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Project On
Ex-situ Conservation of highly threatened Species

Submitted by: Upama Dutta

Subject: Biology

Roll no.:

Class: XII

School: Amrita Vidyalayam

Session: 2021-2022
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Principal’s Certificate

This is to certify that Upama Dutta of class XII-A of Amrita Vidyalayam;

Durgapur has completed her project work under the supervision of Ms
Tripti Dutta. I certify that the project is up to the expectations of CBSE
guidelines.

Principal’s Signature
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Teacher’s Certificate

This is to certify that Upama Dutta of class XII-A of Amrita Vidyalayam;

Durgapur has completed her project work under my supervision. I certify that
the project is up to the expectations of CBSE guidelines.

External Teacher’s Internal Teacher’s

Signature Signature
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Acknowledgement

I express my deepest gratitude towards my guide Ms Tripti Dutta for her tireless
efforts and guidance in this project. I am also grateful towards her for giving me
her wonderful insight to various aspects regarding the project. I would also like
to appreciate the cooperation and support offered by my family which helped in
making this project look presentable.

I would also like to express my thankfulness towards our Principal for giving
me the opportunity to complete this project. In the end I am extremely grateful
towards Shri Shri Mata Amritanandamyi Devi for showering her blessings upon
me.

Signature of

Student Date:
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Index

Serial Number Content Page Number

1 Introduction 6
2 Purpose of Ex-Situ 8
Conservation
3 Techniques of Ex- 9
Situ conservation
4 Botanical Gardens 11
in India
5 Drawbacks of Ex- 12
Situ Conservation
6 Ex-Situ 13
Conservation of
Animals
7 Bibliography 15
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Introduction
Ex situ conservation literally means, "off-site conservation". It is the process of
protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its
natural habitat; for example, by removing part of the population from a
threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, an artificial environment
which is similar to the natural habitat of the respective animal and within the
care of humans, example are zoological parks and wildlife safaris. The degree to
which humans control or modify the natural dynamics of the managed
population varies widely, and this may include alteration of living
environments, reproductive patterns, access to resources, and protection from
predation and mortality. Ex situ management can occur within or outside a
species' natural geographic range. Individuals maintained ex situ exist outside
an ecological niche. This means that they are not under the same selection
pressures as wild populations, and they may undergo artificial selection if
maintained ex situ for multiple generations.

Facilities that help in Ex-Situ Conservation are;

 BOTANICAL GARDERNS: A botanical garden or botanic garden[nb 1] is

a garden dedicated to the collection, cultivation, preservation and display
of a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names. It may
contain specialist plant collections such as cacti and other succulent
plants, herb gardens, plants from particular parts of the world, and so on;
there may
be greenhouses, shadehouses, again with special collections such
as tropical plants, alpine plants, or other exotic plants. Visitor services at a
botanical garden might include tours, educational displays, art exhibitions,
book rooms, open-air theatrical and musical performances, and other
entertainment.
 ZOO: A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal
park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are housed
within
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enclosures, cared for, displayed to the public, and in some cases bred
for conservation purposes. The term zoological garden refers to
zoology, the study of animals. The term is derived from the Greek,
zoon, 'animal', and the suffix -logia, 'study of'. The abbreviation zoo
was first used of
the London Zoological Gardens, which was opened for scientific study
in 1828 and to the public in 1847.
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Purpose of Ex-situ consrvation

The main purposes of ex-situ collections are the rescue and preservation
of threatened genetic material and the breeding of species for
reintroduction in cases where a species’ continued survival in its native
habitat is threatened.

 To rescue threatened species of plants and animals.

 To produce materials for conservation biological research.
 To supply material for various purposes (to remove or reduce
pressure from wild collecting).
 To make available material for conservation, education and display.
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Techniques of Ex-Situ Conservation

