the issues with conserving plants?
Disadvantages are collecting genetic diversity; seeds store for a long time may not be viable, asexually bred plants will be genetically identical.
What is the Kew Millenium Seed Bank?
The Kew Millennium seed bank project stores a representative sample of seeds from every known species of plant.
How do you prolong viability of seeds?
To prolong viability seeds are stored in dry or freezing conditions. 1% decreases in moisture level, and 5 C reductions in temperature, so life span doubles.
How do you ensure viability of seeds?
To ensure viability of seeds are planted periodically. Germination rate is measured, enabling a success of germination to be discovered.
