Transcript Insitu_and_ex_situ_conservation

Conservation in situ and ex situ
Learning objectives
 Describe the conservation of endangered
plant and animal species, both in situ and ex
situ, with reference to the advantages and
disadvantages of these two approaches.
 Discuss the role of botanic gardens in the ex
situ conservation of rare plant species, or
plant species extinct in the wild, with
reference to seed banks.
In situ conservation is the
conservation of species in their
natural environment. It attempts to
minimise human impact on and
protect the natural environment
Ex situ conservation is the
preservation of species in captive
surroundings i.e. zoos and wildlife
parks.
In situ conservation
Legislation has been introduced to
help in situ conservation but is hard
to enforce
Development of conservation areas
such as national parks and nature
reserves has helped to overcome this
Designating a Park area
Comprehensiveness
 How many spp are there, what is the
environment like?
Adequacy
 Is it large enough to ensure long term survival?
Representativeness
 Is there a full range of diversity within species
and environmental conditions?
Benefits of in situ conservation
The Benefits
 Plants and animals conserved in their
natural environment
 Protects biodiversity and ecosystems
 Protects cultural and natural heritage
 Opportunity for sustainable land use and
economic benefit
 Supports scientific research
One great advantage of this is
that by preserving an animal
or plant in its natural
environment then you also
have to preserve the habitat
and all the other species
present.
For example, efforts to conserve the tiger in
India involve the protection of thousand of
acres of forest.
Conflicts may arise if reserves are not
set up with consideration of indigenous
people.
 Animals leave protected areas and
cause damage to crops elsewhere
 Animals illegally hunted or
products illegally harvested
 Impact of tourists on the
park –litter/food
Protected designations in
the UK
 National Park (14 in the UK)
 National Nature Reserve (NNR) around
215 in England
 Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI) Sometimes referred to as
‘triple s i’s’ the Chiltern Hills come
under this designation wildlife and
geological sites
 Local Nature Reserve (LNR)
Repopulation
 Where biodiversity has been lost
wildlife habitats can be recreated
 E.g. regeneration of new reed beds
for repopulating otters or clearing of
conifers to allow meadowland to reestablish
Ex situ conservation of animals
 Breeding programmes for endangered
species in captivity initiated
 Animals are protected and healthy
BUT
 Not in natural environment
 Limited gene pool and space
 restricted diversity and reduced variation
 Need to be reintroduced to the wild
Techniques to aid ex situ
conservation of animals
 Sperm freezing/ a.i./ ivf/ MOET
 Advanced research techniques
and closely related domestic spp
 E.g. European reindeer
and mink and arctic
fox
Techniques to aid ex situ
conservation of plants
 Seed banks store viable seeds in
a dry or frozen state
 They are regularly tested for
germination in lab conditions
 Many botanical gardens are
involved in conservation
programmes
Why conserving plants is
easier
 Seeds are dormant, small and
produced in large quantities
 Easy to store and provide
samples for research
 Easy to reintroduce to the wild
Problems with conserving
plants
 Seeds may become unviable
 They may not represent genetic
diversity
 Asexually reproduced plants are
clones
 Disruption of habitat when seeds
are collected