Planning the integration of ex situ plant conservation in Tasmania

Tasmania has a strong record of successful in situ plant conservation but there will always be a role for the integration of various ex situ measures into a plant conservation program due to pressure by threatening processes on wild populations. This paper replaces a 15 year old strategy for ex situ conservation in Tasmania. Progress in ex situ measures for Tasmanian plants is described and broadly evaluated against the previous strategy. Rare and threatened species are considered to be a high priority group for resources if intensive management is required. Endemic species likely to be adversely impacted by climate change would be a high priority for ex situ conservation. Seed banking to capture as much genetic variation in these species is suggested. Eight ex situ methods are briefly described and their application in Tasmanian instances noted. The Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre established at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is a central part of Tasmanian ex situ conservation efforts for ex situ conservation programs. An ongoing role for this facility is considered fundamental

Konservasi Ex Situ Cendana (Santalum Album L.): Aplikasi Dan Tantangannya

Managing genetic resources of cendana/sandalwood (Santalum album L)requires an understanding of the biological dynamics of its population in which they exist. There are two strategies of conservation i.e. maintaining existing protected areas (in situ) and ex situ collections of various types.Ex situ methods include gene banks: clonal bank and breeding population. The two methods (in situ and ex situ) are complementary. Preservation of genetic resources in gene bank is essential for users of germplasm who need ready access.Ex situ conservation plantations are expensive to establish and maintain, and their use will thus be generally confined to species/ provenances of proven socio-economic value. This paper discussing collection of genetic resources of several population and establishment/ management of ex-situ conservation plantations

Living collections of botanic gardens as a means of ex situ conservation : a case study of African Violets (Saintpaulia) in Europe

In all plant conservation, the priority is to maintain wild populations in situ (on site), which means that plants are conserved within their natural environment. Sometimes, as in the case of severely endangered Saintpaulia H. Wendl. (African violets), this is however, no sufficient. In that case, ex situ (off site) conservation in the form of live and in vitro collections and seed banks is necessary. In recent years, the role of botanic gardens in conservation and reintroduction of threatened plants, has been increasingly recognized. Botanic gardens throughout the world possess large living collections of species and accessions, but only vague assumptions of the utility of them in ex situ conservation have been made thus far. Whole plants, when kept ex situ, have advantages in education, research and display. On the other hand, living collections have the disadvantage of high maintenance costs, including high spatial requirements. Thus, usually only one or few genotypes are represented. The goal of this study is to evaluate botanic garden live collections as a means of ex situ conservation with the genus Saintpaulia as a case study. As a result, an ex situ conservation plan for Saintpaulia is outlined. Workability of a network ex situ conservation activity in botanic gardens is also evaluated. Four of the five most important European Saintpaulia holders were chosen as target botanic gardens: Helsinki University Botanic Garden (Finland), The National Botanic Garden of Belgium, The Botanic Garden of Uppsala University (Sweden) and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (UK). The wild Saintpaulia collections of the gardens were reviewed and the identifications checked. Botanic garden databases were examined to trace clone accessions. Leaf cuttings from wild-collected accessions were planted in Helsinki University Botanic Garden. Of the total 183 Saintpaulia accessions of the four target gardens 155 (85 %) were unique, and 126 of these were of known wild origin. They were chosen to ex situ conservation collection. Due to the varying quality of the data of origin of the accessions, five classes for the different quality of origin data were developed. European botanic garden living collections of Saintpaulia proved to be a workable base of ex situ conservation for the genus. The amount of space needed to conserve the ideal of at least 50 unique accessions of each of the 26 Saintpaulia taxa is best possible to organize with the network ex situ conservation programme: each accession will be stored in at least two botanic gardens, but no garden will have all the accessions. Saintpaulia is an ideal genus for living ex situ collections: it is beautiful and well-known, small-sized and easy to grow and propagate. New ex situ accessions will be collected from the wild and finally reintroduced to their natural habitats. Further research needs to be carried out to find out the proper seed banking mechanisms for probably orthodox but dust-like seeds of Saintpaulia species. The lack of research on the basic biology and the population ecology of the genus hampers effective conservation work. Collaboration with amenity horticulture and the home countries of Saintpaulia is planned to utilize the genetic diversity of wild African violets in breeding new cultivars

