Saving Europe’s threatened flora: progress towards GSPC Target 8 in Europe

The European flora is of global significance but many species are facing an ever increasing range of threats, especially the growing impacts of climate change. While various estimates have been made for the number of threatened plant species in Europe, an up-to-date European plant Red List does not presently exist. Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) calls for 60% of threatened plant species to be conserved in ex situ collections by 2010. In the absence of a European plant Red List, it is difficult to monitor progress at the regional level towards this target. To address this gap Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) has developed a consolidated list of European threatened species as a step towards a formal Red List. The database consists of national Red List data from 28 European countries and includes records for over 11,000 taxa. National Red List data were supplemented by information on the critically endangered plants of Europe provided by the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle/European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity and the Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest. A list of regionally threatened species was extracted from the database and screened against BGCI’s database of plants in cultivation in botanic gardens (PlantSearch) and ENSCONET’s (European Native Seed Conservation Network) database of plants conserved in European seed banks. This analysis revealed that 42% of European threatened species are currently included in ex situ conservation programmes in Europe.     

Gaps in seed banking are compromising the GSPC’s Target 8 in a megadiverse country

Ex situ seed conservation is an effective strategy to help safeguarding plants from extinction. The updated Global Strategy for Plant Conservation’s (GSPC) Target 8 aims to include 75% of threatened plant species in ex situ collections by 2020, preferably in the country of origin. Halfway through the updated GSPC program, we evaluate the current state of knowledge and practice of ex situ seed conservation of threatened species from megadiverse Brazilian flora, contributing to this Target. We identify knowledge gaps and costs to achieve Target 8 through seed banking in Brazil within the time constraints of the GSPC and in a scenario of recent science budget funding cuts. Knowledge on seed storage behavior is available only for 24 Brazilian species (1.3%). Seed desiccation tolerance was concluded for 175 of 228 species, feasibly allowing safe storage of most Brazilian species at sub-zero temperatures. However, only 26 species (1.3%) are effectively banked in research institutions. Surprisingly, the percentage of banked threatened species hardly increased in the first 5 years since the update of the Target (0.55%, 2011–2015), and Brazil now faces the challenge of banking almost 1500 species during 2016–2020. Despite a major lack of commitment of Brazilian institutions and of knowledge to achieve the Target, the costs for banking the remaining species were estimated to be only US$3.9 million. We call for a nationwide coordinated effort of government agencies, policy makers and research institutions to include ex situ seed conservation in the environmental agenda to pursue achievement of the Target by 2020.     

Importance of <Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> technology to future conservation programmes worldwide

The latest IUCN statistics show that of over 12,000 plant species, 70% are threatened, 19% are critically endangered and 28 species are extinct in the wild. Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) highlights the importance of ex situ conservation of critically endangered plants. Long-term germplasm storage for species with recalcitrant seeds needs alternative measures. In vitro methods complement seed banking and other ex situ measures and are vital for long-term conservation. Conservation Biotechnology at RBG Kew is currently working on a number of rare and threatened recalcitrant species from biodiversity-rich areas of the world to develop good quality in vitro propagules for cryopreservation, recovery and restoration projects. The importance of successful in vitro propagation methods, transplantation technologies, cryopreservation and international networking for the integrated conservation of these species are discussed in detail.     

Germination capacity and viability of threatened species collections in seed banks

Facing the current biodiversity crisis, the value of ex situ conservation has been increasingly acknowledged in international treaties and legislations. Seed banks are a good way of conserving biodiversity, providing that seeds are of high quality and at maximum viability. However, despite the number of established ex situ facilities, there is little information on seed viability in botanic garden seed banks. This paper analyses the status of the seed collection of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium by determining the germination capacity and viability of seeds that have been stored for 1–26 years. It aims at: (1) ensuring that existing storage conditions provide effective ex situ conservation of threatened species; (2) providing viability data on threatened species; (3) planning future collection and storage efforts for seeds of West European species of conservation value. Results from this study showed that the germination and viability percentages of the 250 tested species reached on average 59 and 79% respectively. Some families typically performed better than others. Within a species, consistent results were not always obtained. Over a quarter of accessions exhibited some degree of dormancy. Considering the current lack of knowledge in seed germination and dormancy of many rare and threatened species, we believe that the quality of a seed collection should be estimated by its viability and not by its germination percentage. This study calls for further research in order to better understand the biology of a range of threatened native species.     

