Ex-situ conservation of species: Zoos & Botanic gardens

• What are in-situ and ex-situ conservation?

• What are the aims of ex-situ conservation of flora and fauna?

• Contemporary debates on ex-situ conservation

aims of ex-situ conservation, removing animals from their natural habitat 

wild water monitor lizard harvest- we don't associate it as something you sell alongside mangos but it shows how culturally different our relationship is with different wildlife products 

 Ex-situ conservation: the removal of animals from their natural habitat into captivity for their long-term conservation, such as to to breed for reintroduction or to maintain a genetic stock.

ex-situ - exit site
aims of ex-situ and design considerations then some debates around ex-situ conservation 

In-situ conservation: the actions taken to preserve a species in its natural habitat.

in-situ in the wild 

• Botanic gardens

• Seed banks (domestic plant varieties & wild plants)

• Preservation of plant tissue (cryopreserved)

cryopreservation of tissue to protect genetic stock in human collections

• Kew Botanic Gardens, London

• Store seeds of all UK’s native plant species (2009)

• Store seed of 25% of the world’s plants (2020)
– Priority-setting: focus on species vulnerable to climate change

Target is now 25% of world's flora what's interesting is that they are not doing all of i it (prioritise e.g. alpine, island, dryland), arid locations, endemic species, economically-important, endangered) can't protect all seeds, need to collect them, need experts - hard to identify in the wild- need taxonomic knowledge to collect right plants work with locals- priorities those most vulnerable to climate change

genetically Representative seed banks of all the species - have to set priorities for seed banks- need space - money  protect these species- work with locals. - 

originally protected UK native plant species- 2009 met target genetically representative seed species
 

 • Zoos • Aquariums • Wildlife parks - also includes other types of human managed collections 

zoos were originally solely entertainment based- as societal priorities have shifted- the role of zoos has shifted to one that is interested in being an Ark collecting one of everything- contemporary use of zoos as conservation centres- will be evaluating this, to what extent are zoos cultivation centres

Solely entertainment -> systematic collections -> "Arks" of diversity

Conservation centres
• Ex situ conservation
• Education
• Research
• Recreation
• Associations with standards & monitoring

Globally, regionally nationally- set different standards- set an industry bar for how these should be run 

 “We… actively raise awareness about the conservaiton of threatened species and currently support 9 conservation organisations. By visiting the zoo today you have already helped in conserving threatened species, as your admission fee assists in caring for the animals involved in our captive breeding programmes.”

ex-situ using its revenues to support in-situ conservation - protecting genetic stock 

Support: Gorilla Organization, Orangutan Foundation, Biodiversity and Elephant Conservaiton Trust, 21st Centruy Tiger, World Parrot Trust, World Land Trust, CBD Habitat Foundation (monk seal), San Martin Titi Monkey

• Captive collections of 5 critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita

Parque Reineunidos, owner of 61 zoos, attraction parks, water parks, etc. on 3 continents (purchased 2007)

• >1,500 animals

education some inaccuracies  in the IUCN data needs to be updated

how are other people interacting? fun day out? see young children with giraffe balloons and pens 

ethical ramification - saw an advaark pacing around not natural behaviour and an orangutan sat in the same spot for several minutes- not moving by the window when I walked away to another window it got up and went to that window- different to natural behaviour- socially conditioned used to humans.

zoo license- experts make sure zoo is fit to purpose
every 3 years mini inspections, every 6 full-blown inspections

BIAZA- conferences British and Irish association of zoos and acquariums 
roles of modern zoo: recreation, education, research, new elephant ends zone- 2 million- did research to raise standards  so ex-situ is more like their natural environment- can other zoos do this? do other zoos have these facilities? 

