Lecture 11: Ex-situ Conservation And Zoo Biology

Question 1

What is ex-situ conservation?

Answer 1

In-situ conservation - conservation on site (in the wild).

Ex-situ conservation - conservation off-site (in captivity).

Question 2

Ex-situ conservation facilities: Gene banks & seeds banks

Answer 2

Gene banks - cells & gametes (for fertilisation & in-vitro fertilisation)

Question 3

Ex-situ conservation facilities: Zoos, safari parks & aquaria

Answer 3

Animals housed in human built enclosures & displayed to public.

History of zoos:
- in 5th to 18th century, royal menageries, animals gifted to kings/queens for symbols of wealth & power.
- 18th to 20th centuries, traveling menageries, public entertainment / exhibition usually in small cages
- 20th century, seeing them as living museums, educational as well as entertaining, species management & conservation, improved enclosures
- 21st century, conservation centres, education, display ecosystems as well as just a species e.g. zones for species from a certain area of world, sometimes in same enclosures if possible otherwise just close to each other. With a focus on species that need conserving.

Question 4

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 4

• 1000s of zoos/safari parks/aquaria/game reserves/rescue centres/sanctuaries around world.
• only small fraction accredited by organisations that govern & oversee regulations for care of wild animals in captivity

Question 5

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 5

In UK: Zoo Licensing Act 1981:
- All zoos need licenses (classified as a zoo if has collections of non-domestic animals open to public for 7 + days a year).
- regular formal & informal inspections
- certain conservation requirements e.g. animals kept in environment suitable for their species, stop pests & vermin getting in zoo, keep records of zoos collection, help educate people about biodiversity, stop animals escaping, conservation research or training, sharing conservation info, breeding wild animals in captivity, involved in reintroductions or repopulations.
(This is kind of minimum level)

Question 6

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 6

BIAZA (British & Irish Association of Zoo’s & Aquariums) - Professional body (higher level)

• Over 100 members (almost all zoos in UK members of)
• zoos must undertake significant work in fields of: animal welfare, conservation, education, research.
• Folly farm is a full member.
• Plantasia is provisional member (working towards full).

Question 7

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 7

BIAZA is part of a global network, endorsed by IUCN, they provide resources to their members:
- specialist advice
- husbandry resources
- focus groups
- conferences
- communicate with government e.g. on welfare regulations, bird flu, Brexit, Covid support for Zoo’s etc

Question 8

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 8

EAZA (European Association of Zoo’s and Aquaria)
- over 340 members in 41 countries
- also have requirements
- focused campaigns every 1-2 years
- runs European Endangered Species Programmes
- hold European studbooks (like a pedigree of animals to work out parents used to avoid inbreeding)
- nutrition group
- databases & training courses

Question 9

Zoos, safari parks & aquaria - regulations

Answer 9

WAZA (World Association of Zoo’s and Aquariums)
- over 400 members worldwide (inc BIAZA & EAZA)
- keep international studbooks for endangered species
- produced World Conservation Strategy
- communication & voice

Question 10

What do zoos do: Education

Answer 10

• Data by WAZA found 700 million people attend zoos per year so lots of potential
• different demographics (different people, e.g. for conservation or entertainment)
• Signs & info (not everyone reads it)
• Visitor talks
• Direct contact with animals (need risk assessments for humans, animals & welfare).

Question 11

What do zoos do: Education

Answer 11

How effective is public education?

• what is aim? Facts about animals? Attitudes & behaviour? Conservation engagement?
• mixed evidence, future research needed.
• need to display animals in authentic environments.

Question 12

What do zoos do: Education

Answer 12

Formal courses & taught opportunities for:
- school children
- higher & further education
- local and international courses for conservationists (training opportunities)
- phD (research)
- MRes (masters level)(research)

Question 13

What do zoos do: Research

Answer 13

• behaviour
• welfare
• husbandry
• endocrinology (hormones e.g. stress , reproductive)
• captive breeding improvements
• conservation genetics (preserving gene pool)
• veterinary

Question 14

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 14

Captive breeding - maintaining reproducing populations of plants & animals in artificial environments.

E.g. Père David’s deer, extinct in wild in 1900, 11th Duke of Bedford formed herd at Woburn Abbey, only ~3 founders contributed genes (so all descended from these 3 individuals), now ~5000 individuals, reintroduced population - mostly in fenced parks in China, ~600 unfenced (escaped).

Question 15

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 15

• currently 80 species listed ‘extinct in the wild’ by IUCN. E.g. Panamanian golden frog, Guam Kingfisher. (Only alive as held in zoos & aquaria, some in private collections)

Question 16

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 16

• Captive breeding can be challenging.
• Knowledge of species ecology & biology required.
• Ideally parents conceive naturally & rear offspring.
• Sometimes other techniques required:
  1. Hand rearing & cross-fostering - when parents reject offspring, reared by keepers, useful when parenting problems. & e.g. double clutching in birds (bird species that endangered and want to maximise reproductive output, take eggs and rear them through cross fosterer or by hand then they lay more and rear them themselves), increase reproductive output.
  2. Artificial insemination & In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) - add sperm to female when she ready to conceive rather than mating, for species that loose interest in mating in captivity, can transport sperm to maintain genetic diversity, rather than transporting the species itself so less stressful for animal. & IVF = embryo transferred to uterus, beneficial if few females of a species left can use a surrogate mother.