Gap analyses to support ex situ conservation of genetic diversity in Magnolia, a flagship group

Worldwide about one third of all plant species is estimated to be threatened with extinction. Plants are generally under-represented in conservation. However, the global strategy for plant conservation (GSPC) sets forth 16 targets to halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity within a framework for actions at global, regional, national and local levels. Target 8 of the GSPC directs that at least 75 % of threatened plant species be present in ex situ collections by 2020, but this target is far from being met. By analyzing where gaps in ex situ collections and research exist relative to diversity hotspots of threatened species, it is possible to identify and prioritize action. We undertake a gap analysis of ex situ collection needs in the genus Magnolia, a relatively well-known and valuable genus. Results indicate three main areas of biodiversity (China, Vietnam and Colombia) for the endangered Magnolia taxa. The present paper provides a critical overview of recent conservation activities carried out in the genus Magnolia throughout the world, focusing on genetic diversity analyses of the species.     

Sulla Variazione E Sul Significato Dei Composti Purinici Nelle Piante

Abstract

The collections stored at the Sardinian Germplasm Bank (BG-SAR) were analysed to verify if setting conservation priorities on the exclusive endemic flora of Sardinia (Italy) would make it possible to reach the 2010 GSPC Target 8. By 2010, 39.9% of the exclusive-endemics of Sardinia, 43.1% of the BGCI European threatened species and 65.0% of the taxa listed in Annex II of DIR 92/43/EEC present on the island had been stored in BG-SAR. Of the stored plants, 40% of those listed in the DIR 92/43/EEC, and only 25.69% of the BGCI threatened plants are represented by an adequate number of populations. For a few of the stored threatened plants (ca. 36%), and for 60% of the DIR 92/43/EEC ones, at least one seedlot with more than 5000 seeds is available. These data indicate that focusing on exclusive endemics gave a substantial, although not decisive, contribution towards the achievement of the 2010 GSPC Target 8 in Sardinia, and that more efforts are needed to guarantee the effective long-term conservation of these threatened taxa with the aim of reaching the 2020 GSPC target.     

种质资源保存的战略问题和面临的挑战

植物种质资源保存,特别是种子库保存是各种迁地保护措施中最为经济有效的方法。通过对成千上万个物种的有效保存,种子库为减缓物种的灭绝和气候变化对生物多样性的影响发挥了特别关键的作用。本文较为详细地介绍了“中国西南野生生物种质资源库”的立项背景和最新进展,同时介绍了世界上其它几个主要的植物迁地保存设施,特别是英国皇家植物园的“千年种子库”。结合“全球植物保护策略”讨论了中国植物濒危状况,估计我国受威胁的物种比例达20—25％,甚至更高。本文还简要讨论了种子保存中的一些科学问题,包括超低温保存,并强调了植物分类学和种子生物学的学科建设在植物种质资源保护中的重要意义。     

Decision analysis for the planning and assessment of ex situ management: An application to the endangered mahogany glider

Ex situ (‘off-site’) management refers to keeping species in artificial conditions away from their natural habitat and includes captive breeding facilities, botanical gardens and seed banks. There is scope for ex situ programmes to be more commonly used for supplementing or establishing wild populations. However, undertaking ex situ management comes with risks, costs and uncertainties, which must be assessed in the context of available in situ (‘on-site’) management options. The PACES (Planning and Assessment for Conservation through Ex situ management) tool tailors the principles of structured decision-making to the specific problem of assessing and comparing ex situ and in situ management options. We applied the PACES tool to the mahogany glider (Petaurus gracilis), a threatened arboreal marsupial endemic to north Queensland, Australia. Through an expert elicitation process, we predicted the likely benefits of an ex situ and two in situ management options, as compared to a baseline ‘do-nothing’ scenario. The ‘in situ plus’ alternative (where extra resources are dedicated to in situ management) was predicted to result in the largest population increase according to the participants' best estimates. However, this benefit came at a much larger cost than the ex situ alternative, and without the benefit of an ex situ insurance population. The PACES tool assessment allowed the Mahogany Glider Recovery Team to document and plan the financial costs, risks and benefits of potential future management options for the mahogany glider, laying a transparent basis for future assessment and decision-making.     