Blackpool zoo brought in over 65,000 schools in 2016

EEP critically endagered- european endangered species programme 

red-fronted lemur 

Ex-situ breeding of species for personal, rather than commercial or conservation objectives

• Potential reservoirs of rare species

• Not a part of mainstream conservation efforts

often they are eccentric people who like to own rare species, often puts threat on natural populations- sometimes these private individuals hold some of the reamining genetic stock when these species become extinct in the wild.

another source of ex-situ genetic stock that is important but often overlooked 

• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered, possibly Extinct in the Wild

• 1987: 19 known captive in zoos, 1 wild (Brazil) one individual in the world in its natural range

• Early 2000’s: Two large private collections purchased by conservation groups

• 2015: 110 captive birds and plans for breeding and reintroduction

another concenr was inbreedin not a lot of diversity there- there was one eccentric Swiss man who had a collectio of Spix Macaw later this was purchased from him now they have 110 captvie birds.

Ex-situ breeding of species for commercial, rather than conservation objectives

• Potential reservoirs of rare species

• Not a part of mainstream conservation efforts

animals that are being bred for commerce- not conservation e.g. foxes for fur, salmon - have a whole diff range of reptiles for leather and meat

• Native to SE Asia

• IUCN Red List: Critically endangered

• Extinct in the wild across most of its range, except in Cambodia

• >1 million in captivity for leather industry

• In 2010, 799 farms in Thailand alone

• Hybridisation   • Artificial selection

only place where this crocodile remains in the wild- Cambodia  extripiated Thailand 
over a million being bred- leather industry- these individuals being grown raised and killed- we dont necessarily want all crocodiles to look the same- broad backs- bags and purposes- has been selective breeding of these individuals - hybridisation- other species, have a lot of these Siamese crocodiles which are not entirely representative with ones found in the world government get 1% of their hatchlings manage for captive breeding - reintroduce in the wild. limits maintain certain genetic stock 

IUCN Red List: Critically endangered, probably extinct in the wild

• 1950: 4,000 individuals, not sighted in >25 years declined dramatically not seen before 1970s

• 1986: 40 pure-bred tigers in 17 Chinese zoos, none wild-bread Save

• 2002: Save China’s Tigers South African begin work to rewild tigers

• Breeding (11 cubs) and training “wild” skills in South Africa

• Release sites preliminarily identified

• Many questions about its viability and

entertainment zoos- recreational - entertainment focused rather than conservation focused- 2002 proposal from wealthy individuals permission to transport these tigers to South Africa-- captive breeding - teaching them wild skills - part of strong cultural movement- associated with Chinese status

IUCN Red List: Critically endangered, probably extinct in the wild

• 1950: 4,000 individuals, not sighted in >25 years declined dramatically not seen before 1970s

• 1986: 40 pure-bred tigers in 17 Chinese zoos, none wild-bread Save

• 2002: Save China’s Tigers South African begin work to rewild tigers

• Breeding (11 cubs) and training “wild” skills in South Africa

• Release sites preliminarily identified

• Many questions about its viability and

entertainment zoos- recreational - entertainment focused rather than conservation focused- 2002 proposal from wealthy individuals permission to transport these tigers to South Africa-- captive breeding - teaching them wild skills - part of strong cultural movement- associated with Chinese status- flagship species 

ex-situ FOUR collections zoos, hobbyist, commercial, botanic 

• Insurance against extinction - reservoirs, species we may lose, want a fewconditions we can control

• Reservoirs for reintroduction - use these individuals reintroduce in the wild 

• Stock for breeding new varieties- genetic diversity of species lost - tomato- climate change- stress  if  in a botanic garden we'd know which ones are resistant- commercial opportunities

• Research (animal behaviour) - understand nature a different way 

• Education

• Fundraising for in situ conservation - recruiting money- e.g. blackpool zoo 

• Recreation

tomatoes Italy concerned about climate change - breed more resistant climate change 

Mexico  un-commercialised varieties may have resistence if have in botanic garden we'd knowwhich seeds have resistence 

this is stock for breeding new varieties 

IUCN Red List includes 64 species are designated “extinct in the wild”

one of the controversies is taxonomic bias- how many snails you seee in zoos?

zos do not sample species that are threatene donly get the ones that sell tickets.

