METHODS USED BY ZOOS AND SEEDBANKS IN THE

CONSERVATION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES AND THEIR

GENETIC DIVERSITY
BY: AZWIN NUR AZNIZA BINTI ARIFFUDDIN (1311171715)
Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and
animals. Some of the animals that is enlisted as critically endangered by World Wildlife
Foundation ( WWF) are Amur Leopard, Black Rhino, Leatherback turtle, South China tiger,
Sumatran elephant, Sumatran Orang Utan, Sumatran tiger and much more. Meanwhile,
plant species are also facing extinction and without attention it might be extinct for example
Lycaste Orchid, Hibiscus Waimaea and others. Extinction means the permanent loss of all
members. In the past 400 years, 89 species of mammals have become extinct and based on
current trends, some scientists have predicted that up to 30 % of the species in the world
could become extinct in the next 100 years and if this predictions come true, it will be grave
danger for our biodiversity.

In order to prevent extinction of species to happen rapidly, conservation methods

have been carried out by responsible sides. Conservation means keeping and protecting a
living and changing environment. Realising the importance of conservation, zoos and
wildlife play an important role in animal conservation. Captive breeding programmes are
developed and launched as an attempt to save the species from extinction. Captive
breeding programme means individuals of an endangered species are bred in zoos and
parks. The ultimate aim of this programme is to reintroduce the captive-bred animals into
the wild to restore the original populations. Some of the animals that has been successfully
saved this way includes the Californian Condors in the United States. White Rhino have also
led to successful reintroductions into protected areas in their own countries.

However, there are several problems with this captive breeding and reintroduction.
Some of the problem that arises are insufficient spce or resources in zoos or parks for all the
endangered species. Moreover, it is also difficult to provide the right conditions for breeding
. Animals that have been bred in captivity may have great problems in adjusting to
unsupported life in the wild. However, captive breeding may include cross-species cloning
for some of the most endangered species. Cross-species cloning is cloning animals using
closely related species as surrogate mother. For example, Guar have been cloned by
scientist in the year of 2001.

On the other hand, it has been estimated that 25 % of the worlds flowering plant
species could disappear within the next 50 years. Plants are vital importance to all our lives
as it acts as oxygen supply, regulating temperature, food source and many more. The loss of
genetic material of extinct species would be a disaster to other plants and human survival.
Botanic gardens which acts as zoos for plants maintain collections of many the worlds
interesting and unusual plants. In the 1960s the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew has set up a
seed bank which is now home to the seeds of over 400o wild flowering plants. The aims of
the Millenium Seed Banks was to collect and conserve the seeds of the entire UK native
flora by the year of 2000 and conserve the seeds of an additional 10 % of the flora of the
whole world by the year 2010.

A seed bank can preserve many plants in a state of effective suspended animation.
Live seeds are collected from the wild, removed from the fruits and cleaned. They are
screened using X-rays to ensure that they contain fully developed embryos. The seeds are
then dried and put into jars and stored at between -20 and -40 c. This temperature is the
ideal temperature where many will survive and remain capable of germinating for up to 200
years. The advantages of seedbanks are that it can be collected without damaging the
natural population as most plants make huge numbers of seeds. It can also be easily stored
as seeds are small. The seeds also contain all the genetic material of the plant so they have
potential as a new plant for the future. However, the disadvantages of this seed banks are
some species do not store well such as mango, rubber, oak, avocado, cacao and coconut. In
this case, seeds are grown in field gene banks such as plantations, orchards or aboreteums
or even as tissue culture. Besides that, zoos and botanic gardens are centres of scientific
research as well as general education. Most zoos worked closely with university
departments in research.

Examples of endangered animals

GIANT PANDA
EXAMPLES OF ENDANGERED PLANTS

WHITE TIGER

PURPLE ORCHID

RAFFLESIA