Analysis of the ex situ conservation of the Greek endemic flora at national European and global scales and of its effectiveness in meeting GSPC Target 8

We examine the extent to which the rich endemic flora of Greece, a country in the Mediterranean hotspot, and particularly that part facing an extinction risk, is effectively conserved ex situ. We detected 3067 accessions of 523 taxa representing 37.2% of the Greek endemics in 213 botanic gardens (BGs, 439 taxa) and 14 seed banks (SBs, 344 taxa) of 36 countries; 46.7% of these accessions are in Greek institutions. Seeds are available for only 23.8% of the taxa in SBs. Of the 558 threatened and near-threatened endemics, 268 are conserved ex situ. Of these, 44.8% are accessioned in a single BG and 48.9% in a single SB; in the latter, 25% are represented by a single accession number. Based on major concerns, for a taxon to be considered as effectively conserved ex situ, we propose that it be represented by no less than five accessions deposited in two institutions of two countries, at least. This criterion is met by only 6.4% of the taxa in SBs. There is still a long way to go so as to achieve Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).     

Unusually high‐quality soil seed banks in a Midwestern U.S. oak savanna region: variation with land use history,habitat restoration,and soil properties

An overarching conclusion in the literature is that soil seed banks rarely contain many restoration‐target species and are often liabilities rather than assets to restoration. Our objective was to evaluate composition and spatial variation of seed banks and their potential contributions to restoration, including restoration‐target species such as rare species and those characterizing historical habitats. On 64 sites in a Midwestern U.S. oak savanna landscape, we sampled soil seed banks in seven habitat types (restored oak savannas, oak woodlands, and mesic prairies; unmanaged upland oak and mesic forests; and unmanaged and managed pine plantations). The germinable seed bank was exceptionally rich in restoration‐target species. In total for the 64 sites, seedlings of 127 species emerged from seed bank samples. Of the 101 native species, 56 were restoration‐target species, an unusually high number among seed bank studies. Restoration‐target species in seed banks included 13 threatened or endangered species, in addition to 43 other specialist species associated with high‐quality native habitats or on a floral list thought to characterize historical ecosystems. When analyzed across the 64‐site gradient, seed banks differed among the seven habitat types and varied with historical (1939) land use, recent management activities that restored open‐structured habitats, and biophysical gradients of tree density, soil drainage, and soil texture. While not all restoration‐target species were detected in the seed bank, the unusually high‐quality seed bank is a potential asset to restoration and was partly structured along environmental gradients across the landscape.     

Criteria for assessing Italian <Emphasis Type="Italic">ex situ</Emphasis> collections of threatened plants

The ex situ conservation of plant species is a challenge for all signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity to meet. In Italy, all conservation-related issues are supervised by the Ministry for the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, but so far no national plan has been drafted, let alone funded, for ex situ plant conservation. As a contribution towards the establishment of a scientifically based policy, a national project has been launched, under the coordination of the Botanic Garden of Palermo. In its framework, the Botanic Garden of Pisa is developing a set of criteria for assessing Italian ex situ collections of threatened plant species. The criteria will be applied to datasets obtained by the Italian seedbanks through questionnaires. Requested data include resources and procedures, documentation systems, facilities and accessions. The expected results consist of the production of printed or electronic material concerning a) the technical-scientific profile of the Italian seed banks and of their collections; b) the ecogeographic profile of seed collections of selected species and c) the evaluation of the method used for gathering and analysing data. The project is currently under way and the results are due by September 2010. The documents and protocols which will be produced within the project will enable a stronger interaction of the Italian seed banks with other national and European seed bank networks.     

Conservation of important plants from the Ionian Islands at the Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia,N Greece: using GIS to link the in situ collection data with plant propagation and <Emphasis Type="Italic">ex situ</Emphasis> cultivation

The Balkan Botanic Garden of Kroussia (BBGK) is dedicated to the ex situ conservation of native plants of Greece and the Balkans. The BBGK has formulated a conservation strategy for the collection of wild plant material for propagation, prioritizing mainly the endemic, rare, endangered, threatened and vulnerable plants of Europe found in different regions of Greece. Its aim is to contribute to the implementation of Target 8 of the Global and European Strategies for Plant Conservation at local, regional and international scales. In order to (i) define the ecological profile of the in situ requirements preferred and/or tolerated by each selected species, (ii) develop rapid and effective species-specific propagation protocols, and (iii) improve the cultivation of species of conservation concern in BBGK’s nurseries and ex situ conservation sections, geographical coordinates and in situ collection data obtained for each taxon were imported into a Geographic Information System environment (GIS). This information was then linked with several digital GIS thematic layers, including topographic, geological, edaphic, climatic, precipitation and temperature data derived from digital databases. Based on this approach, sexual and asexual propagation of plants from the Ionian Islands were conducted and rapid and effective baseline protocols were developed for 29 taxa (species and subspecies); four are presented here in detail and species-specific ex situ propagation and cultivation guidelines are given. Most of the taxa originating from the Ionian Islands were propagated by cuttings (55.2%) or seeds (34.5%), while the rest were propagated by root division at a rate from 1.7 to 2. The first round of propagation achieved a success rate ranging from 15 to 50% for 3 taxa, from 60 to 80% for 8 taxa and from more than 80 to 100% for 16 taxa, while the ex situ cultivation of the wild and propagated plant material has, so far, been successful. The application of GIS exemplified here presents a sensible and invaluable tool with a broad-scale potential in enhancing the prospects of the ex situ conservation of priority species collected from diverse environmental conditions in man-made habitats such as botanic gardens.     