Franklin tree
Viviparous tree snail
Pere David’s deer

species extint in the wild- but we only ahve them because we have protected them ex-situ 

Requires

• Control spread of diseases ----  
disease big problem- what happens if this happens to a botanic garden

• Assisted reproductive technology often needed --- the species won't breed much, not necessarily attracted to each other/mating partners - artificial insemination may be needed 

• Release strategy

• E,liminate genetic defects ----- outbreed? too much inbreeding?

• Genetic diversity ----- good genetic diversity?

CARE, G 

• Historically widespread across Europe

• 1927: extinct in the wild
54 individuals in captivity

• 1957: Reintroduction

• Today: Approx. 1800 individuals in wild IUCN vulnerable.

real conservation success story about the use of ex-situ conservation

"The fate of the European Bison provides an example of the way in which a species may be brought to the brink of extinction in a very short time, and then saved only through great efforts. The saving of the bison has been an undoubted success, but further action to protect what remains a creature of relict distribution will continue to be essential" (Krasiński 2005).

Reintroduction of Iberian Lynx

• IUCN Red List: 1986: Endangered
2002: Critically endangered (200 wild individuals)

2015: Endangered- shift reflects captive breeding increase in indviduals 

• 2005: First captive breeding success

• 2009: First reintroduction (more in 2010, 2014)

• 2013: 300+ wild individuals

• 5 centres: 96 captive individuals: 32 founders + 64 born in captivity

 these are small population starting points but under these conditions it is possible to bring these species back- lots of money and scientific species- megadiverse areas like Madagascar- what will the success rate be of implementing these strategies? Europe charasmatic species in Europe a country with a lot of money lots of genetic diversity. 

• >140 million annual visitors to European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA)

• 118,510 school visitors to London Zoo last year

• Education talks

• Informative panels

• Outreach activities

large enterprises , bring in a lot of people, education talks- informative panels - outreach- community 

EAZA Education Commitee 
- oversees the organisation's work and organses the European Zoo Educator's conference where they talk about involving people with conservation
aims promot cognitive thinking and affective emotion - why we should protect animals, how they help us, new developments discussed 

Most zoos also support in-situ conservation

• 3.3 million Euros raised by EAZA campaigns for in-situ conservation

gorilla project, titi monkey project

but how transparent are zoos? would a for-profit zoo give less money than a charity zoo like chester zoo? what percentage of ticket sales aids the fundraising of in-situ conservation?

Most zoos also support in-situ conservation

• 3.3 million Euros raised by EAZA campaigns for in-situ conservation

gorilla project, titi monkey project

but how transparent are zoos? would a for-profit zoo give less money than a charity zoo like chester zoo? what percentage of ticket sales aids the fundraising of in-situ conservation?

• Animal behaviour

• Endocrinology -- understanding animals biodiversity, maybe we dont have interesting species that ppl can access

• Nutrition

• Veterinary science-   shows how animals respond to diseases 

• Environmental education -- how much does someone learn in a zoo? how does learning about biodiversity change your behavior? what interventions do we put in that change peoples' behaviour, zoos and botanic gardens can understand this. 

botanic gardens and zoos are also centres of research, for understanding animal's biology, in a lot of these cases we don't have easy access to animals- expensive hard to access. having captive individuals - especially species of great concern can be strategic to understanding a lot of things. 

• Sampling of wild genetic diversity
• Ability to survive in the wild (for reintroduction)
• Maintenance of healthy genetic stock
• Ethical standards

something more nuanced- how you design an ex-situ collection 

have to sample right genetic stock - can't be willy nilly with selection- need protected ex-situ collection to mean something 

ability to survive is important why invest a grat deal of resources into something that is not likely to survive, cost of resources to make something permanently ex-situ, maybe let animal die with dignitiy? 