Organization and Management of Conservation Programs and Research in Domestic Animal Genetic Resources

Creating national committees for domestic animal genetic resources within genetic resource national commissions is recommended to organize in situ and ex situ conservation initiatives. In situ conservation is a high priority because it retains traditional zootechnical contexts and locations to ensure the long-term survival of breeds. In situ actions can be based on subsidies, technical support, structure creation, or trademark definition. Provisional or permanent relocation of breeds may prevent immediate extinction when catastrophes, epizootics, or social conflicts compromise in situ conservation. Ex situ in vivo (animal preservation in rescue or quarantine centers) and in vitro methods (germplasm, tissues/cells, DNA/genes storage) are also potential options. Alert systems must detect emergencies and summon the national committee to implement appropriate procedures. Ex situ coordinated centers must be prepared to permanently or provisionally receive extremely endangered collections. National germplasm banks must maintain sufficient samples of national breeds (duplicated) in their collections to restore extinct populations at levels that guarantee the survival of biodiversity. A conservation management survey, describing national and international governmental and non-governmental structures, was developed. Conservation research initiatives for international domestic animal genetic resources from consortia centralize the efforts of studies on molecular, genomic or geo-evolutionary breed characterization, breed distinction, and functional gene identification. Several consortia also consider ex situ conservation relying on socioeconomic or cultural aspects. The CONBIAND network (Conservation for the Biodiversity of Local Domestic Animals for Sustainable Rural Development) exemplifies conservation efficiency maximization in a low-funding setting, integrating several Latin American consortia with international cooperation where limited human, material, and economic resources are available

Conservation of the Lion: Preventing an Africa without the African Lion

The African lion (Panthera leo) population is diminishing rapidly, approximately 43 percent since 1993. The species is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). With numerous threats to current populations including human conflict, prey depletion, and habitat loss, the African lion is in danger of becoming endangered, or even critically endangered, in the near future. Ex-situ conservation is a proposed method of restoring populations. My research at the African Lion and Environmental Research Trust (ALERT) in Zambia focused on correlations of boldness with natural behaviors and sociality to help further understand individual personality in hopes of connecting it with success after reintroduction. Six audio playbacks were used to assess boldness personality traits of the twelve individuals of the Dambwa pride in Livingstone, Zambia. Social interactions and daily activity budgets were also recorded. Spearman’s correlations were conducted in order to examine correlations between boldness, sociality, and average daily activity. I observed some correlations between social behavior and boldness, and noticed that the Dambwa pride behaved similarly to a wild lion pride. These results provide encouraging evidence for the use of ex-situ conservation with the African lion

Conservation of threatened relict trees through living ex situ collections: lessons from the global survey of the genus Zelkova (Ulmaceae)

Maintaining living ex situ collections is one of the key conservation methods in botanic gardens worldwide. Despite of the existence of many other conservation approaches used nowadays, it offers for many endangered plants an important insurance policy for the future, especially for rare and threatened relict trees. The aim of this research was to investigate the global extent of living ex situ collections, to assess and discuss their viability and inform the development of conservation approaches that respond to latest global conservation challenges. We used as a model taxon the tree genus Zelkova (Ulmaceae). The genus includes six prominent Tertiary relict trees which survived the last glaciation in disjunct and isolated refugial regions. Our comprehensive worldwide survey shows that the majority of botanic institutions with Zelkova collections are in countries with a strong horticultural tradition and not in locations of their origin. More importantly, the acutely threatened Zelkova species are not the most represented in collections, and thus safeguarded through ex situ conservation. Less than 20% of the ex situ collections surveyed contain plant material of known wild provenance while the majority (90%) of collections are generally very small (1-10 trees). Botanic gardens and arboreta particularly in regions where iconic relict trees naturally occur should play a vital role in the conservation of these species. The coordination of conservation efforts between gardens has to be enhanced to prioritise action for the most threatened relict trees. Large scale genetic studies should be undertaken, ideally at genus level, in order to verify or clarify the provenance of ex situ collections of relict trees in cultivation. For the most threatened relict tree genera, well-coordinated specialist groups should be create