For Plants:
 Seed and Ultra-Dry Seed Storage: Seed storage in the gene bank is the
most researched and usually the most efficient form of long term storage
of plant germplasm of orthodox seeded species.Cereal crops and about
more than eighty per cent of all other flowering plants produce orthodox
seed. In general, it involves the conservation of cleaned, healthy and dry
seeds (3-7 per cent seed moisture content) at sub-zero temperature
(preferably -18°C).
 Field Gene Banks: Here, the plant genetic resources are kept as live
plants. It requires a suitable climate and soil for the species. The plants
require the same kind of care as in a farming system as they continue to
grow. This is preferred for vegetatively reproducing plants, like, potato,
pineapple, and banana.
 In Vitro Slow Growth: It aims to minimise cell division and growth
to increase longevity, without genetic changes. The time between
sub- culturing cycles is lengthened, thereby prolonging storage time
and reducing maintenance cost.
 Cryopreservation: It offers long term storage of germplasm of plants that
cannot be conserved by seed storage at sub-zero temperatures. Tissue
cultures are conserved at -196°C in liquid nitrogen, to facilitate the arrest
of mitotic and metabolic activities and thus, guarantee long-term
preservation of germplasm in genetically unaltered stage.
 Pollen Storage: It is common in breeding programmes to bridge the
gap between male and female flowering times, and to improve fruit
setting in orchards. For example, the main use of coffee pollen is for
breeding, because crosses sometimes have to be made between trees
that do not flower simultaneously or that grow far apart.
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For Animals:
 Captive Breeding: It may act as research platform for zoologists,
veterinarians, and others to conduct research designed to enhance
understanding of the biology of the species, such research may
yield invaluable information for conservation efforts.
 Semen cryopreservation: Collection and freezing of semen from free-
living nondomestic felids offers a viable option for introducing founder
genes into captive populations without removal of animals from the wild.
The effective application of this strategy requires established protocols
for safely capturing and anaesthetising the organism, coupled with
suitable methods of semen recovery, processing and cryopreservation
under field conditions.
 Oocyte Cryopreservation: It Includes preservation of oocytes by
exposure to sub-zero temperature (-196°C), as at such temperature, all
biological activity stops, and the cells functional status maybe preserved
for centuries. The freezing protocols use a combination of dehydration,
freezing point depression, super cooling, and intracellular vitrification, to
avoid cell damage.
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Botanical Gardens In India

 Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden: Located in Howrah,
West Bengal, it is national repository of plants, and conserves important
plant species of India and other countries. It provides an area of 273
acres. Total number of species conserved: 1400 (approx.).

 Botanical Garden of Indian Republic: Enclosing an area of 163.79 acres,

it is an under-construction garden, showcasing region’s wide variety of
native flora. It conserves plants from 23 states of the country.
Total number of species conserve: 900

 Experimental Botanic Garden & National Orchidarium: Located in

Yercaud, Tamil Nadu, it conserves Endemic orchids of Western &
Eastern Ghats, Endemic plants of Western Ghats and others. It also has
tissue culture laboratory attached. It covers an area of 40 acres.
Total number of species conserved: 1200
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Drawbacks of Ex-Situ Conservation

 This is rarely enough to save a species from extinction and would have
to be used as last resort or as a supplement for in-situ conservation
because it cannot recreate the habitat as whole.

 The species’ natural evolution and adaptation processes are either halted
temporarily or altered by introducing the specimen in an unnatural habitat.

 Ex-situ conservation techniques are often costly and slowly drain

financial resources of the government or the organisation.

 Pests or diseases foreign to the species may cripple protected plants as

well as the animals as they have no natural defences against it.

But despite of those drawbacks, ex-situ conservation had been successful on some
levels.
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Ex-Situ Conservation of Animals

 Phillippine Crocodile:
Scientific Name: Crocodylus mindorensis

Common Name: Philippine crocodile, Mindoro crocodile, and Bukarot

Assessment Information (IUCN)

 Red List Category and Criteria: Critically Endangered

 Year Assessed :
1996 Geographic Rang:

 Native Country: Philippines

 Habitat and Ecology: Terrestrial nests sites and basking areas.
 Systems: Terrestrial, Freshwater
 Distribution: Islands of Busuanga, Jolo, Luzon, Masbate, Mindano,
Mindoro, Negros, and Samar are a part5 of historical range, but the
current distribution is unknown; reported to be extripated from
Jolo, Luzon, Masbate, and Samar.

Method of Conservation: The young animals are collected from the wild and
raised in captivity for a certain period of time to a larger size in an attempted to
increase survival rates before they would be released to the wild.
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 Giant Panda:
Scientific Name: Aluropoda melanoleuca

Common Name: Giant Panda

Assessment Information (IUCN)

 Red List Category and Criteria: Vulnerable (Previously endangered)

 Year Assessed: 2016

Geographic Range:

 Native Country: China

 Habitat and Ecology: Temperate forests, high in mountains of South-
West China.
 Systems: Terrestrial
 Distributions: Previously found widely distributed throughout China,
parts of Burma, Vietnam, and Thailand but now only present Qinling,
Minshan, Qionglai, Big Xiangling, Small Xiangling and Liangshan
Mountains.

Method of Conservation:

 Habitat conservation: The primary aim of giant panda conservation is to

protect their habitats. The giant panda only survives upriver of the
Changjiang River (Yangtze River); protect the forest and catchments of
the Changjiang River are being protected from floods and landslides.
 Reintrodution to the wildBreeding giant pandas in captivity is not the
goal of ex-situ conservation. The priority is to enable captive-bred
pandas to possess all the skills necessary to survive in the wild.
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Bibliography
The information in this project has been taken from the following sources;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
https://www.slideshare.net
https://www.biodiversitya-z.org
https://www.researchgate.net
https://assets.panda.org

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://bsi.gov.in
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Thank You!