Have to design an ex-situ collection ...... by having adequate sampling of genetic stock 

• Requires understanding of the genetic diversity

• Sampling to reflect natural genetic diversity

• 90% diversity = >20 founder stocks (animals)

what is the range- what do you want to avoid or make sure you sample- this area is growing attention- need to understand diversity then sample, take five individuals, ten individuals? Need at least 20 founder stocks (individuals) to get 90% diversity

• Xishuangbanna supports >10% China’s angiosperm flora, <0.2% land area
• To ensure that the total genetic diversity of wild populations is captured by the least number of individuals in the collection

• next generation sequencing technologies to deliver a genotyping

• Questions: • What are the selection criteria for genetically optimized populations (genetic relatedness, rare alleles, structure)?
• How do manage a genetically optimized population?
• For how many generations should the population remain in the living collection?

tiny land area represents 10% china flora- set up a zero extinct project- the problem is what species do we collect and how do we optimise to get great genetic diversity- what selection criteria do we use? genetic relatedness? only want to protect mainstream? once we've got them how many individuals do we collect- how do we manage them, have to breed them- how long can they sit in ex-situ conservation? how long is too long? 

How do you design an ex-situ collection? - requires healthy genetic stock 

Captive breeding can result in:

• Inbreeding

• Loss of genetic diversity

• Accumulation of deleterious mutations/alleles/ genes - especially if had small stock, may be encourging these in our captive breeding strategy 

• Genetic adaptation to captivity rather than wild conditions 

Commercial breeding can result in:

• Selection pressures
• Hybrids - crocodiles just interested in breeding for commercial sector 
how do you maintain them  - 

IUCN Red List: Endangered

• Captive population maintained

we're not managing these populations in the right way can we breed of deleterious alleles -  manage genetic stock to reduce inbreeding. managed to lose some of the deleterious alleles, 

what happens when we manage our stock to stop inbreeding? if you dont have a lot of individuals have to ue some inbred individuals- breed inbred with noninbred to have genetic results that represent healthy individuals who will go on to breed to generate healthy non-inbred offspring

For each species in captivity contains

information on every single individual:

• birth & death

• parents

• location

• transfers

meticulous records who bred with who- id every one - stop inbreeding 

whose going to loan which gorilla to each zoo? who will make a good pair?

ex-situ collections should be designed so animals can survive in the wild(?)  reintroduce them into the wild eventually, don't do this with all species because it is time-consuming but if we do this need to make sure that the species will survive. 

Captive breeding can cause: behavioural changes 

• Loss of hunting ability - whats good to eat bad to eat? jaguar killed spider monkey when it was released in the wild this snack cost thousands of dollars  -  what is it going to eat?

• Predator blindness

• Locomotion deficits

• Loss of natural social behaviour

• Imprinting

• Stereotypic behaviour

• 1941: 21 wild, 2 captive

• 2015: 603 including 161 captive birds

• Alternative methods to enable reintroduction

migratory - instinctual - it's cultural memory can be lost over generations- humans start to dress as them so whooping cranes do not get habituated to humans- get them to follow whooping cranes- over seven generations remember their migratory patterns- need lots of expertise  and an understanding of ecology 

one of only two species of crane in north america and was in bad shape. bred whooping cranes in the wild, genetic diversity, 

• Five Freedoms:

1. Undue fear, stress & distress
2. Pain, injury, disease & parasites
3. Hunger & thirst
4. Discomfort, loneliness & confinement
5. Behave naturally (mating, flying, burrowing)

these individuals in captivity have rights tooooo 

if we're interested in a healthy genetic stock to protect long-term diversity- need to be in comfortable situation where they want to breed- by recognising these rights we help to achieve our own conservation goals.

intrinsic/inherent value if this is accepted as a precondition then we recognise that these individuals have freedoms. 
the right to behave naturally 

The approaches and principles adopted to improve the wellbeing of captive animals

• Food
• Habitat
• Sensory
• Training
• Mental
• Social
• Interactive

affects ability to live long life , mate, have to manage these stocks for conservation if they die prematurely that is inefficient. 

• Adequate habitat -i s this area going to be able to support a species in the future? 50 years?