Ex situ conservation of plant diversity in Romania: A synthesis of threatened and endemic taxa

Romania hosts a relatively high species diversity, including 3,829 vascular and 979 non-vascular spontaneous plant taxa. Multiple national red lists exist, with the number of taxa assessed as threatened varying greatly between them, from 548 to 1,438, and with number of taxa assigned to a given threat category also varying between the different sources. A composite list including all taxa mentioned in at least one of the selected red listings from Romania is required in order to compensate for this lack of consensus and to assess their ex situ conservation status. In this study, we synthesized data from the national red lists and counted 1,220 spontaneous vascular plant species and 201 subspecies, of which 77 are endemic and 76 subendemic for Romania. In addition, 18 non-red-listed endemics and 14 subendemics have been added, bringing the total to 1,453 threatened and (sub)endemic plant taxa, representing almost 38% of the total native vascular flora of Romania. Despite the large network of protected areas in Romania, many taxa are still being threatened with extinction in the region mainly due to anthropogenic pressure. Several ex situ conservation measures have been employed to assure a more substantial buffer against plant extinction in the wild, supported by thorough and adequate conservation strategies and multiple means to reintroduce taxa back to their natural habitats. Consequently, our second aim was to evaluate the ex situ conservation status of these threatened and (sub)endemic plants from Romania, focussing on both conventional methods (cultivation in botanic gardens, seed banking) and biotechnological approaches (in vitro tissue culture, medium-term storage and cryostorage). Of the 1,453 taxa included in our list, 642 (44.2%) are conserved by ex situ approaches. Of these, 524 are harboured in the most important botanic gardens throughout Romania, while 156 are currently held in long-term seed banks locally or in the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew (UK). Conversely, only 64 taxa from the list are preserved at the national level through in vitro cultures, and cryopreservation protocols have been developed for only 8 taxa. Overall, more than half of the threatened and (sub)endemic vascular flora from Romania remains unprotected outside the classical in situ conservation measures. For red-listed bryophytes, only 0.6% are preserved in national ex situ collections. Moreover, some aspects related to population genetic studies and the genetic stability of ex situ conserved plants are also briefly discussed, as essential prerequisites for applied biodiversity conservation programs. Finally, considering the distribution range of targeted taxa, we included a synthesis of biotechnological approaches at both national and international level. Our study presents not only a first assessment of the ex situ conservation status of national red listed flora, but also, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive and updated overview of the rare, threatened and (sub)endemic taxa from Romania. This evaluation will provide a supporting tool for national decision- and policy-making actions for biodiversity conservation, using both in situ and ex situ approaches. We also highlight the need for an updated red list for the Romanian flora that accurately follows the IUCN assessment criteria and protocols.     

Definition and insertion of the GSPC in the political context of Mexico

Mexico as a megadiverse country houses between 6 and 8% of the world's flora. However, the Mexican flora is facing challenges, including the presence of at least 981 threatened plant species and 618 exotic plant species, habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources and the adverse effects of climate change, which are compromising its conservation and sustainable use. Mexico has been actively involved in the development and update of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). As a party to CBD, Mexico has established a Coordinating Committee for the Mexican Strategy for Plant Conservation (MSPC), which has adapted the GSPC to fit national needs and drafted a number of projects, indicators, means of verification and actors to ensure that the MSPC, as a public policy tool, really drives conservation and sustainable use actions among all sectors and lasts beyond the current administration. An agenda is being developed with activities that include the following: approaching Congress, identifying the relevance of the MSPC in the National Development Plan and the Mexican Biodiversity Strategy, making use of current environmental policies and an aggressive awareness programme. The MSPC includes simultaneous programmes of technical and political work.     

