In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation Strategies Flashcards
What are in-situ strategies?
Conservation that takes place within the animal’s natural habitat
What are some examples of in-situ strategies?
Protected sites or reserves
Environmental management
Restoration
Recovery of threatened species
Legal protection
Local community involvement
Wardens
Removal of invasive species
What are ex-situ strategies?
Conservation that takes place outside of the animal’s natural habitat
What are some examples of ex-situ strategies?
Zoos and collections (breeding)
Aquariums
Botanical gardens
Gene banks
Colony relocation
Research
Education
What is the importance of in-situ conservation strategies?
Conserves the species and habitat
Preserves the complete ecosystem
Assists the ecosystem
Conserves large populations of a species
Conserves multiple species at the same time
Less obtrusive way of conserving resources
Species have the ability to adapt to their habitat
Low-cost strategy
What is the importance of ex-situ conservation strategies?
Protection from predation and poaching
Easy to monitor the health of organisms
Illness and injuries are treated swiftly
Selective breeding decreases the chance of inbreeding
Allows humans to intervene in an organism’s reproductive process
Can use artificial reproductive strategies
Animals can be saved in the event of a natural disaster
Endangered animals can be bred to increase their population
Research to understand an animal and plant species
Researchers (ethologists) can observe animal species more carefully
What are some examples of ex-situ methods of conservation?
Cryopreservation
Seed banking
Field gene banking
Cultivation collections
Inter situ
Tissue culture (storage and propagation)
Define the term ‘cryopreservation’.
The storing of seeds, pollen, tissue or embryos in liquid nitrogen
In comparison to all other methods of ex-situ conservation this method allows for almost endless storage of material without deterioration over a far longer period
Define the term ‘seed banking’.
Seeds are kept in a temperature and humidity controlled environment
For taxa with orthodox seeds that tolerate desiccation, this approach is applied
Seed banks have a variety of storage options ranging from sealed boxes to climate controlled walk-in freezers or vaults
Define the term ‘field gene banking’.
A large scale open air planting is used to preserve the genetic variety of wild, agricultural or forestry plants
Field gene banks typically conserve species that are difficult or impossible to conserve in seed banks
Other ex-situ procedures can also be employed to cultivate and select progeny of species maintained in field gene banks
Define the term ‘cultivation collections’.
Plants in a horticulturally cared-for setting, such as a botanic garden or arboreta
Plants are kept in the natural environment, comparable to a field gene bank, but the collections are often not as genetically diverse or vast
Define the term ‘inter situ’.
Plants are cared for by horticulturists but the setting is kept as close to natural as possible
This can happen in restored or in semi-natural settings
This method is most commonly utilized for uncommon taxa or in places where habitat has been substantially damaged
Define the term ‘tissue culture’.
In vitro storage of somatic tissue is possible for brief periods
Carried out in a light and temperature-controlled environment that controls cell development
Tissue culture is most commonly utilized for clonal growth of vegetative tissue or immature seeds as an ex-situ conservation strategy