• Control of previous threat(s) - can't teach monkey to be scared of the right predators- needs to see jaguar and run - likewise with animals when they are in ex-situ not around the natural predaotrs in their natural range. 

• Graduated release strategy 

• Long-term monitoring (behavioural, genetic, population) want to make sure these individuals breed, need to monitor that in part want to show people that their conservation dollars are properly invested 

 if we reintroduce these individuals we want to make sure the threat is gone-  happened with Philippine eagle <- shot by hunter. make sure we address different environmental conditions which led to it going extinct/threatened in the first place 

decide we are going to reintroduce these species into the wild- case of translocation - recognised that the only way these species are going to survive long term-  was if they worked actively with locals to work with them. 

community continually starts to conserve them 

set up community based conservation efforts- tourists- community tourism- social benefit worth more alive than being hunted  - people set up trees so animals can cross the road, don't shoot monkeys as sources of meat and agricultural meat.

it is a conservation success story Community Baboon Sanctuary 
Visitor's Center & Museum 8-5pm 

Taxonomic bias

Are zoos education or entertainment?

Expensive & distracts from in-situ conservation

For-profit conservation

• Many zoo species are not threatened

• Many threatened species overlooked

– Non-charismatic species - people may not want to see them

– Species with demanding husbandry

Sunda pangolin  is nocturnal, makes a rubbish zoo exhibit empty enclosure with a hole, wood eats ants and termites- huge conservation priority but not a lot of zoos protect.

Rainbow lorikeet  - least concern IUCN red list- not conservation priority 

Study of 6,000 visitors to 30 zoos and aquaria globally

• Reported motivations for visiting:

• have a ‘fun day out’ (56.0%)
• ‘see animals’ (53.3%)
• spend ‘family time’ (47.2%)
• Increase from pre-visit (69.8%) to post-visit

(75.1%) in respondents demonstrating some positive evidence of biodiversity understanding

Respondents from Africa and Asia showed significantly smaller changes in understanding isn't this where some of the world's most threatened species are, endemic species?

• <10% increase in awareness showing “Some positive evidence”!

• 4.5% leave saying that supporting zoos supports biodiversity (increase of 1 since going in%)

do zoos fundamentally teach people things? does t change anything? do zoos change anything? 

does visiting zoos show conservation benefits? maybe? 

Reported motivations for visiting:
• have a ‘fun day out’ (56.0%)
• ‘see animals’ (53.3%)
• spend ‘family time’ (47.2%)

not going for conservation

does visiting zoos have conservation efforts maybe, is there robust evidence, no. skeptical.

10% increase in some understanding about biodiversity- you can identify a rare species? what does it mean?

• 9 large-bodied genera, in-situ conservation achieves comparable rates of population growth to those seen in established captive breeding programmes

• Per capita costs for effective in-situ conservation are consistently lower than those of maintenance in captivity

what is the cost of doing in-situ conservation versus ex-situ 

in-situ  has comparable rates of population growth
 effectively in-situ is cheaper than having animals in capacity and maintaining them

. best thing to do is to actually go out and do in-situ this varies for different species, best idea is to to go out and see what suits different species 

best strategy if we use zoo revenues to go out and do real in-situ conservation

This tells me that...

Are an industry which produce entertainment- what is the role of the private centre in  public conservation?  need to ask ourselves, ask some people working at the zoo? diff questions i would like to ask

challenging constructive engagement

Parques Reuindos are the management company that owns Blackpool zoo, they are an industry that produced entertainment. 

• Cadima, X.F. van Treuren, R., Hoekstra, R., van den Berg, R.G., Sosef, M.S.M. 2016. Genetic diversity of Bolivian wild potato germplasm: changes during ex situ conservation management and comparisons with resampled in situ populations. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 64: 331–344. URL:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10722-015-0357-9

• Balmford, A., Leader-Williams, N., Green, M.J.B. 1995. Parks or arks: where to conserve threatened mammals?. Biodiversity & Conservation 4:595-607.