Using the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation to guide conservation implementation in the UK Overseas Territories

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) was adopted by the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2002. Staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew were closely involved in the development of the GSPC and contributed to the development of several of the targets and the plan of work which resulted from its adoption. The GSPC has become a key document for Kew to help guide its conservation policy and implementation. The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) Programme is one of Kew’s cross-departmental science teams whose members work in collaboration with UKOT Governments and NGOs on conservation projects with the overall aim of supporting them in the implementation of the GSPC and in achieving its targets. The GSPC has provided an excellent overall framework to help shape conservation strategy, planning, and action in UKOTs. Like many small islands, UKOTs face a wide range of challenges in conserving their biodiversity and retaining ecosystem services whilst enabling development and maintaining livelihoods. Habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive alien species, development, and the increasing threat of global climate change present the most significant conservation challenges. At the heart of the UKOTs programme is a comprehensive work plan of specimen and data collection, mapping and capacity building in Territories plus facilitating access to historical specimens and data held at Kew. This enables progress towards achieving Targets 1, 2 and 3 (understanding and documenting plant diversity) and Targets 5, 7, 8 and 10 (conservation of plant diversity). All of these activities are accompanied by an extensive programme of capacity building to help support the development of technical skills and infrastructure to enable UKOTs to implement the GSPC (Targets 15 and 16) and the production of materials and interactions with schools and community groups to promote education and awareness-raising of plant conservation to achieve Target 14. UKOTs have been working with RBG Kew to prioritise activities in order to implement the GSPC and to identify those targets of most relevance locally. The main focus has been in documenting and understanding plant diversity and Targets 1 and 2 are close to completion for most UKOTs with good developments towards Target 3 for many. There is mixed progress with Objective 2 of the GSPC: conserving plant diversity. Excellent progress has been made with the ex situ Target 8, but more limited progress with the in situ targets and plant species still face many threats. Some Territories, most notably the Falkland Islands have made a good start with an Important Plant Areas programme. Although good progress has been made in documenting invasive species, there is major resource investment needed to implement the invasive species control strategies that have been identified. Good progress has been made with Target 14 and awareness is increasing, but there is a definite need for mainstreaming plant conservation issues. Some progress with Objective 5, building capacity for plant conservation, has been made, but a large ‘capacity gap’ remains and more trained personnel are needed with improved facilities and resources in order to implement the GSPC and meet its demanding targets. The GSPC has provided a unifying framework to enable conservation implementation across the UK’s Overseas Territories and will continue to do so in the post-2010 period.     

Germinating seeds or bulbils in 87 of 113 tested Arctic species indicate potential for ex situ seed bank storage

Arctic plant species are expected to lose range due to climate change. One approach to preserve the genetic and species diversity for the future is to store propagules in seed vaults. However, germinability of seeds is assumed to be low for Arctic species. We evaluated ex situ storage potential of 113 of the 161 native angiosperms of Svalbard by studying seed ripening and germination. Seeds or bulbils were collected, and germinability was tested after one winter of storage in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Twenty-six of the species did not produce ripe propagules, 8 produced bulbils, and 79 produced seeds. Bulbils sprouted to high percentages. Seeds of 10 species did not germinate, 22 had low germination (<20 %), 34 had germination of 21–70 %, and 13 had high germination percentages (>70 %). More than 70 % of the species belonging to Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Juncaceae, Rosaceae, and Saxifragaceae germinated. Cold tolerant, common species had higher germination percentages than relatively thermophilous, rare species. Germination percentages were six times higher than observed in 1969 (n = 51) and 0.7 times that observed in 2008 (n = 22), indicating that recent climate warming improves germination in the Arctic. While in situ conservation is of vital importance, ex situ conservation in seed banks is a potential complementary conservation strategy for the majority of Arctic vascular plant species. For species that did not germinate, other methods for ex situ conservation should be sought, for example, growing in botanical gardens.     

