Ex situ conservation is comprised of the oldest and best known conservation method known to human, it also involves newer, sometimes controversial laboratory methods.
Ex situ conservation has certain limitations for conservation of animals. These include adaptation problems, loss of genetic variability due to inbreeding and concentration in small place, surplus animal and continuity in funds. Research on captive populations can provide insight into basic biology of the species and suggest new conservation strategies.
However, much more needs to be done to protect global resources (flora and fauna) needed and productive animals and plant that are used for food, material, economic and aesthetic needs of the society.
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Botanical Garden
Together , the world’s 1500 botanic gardens arboreta amd national plant collection maintains the largest array of plant diversity outside of nature and they have major if often overlooked potential as resources centers for conservation, education and development. If the infrastructure and technical facilities of most of these institutions can be strengthened , they can. Conserve ex situ stocks of most of the world’s endangered plant species . Already individual of an estimated 12,00 to 15,000 threatened species are being cultivated in botanic gardens and arboreta.
Zoological parks
The basic philosophy behind the creation of zoological parks in modern time is to create an understanding of the environment and ecological balance of life , meaning strengthening the bond between people and the living earth. These zoological parks are no mere picnic spots. They are now centers for ex situ wildlife conservation and environmental education.
The history of modern zoos has started some 200 years ago with the creation of the first public zoo. Since then every part of world has developed their own zoological parks with great diversity such as aquaria, bird parks , private zoos and safari parks . the world zoo continue to help the conservation of wildlife . there are several species of wildlife which would have been extinct today for efforts by zoos and animals reserves.
Ex situ Conservation of Wild animals in zoo
Some important technique used in ex situ conservation are dealt here.
i) Captive breeding
Captive breeding is one of the important strategies used by both Government and non government organisation. Captive breeding programmes of threatened species have become familiar programmes that strive to preserve biodiversity and species survival plans such as Cheetah.
ii) Embryo Storage and Transfer technology
Technique for embryo transfer and artificial insemination which have been developed for laboratory animal and farm animals a potentially very useful for improving the reproductive potential of captive population of endangered species.These kinds of techniques has been worked out mainly for mammals.
iii) Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination is another technology that may be useful sperm can be frozen and used later or transferred to another breeding facility to increase Genetic diversity. Sometimes the sperm can be added to the eggs in a dish and fertilization will occur in other cases (for example horses) the sperm has to be injected into the egg.
A few years ago the black footed ferret was down to 6 individual but artificial insemination has now been used to produce 16 kittens.Elephants and Cheetahs has conceived and the Cheetah cub has been born following artificial insemination. Elephants have not been naturally in captivity so this method may be useful simply to make captive breeding possible.
iv) Somatic Cell Cloning
Somatic cell cloning holds some promise for propagating from one or few survivors of an almost extinct species. this was first on with domestic sheep at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh( from the University of Virginia) but has since been done with another mammals. it has already been used to rescue a rare breed of cattle that had been reduced to a single old female (“lady”) and some frozen sperm.
Granulosa cells (somatic cells in ovary) from lady were fused with enucleated eggs (lacking DNA) from a different breed, and the resulting eggs were implanted into an Angus cow (a common breed). The first calf born from these is genetically identical to Lady, as expected , although her marking were slightly different.
v) Fostering
Many egg laying animals that is birds and reptiles are capable of producing many more than they can rear. this raises the possibility of collecting the eggs and hatching and rearing the animals in captivity with a Foster parent then using them to supplement their white population.
It has worked extremely well with some birds particularly the peregrine falcons ‚which is now doing so well that the fostering programme is being phased out. rearing of whooping cranes has also been successfully and the species recovered from a population of 21 birds in 1941 to over 300 in 1996.
vi) Translocation
Sometimes conservation of forest species and valves on necessity is in translocation of animals. this means the movement of individual from its natural habitat of from captivity to another Habitat. translocation are carried out in connection with introduction Or reintroductions and should be handled with extreme caution.
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vii) Introduction
This involves the translocation of a species (from its Natural Habitat or from captivity) into an area of outside its historical distribution. such species would then became an exotic to the area they should be handled with extreme care and needs extensive study of the habitat and the behaviour and social organisation of the species to be introduced has to be done to ensure that the species has a good chance of adapting to the habitat.
viii) Reintroduction
This involves the translocation of a species (from its natural habitat of from captivity) into an area with then his historical distribution either to use existing population or to establish new population when the original population has died out this to should be handled with extreme care and needs extensive studies of Habitat and the behaviour and social organisation of the species to be reintroduced.
ix) Seed Bank
The preservation of plant germplasm in seed banks (or gene banks) is one of the techniques of ex situ conservation of plant species have a natural dormancy feature which allows for the suspended preservation for long period of time with little damage provided the condition are favourable. Banking dormant seeds enables to keep genetically representative samples of rare and endangered plant species as a kind of genetic insurance.
x) Seed Storing
Storing germplasm in seeds bank is both inexpensive and space efficient. it allows preservation of large population with little genetic erosion. seed banks also offer a good source of plant material for biological Research and avoid disturbance or damage of National Population.
xi) Tissue Culture
Plant tissue culture is an essential component of plant biotechnology.The possibility to regenerate whole plant from protoplasts, single cells, tissues and organs in vitro has opened out entirely new approaches to plant improvement and has considerable in hands efficiency of the conventional method of plant breeding and plant propagation.
