By By Hope Sardella, May, 2019
In Situ defines the act of preserving a species in the native origin or location from which the individual derived from. In conservation efforts in situ aims to protect species diversity as well as assist in the regeneration attributed to achievable repopulation goals of biodiversity in their native home, thus keeping all matter in its location of origin to carry out the organic process of evolution (Malhotra, Panatu, Singh, Negi, Singh, 2018). The use of In situ conservation is foremost when a species is incapable of thriving away from their native location. One example where In Situ has become critical is in the preservation of one of the worlds most important crops; Barley. The practice of allowing native species of Barley, especially species of Barley categorized under Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) to thrive in protected environments promotes unending evolvement of species diversity by enabling natural selection (Kant, Amrapali, Babu, 2016, pp. 3.7.2.).
Ex Situ defines the practice of conserving a species beyond the boundaries of its first origin. In biodiversity conservation efforts often use standard procedures protect flora by implementing the use of “seed banks storing pollen, growing plants in cultivation (field gene banks), maintaining plant material as undifferentiated tissue (tissue culture or micropropagation), grafting on to stock plants, or even storing genetic material directly such as in gene banks of DNA” (ex situ conservation, 1998). Additionally, methods to fauna conservation usually include species preservation by breeding species in captivity or storage of ovum and spermatic fluid, which are often allocated to organizations across the globe (ex situ conservation, 1998). In populations of species where genetic diversity of a species is critically threatened by inbreeding of a species, in situ conservation may not be an ideal method for conservation efforts. Based on the findings of Keller, Lukas & Waller, Donald. (2002), weight at birth, viability, procreation, disease tolerance, predator impact, and stress caused by the environment are impacted by inbreeding which consequently leads to a further decline in population rises and elevated ratios of extinction (pg. 230, para. 1).
Species preservation occurs in multiple institutions such as botanical gardens which are responsible for preserving species of plants. Both methods of in situ and ex situ are used in botanical gardens.
<p class="has-text-align-center" value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">Referencesex situ conservation. (1998). In P. Calow (Ed.), The encyclopedia of ecology and environmental management, Blackwell science. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers. Retrieved from https://search-credoreference-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/content/entry/bkeeem/ex_situ_conservation/0
in situ conservation. (2005). In L. L. Mai, M. Young Owl, & M. P. Kersting, Cambridge dictionary of human biology and evolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://search-credoreference-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/content/entry/cuphbe/in_situ_conservation/0
Kant, Amrapali, Babu (2016). Barley. Genetic and Genomic Resources for Grain Cereals Improvement, pp. 125-157. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-802000-5.00003-4
Keller, Lukas & Waller, Donald. (2002). Keller LF, Waller DM. 2002. Inbreeding effects in wild populations. Trends Eco Evol. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 17. 10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02489-8.
Malhotra, Panatu, Singh, Negi, Singh, et al. (2018). Chapter 3 – Genetic Resources: Collection, Conservation, Characterization and Maintenance. ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Regional Station, Shimla, India Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-813522-8.00003-in
<p value="<amp-fit-text layout="fixed-height" min-font-size="6" max-font-size="72" height="80">situ conservation. (2005). In L. L. Mai, M. Young Owl, & M. P. Kersting, Cambridge dictionary of human biology and evolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://search-credoreference-com.proxy library.ashford.edu/content/entry/cuphbe/in_situ_conservation/0