Is It Still Necessary to Continue to Collect Crop Genetic Resources in the Mediterranean Area? A Case Study in Catalonia

Crop genetic resources have been extensively collected in Europe in the last century, creating large, publicly available ex situ collections. While this huge genetic diversity is often underutilized, in recent decades, several initiatives have emerged at the local level to collect germplasm cultivated on farm. Uncoordinated actors often carry out these collecting missions without considering previously collected data. To explore whether new collecting missions are likely to be worthwhile, we studied the crop genetic resources conservation network in Catalonia by analyzing the passport data and geographical distribution of germplasm stored in seed banks. Moreover, to determine whether this germplasm was representative of the diversity cultivated on farm, we performed new collecting missions in four randomly selected areas in the European Union’s Natura 2000 network and compared the results with the ex situ databases. Seed banks currently hold a large germplasm collection (2931 accessions), although most materials are conserved in private collections without regulated systems for seed regeneration and are not present as duplicates in the National Inventory. One important shortcoming of the ex situ network is that the germplasm conserved ex situ shows a low geographical coverage, representing only 35.3% of the municipalities in Catalonia. Our new missions allowed us to collect 234 accessions, mostly tomatoes (17.5%) and beans (16.2%). The ecological indicators’ richness (both at species (S) and variety (V) levels), total abundance (A), and the Shannon-Weaver diversity index calculated at species (H2, considering the different accessions of each variety as a single population) and variety levels (H3, considering the intra-varietal genetic diversity) were higher in the newly collected germplasm than in the ex situ collections, suggesting that seed banks do not accurately represent the genetic diversity still cultivated on farm. Moreover, some important landraces from each area were absent or underrepresented in the ex situ collections. Thus, it is necessary to continue to devote efforts to collecting germplasm; better organization between actors and targeting specific species/varieties can increase the efficiency of new collecting missions. As a conclusion, we propose different criteria to guide new missions and to improve the network’s conservation activities.     

Effective seed harvesting strategies for the ex situ genetic diversity conservation of rare tropical tree populations

Tropical rain forests harbor a high diversity of tree species, a large portion of which are considered rare and threatened by anthropogenic factors such as land-use change. Addressing the global need for ex situ rescue populations of such species, we investigated whether certain methods of wild-source seed collection harvest greater amounts of genetic variation from the source population while minimizing the costs expended. We used an individual-based computer program (NEWGARDEN) to conduct simulation trials examining which aspects of seed procurement provided the most cost-effective methods for maximal rare allele capture for single isolated populations of rare tropical tree species. Aspects examined included the geometric pattern of harvesting, location of seed collections within the spatial distribution of the population (central vs. peripheral), geometric partitioning of sampling regions (contiguous vs. subdivided), gene dispersal distance, linear travelling costs, and ratio of seeds collected to plants sampled. Results demonstrated that ratio of seeds collected to plants sampled had the highest effect on genetic diversity harvested relative to sampling location or geometric pattern of collection, explaining 82 and 79% of the variance in alleles harvested, respectively. Collecting from subdivided peripheral sampling regions and populations having long distance gene dispersal led to increases of up to 39 and 51% in the amount of genetic variation conserved respectively. These results suggest that ex situ conservation efforts for rare tropical trees can benefit by collecting fewer seeds from each of a larger number of trees, sampling from peripheral subdivided regions of the population rather than in a contiguous centrally located one under the transect or nearest neighbor strategies, and adjusting harvesting based on the dispersal biology of the source population. This study underscores the need for more information regarding the dispersal characteristics of the target species and demonstrates the value of predictive modeling for planning seed collection projects.     

Reproductive potential of domestic Ovis aries for preservation of threatened Ovis orientalis isphahanica: in vitro and in vivo studies

Although the potential use of reproductive biotechnology for safeguarding of endangered wildlife species is undoubted, initial evaluation of the genetic and reproductive relationship between the endangered mammals and those closely related species is indispensable. Isfahan mouflon Ovis orientalis isphahanica is now considered as a threatened species by International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Therefore, little is known about the biology of this species. This study was carried out to investigate the possible reproductive potential of domestic sheep for ex situ conservation of the Isfahan mouflon. Somatic cell cultures were taken from ear biopsies of the wild and domestic sheep and were used for karyotype analysis. Semen samples were collected by electroejaculator from the wild and domestic rams. The spermatological characteristics of the collected semen samples were determined and used for both cryopreservation and cross-insemination of the synchronized wild and domestic female sheep. To establish a cryobank for the threatened species biomaterials, freezed samples of the somatic cells and semen were transferred to a cryotank. The result suggested that Isfahan mouflon has conserved its chromosomal integrity as previously observed and contains the same chromosomal number as the domestic sheep (2n = 54). The semen samples of both species revealed similar cryoviability (>35% gross motility postthawing). Cross-insemination of both species resulted in successful pregnancy. It was suggested that domestic sheep possesses the required biological characteristics to be considered for safeguarding of the Isfahan mouflon.