What do in situ and ex situ mean ? What are the merits and shortcomings of ex situ conservation ?

Question

What do in situ and ex situ mean ? What are the merits and shortcomings of ex situ conservation ?

Answer 1

if something is done 'in situ' then it means it is done right there and then. if something is ex situ then obviously it isn't done at any particular time. merits of ex situ conservation would be that it can be done at someones leasure and it is flexible. but its bad because you don't always control how long it will take to do something 'ex situ'

Answer 2

Ex situ conservation is the conservation and maintenance of samples of living organisms outside their natural habitat, for example in the form of whole plants, seed, pollen, vegetative propagules, tissue or cell cultures.

Answer 3

Situ would mean it was being done on site.  Ex situ means the conservation work is being done elsewhere.

The easiest example I can think of are pandas.  By and large conservation practices for pandas take place "ex situ."  

That's because most of their natural habitat has been destroyed.

Shortcomings of course are tyring to breed pandas in an atrificial enviroment, or to recreate their natural habitat.

You could also think of the mountain gorillas. They are trying to do conseravtion work for mountain gorillas "situ."  Many of the gorillas are killed by warfare, and for bush meat.  

So there can be real problems trying to preserve animals in their natural habitat, and ex situ in artificial habitats.  Same kind of problems for conservation of fish, insects, plants, birds, ect.

Ex situ is much more controlled.  If we understand ALL the needs of the animal or plant we are trying to conserve, then it often works out fairly well.  However if we understand them poorly, very often it's a tragic thing, and the specimine dies.

~Garnet

Permactulture homesteading/farming over 20 years