Ex situ management as insurance against extinction of mammalian megafauna in an uncertain world

Abstract

The persistence of endangered species may depend on the fate of a very small number of individual animals. In situ conservation alone may sometimes be insufficient. In these instances, the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides guidelines for ex situ conservation and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) indicates how ex situ management can support the CBD's objectives by providing insurance policies for species. The circumstances that justify its use are uncertain. To evaluate the current in situ extinction risk and ex situ management of 43 critically endangered species of mammalian megafauna, we used nonmetric multidimensional scaling and geopolitical variables related to governance, economics, and national policy within their extant ranges. We then fitted generalized additive models to assess the contribution of each variable to the ordination. Fifteen (almost one-third) of the world's terrestrial mammalian megafauna are not the subject of any ex situ management. Seventy-three percent of these taxa occur in areas characterized by political uncertainty, such as border zones or areas affected by armed conflicts, mainly in Africa and the Middle East. A further 23% of taxa in ex situ programs do not meet sustainability criteria for inbreeding avoidance. Strategic conservation planning, such as the One Plan approach, may improve ex situ management for these taxa. Given the escalating trend in threats afflicting megafauna, ex situ management should be considered more rigorously, particularly in politically unstable regions, to achieve CBD Target 12 (prevent extinction of threatened species).

Mammal and bird species ranges overlap with armed conflicts and associated conservation threats

“…Planning for conflict resiliency could encompass several approaches depending on circumstances and focus both within and beyond active conflict zones. For example, captive breeding and reintroduction programs may need to be considered for highly endangered species that experience conflicts throughout their ranges (Davies, 2017;Farhadinia et al, 2020;Harding et al, 2007). For species whose ranges extend beyond active conflict zones, proactive conservation measures in nonconflict areas could play a role in facilitating post-conflict recovery (McDonald-Madden et al, 2008).…”

Understanding debates about Asiatic cheetah conservation through media analysis

“…The new management plan included ex situ conservation along with in situ actions (Khalatbari et al, 2017). In situ conservation involves activities focus on species in their natural habitat (Farhadinia et al, 2020). Whereas in ex situ management individuals are spatially restricted with respect to their natural movement patterns or those of their progeny, are removed from many of their natural ecological processes, and individuals are managed on some level by humans (McGowan et al, 2017).…”

Rationalizing ex situ collection of reproductive materials for endangered livestock breed conservation

“…Due to their economic and socio-cultural significance, commercial livestock breeds are at the forefront of ex situ conservation efforts undertaken in many countries and regions in both public and privately funded collections (Leroy et al 2019). While there has been considerable attention on the technical feasibility of storage and use of materials (Morrell and Mayer 2017), breed prioritization algorithms (Simianer et al 2003) and to some extent the ethical and governance implications (Farhadinia et al 2020), there has been less discussion about the need to rationalize collections, using criteria that might be expected to guide efficient investment decisions (Tisdell 2015). This entails clear articulation of the relevant costeffectiveness criteria, including the configuration of national and international collections to avoid redundancy, and accounting for evolving in situ conditions.…”