Question 17

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 17

Issues:
Genetic issues: low genetic diversity & inbreeding occurring which associated with small population sizes. Vs outbreeding depression (individuals distantly related may be adapted to different conditions so if they breed, the offspring might not be adapted to either set of parental conditions) & hybridisation, e.g. Bornean and Sumatran orangutan hybrids don’t live as long, can be difficult to identify and doesn’t always cause problems.

Solutions:
1. Keep records: Most zoos signed up to Species 360 & ZIMS - database with info on each individual. (Follows the individual if move to a different zoo), records on health, place of birth, parents). Used for population management.
2. Studbooks - record pedigrees / parentage. Avoid inbreeding.
3. Genotyping can be conducted to find suitable breeding pairs.

Question 18

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 18

Issues:
Adaptation to captive environment - can be physiological or behavioural. Natural selection happens in all environments (including captivity). When released as part of reintroduction program do badly. E.g. large white butterflies become heavier with smaller wings (in captivity didn’t need to fly as far). E.g. oldfield mice become less responsive to predators. E.g. captive golden lion tamarins have poor foraging skills (bred for reintroduction).

Solutions (if genetic):
- minimise number of generations in captivity.
- use sperm etc from wild populations (can freeze gametes - gene banks)
Solutions (if developmental):
- environmental enrichment / naturalistic rearing conditions (complex environments and potential predator cues)
- behavioural training (from humans (by a puppet so doesn’t imprint on humans) or wild -caught individuals)
- pre-release testing - only release those most likely to survive

Question 19

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 19

Issues:
High costs of ex-situ conservation
- for large mammals (e.g. elephants, rhinos) up to 50 times more expensive than in-situ conservation of same population size. (Need big enclosures, health & safety, food).
- more cost effective for smaller animals & many plants.
- large animals in zoos can generate revenue.

Question 20

What do zoos do: Ex-situ conservation

Answer 20

Reintroductions - re-establish a population into original habit / range where species no longer occurs.
Reinforcements - (species hasn’t gone extinct in area used to live in, but popualtion is low and want to increase size or genetic diversity) augmentation of an endangered population.

• success rates are low e.g. ~25% for fish in USA
• e.g. red kite reintroduced to UK was successful.
• e.g. great bustard reintroduced to Salisbury planes after being extinct, some success.
• can be increased by ’soft release’ - providing care (e.g. food) during acclimatisation & under harsh conditions . And behavioural training & enrichment (e.g. what foods to eat).

Question 21

How well do zoos target endangered species?

Answer 21

• ~25% mammals that endangered are kept in zoos.
• ~ 41% threatened plants held in ex-situ collections
• more critically endangered plants kept than vulnerable

Question 22

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 22

• can use behaviour (& other things) to measure welfare.
• difficult to establish what normal behaviour is, e.g. what is ‘bored’ vs resting?
• dangers from anthropomorphising (attribute human characteristics / behaviours to animals)
• interpret body language can be difficult

Question 23

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 23

Ethograms:
- compare captive to wild but
- wild data not available for many species
- behaviour in wild can vary within and between populations
- not all differences indicate poor welfare in captivity (e.g. absence of anti-predator behaviour)

• Can compare different rearing conditions
• can get idea of behaviour based on ecology & natural history

Question 24

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 24

Indications of problems:

1. Stereotyping
   - repetitive behaviour with no goal
   - e.g. pacing, rocking, gnawing/lciking
   - self- mutilation
2. Aggression, infanticide & cannibalism
   - common in social species where naturally individuals would migrate away
3. Some species not well suited to captivity
   - animals with large home range sizes more prone to stereotyping & have high infant mortality rates e.g. polar bears and lions

Question 25

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 25

Solutions:
1. environmental enrichment
- feeding (e.g. puzzles)
- sensory
- environmental complexity

These substantially reduces stereotyping, can reduce aggression, promote fitness but may lose novelty overtime so need to change them

Question 26

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 26

Training:
- for shows & education
- for veterinary care
- for husbandry (e.g. for relocation)

Can be enriching
Educational value varies

Question 27

Zoo animal behaviour, enrichment & training

Answer 27

Visitor & keeper behaviour impacts on animal behaviour
- feeding by visitors - can induce excessive begging behaviour
- imitation of calls or behaviours can cause stress
- many species don’t like eye contact

But other animals may find it enriching

Solutions:
- need to think about viewpoints into enclosures - screening & positioning
- out of sight areas
- keepers consider how animals communicate (e.g. using chimpanzee gestures increased positive behaviours)

Question 28

Best used in combination with in-situ conservation

Answer 28

In situ conservation - sanctuaries, parks, protected areas, reserves. - protect and manage viable populations in natural environments.
Use ex-situ conservation to complement that. E.g. collecting some individuals from wild and use captive breeding to maintain them in captivity.