Estrategias de conservación para Cotoneaster granatensis (Rosaceae), especie catalogada En Peligro de Extinción en la Comunitat Valenciana (España)

Cotoneaster granatensis (Rosaceae) is an endangered species in the Valencian Community with two natural populations known and 37 wild plants located in Alicante province. The strategy applied for conservation of this species comprises three steps in a cyclical method: in situ (first step) - ex situ - in situ (second step). Current conservation status for this species has been evaluated as a part of the first step in situ actions. Ex situ conservation activities consisted of germplasm conservation on seed banks, creation and maintenance of collections of livings plants and production of new plants in order to develop reintroductions (in situ actions: second step) in natural populations. The seed germination is a complex issue, but an effective protocol has been established reaching values over 60% of germination. The plant propagation by cuttings has not been successful. In situ actions such as reducing the threat of herbivory has been also essential to enhance natural populations. The initial results on plantations in the natural habitat show high survival rates of specimens

Schutz und Erhalt pflanzengenetischer Vielfalt : In situ- und Ex situ-Maßnahmen

Die ökologische, ökonomische und kulturelle Bedeutung von Wildpflanzenarten und deren Potential an genetischen Ressourcen werden immer offensichtlicher. Aber unsere Biosphäre verändert sich zunehmend drastischer, wodurch die natürliche Artenvielfalt stark bedroht ist. Die „Convention on Biological Diversity“ (CBD) hat sich ein Aufhalten des Biodiversitätsverlustes zum Ziel gesetzt. In situ- Maßnahmen wird dabei eine hohe Priorität zugesprochen, aber Ex situ-Maßnahmen werden immer dringender und dies insbesondere hinsichtlich des Erhalts genetischer Variabilität auf Populationsebene. Botanische Gärten sind durch ihre traditionell großen Sammlungen und Ausstellungen als Standardinstitutionen für eine Ex situ-Erhaltung prädestiniert. Aber der Wert und die Bedeutung dieser Sammlungen für den Erhalt der natürlichen genetischen Variabilität bleibt de facto beschränkt. Wir plädieren daher mit Nachdruck für Saatgutgenbanken für Wildpflanzen. Diese Vorgehensweise wird in mehreren Ländern bereits herangezogen - in Deutschland aber nicht. Saatgutgenbanken sind die einfachste und preisgünstigste Ex situ-Strategie zum Erhalt der pflanzengenetischen Vielfalt. Saatgutgenbanken für Wildpflanzen haben das Ziel, natürliche pflanzengenetische Ressourcen zu schützen und zu erhalten. In Kombination mit In situ-Maßnahmen haben sie große Bedeutung für den Naturschutz, z.B. im Rahmen von Wiederbesiedlungsmaßnahmen.The world is facing a dramatic change of the biosphere. Habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and biological invasions are regarded as greatest threat for biodiversity. To stop the current loss of biodiversity is a matter of worldwide concern, and is the goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992). Priority is given to in situ measures against species decline, however should be supported by ex situ conservation, and in the light of the ever increasing loss of biodiversity, ex situ measures are becoming more and more urgent, especially when protecting genetic variation at the population level. There is growing awareness of the ecological, economic and cultural significance of wild plant species and their potential as genetic resources. Botanic gardens are the standard institutions for ex situ conservation. With their huge collections on display botanical gardens are the most effective multipliers for increasing public awareness of the value of biodiversity and conservation needs. However, there are limitations which reduce the value of the collections of the botanical gardens for conservation of genetic variability. We therefore strongly argue for seed gene banks of wild plants, a strategy which has been already adopted in several countries but not in Germany. Seed gene banks are the easiest and least expensive way for preserving plant genetic variability. The aim of seed gene banks for indigenous wild plants are protection and conservation of natural plant genetic resources and promoting integrated ex situ and in situ conservation efforts e.g. for reintroduction strategies