In situ conservation means protecting species in their natural habitat. Instead of removing organisms, the habitat is protected and managed, and the threats to the species are reduced.Advantages of in situ conservation:
• The whole ecosystem is protected, including the food species, pollinators, predators and habitat that the species depends on. Many species are conserved at once.
• Organisms stay in the conditions they are adapted to, and keep their natural behaviour, such as feeding, hunting and courtship.
• Populations can keep evolving by natural selection as their environment changes.
• Population sizes can be larger than in zoos, so more genetic diversity is kept.
• It avoids the stress and cost of capture, transport and captivity.Disadvantages of in situ conservation:
• The original threats may continue, for example poaching (illegal hunting), disease, pollution or climate change.
• Protected areas can be hard and expensive to police, especially if they are large or remote.
• If a population is already very small or its habitat is badly fragmented, it may not recover without extra help.
• Protected land may be wanted by local people for farming or building.In situ conservation is usually the first choice because it keeps species in functioning ecosystems. For critically endangered species, however, it is often combined with ex situ conservation, so a captive or seed bank population acts as an insurance policy while the wild habitat is restored.
• The whole ecosystem is protected, including the food species, pollinators, predators and habitat that the species depends on. Many species are conserved at once.
• Organisms stay in the conditions they are adapted to, and keep their natural behaviour, such as feeding, hunting and courtship.
• Populations can keep evolving by natural selection as their environment changes.
• Population sizes can be larger than in zoos, so more genetic diversity is kept.
• It avoids the stress and cost of capture, transport and captivity.Disadvantages of in situ conservation:
• The original threats may continue, for example poaching (illegal hunting), disease, pollution or climate change.
• Protected areas can be hard and expensive to police, especially if they are large or remote.
• If a population is already very small or its habitat is badly fragmented, it may not recover without extra help.
• Protected land may be wanted by local people for farming or building.In situ conservation is usually the first choice because it keeps species in functioning ecosystems. For critically endangered species, however, it is often combined with ex situ conservation, so a captive or seed bank population acts as an insurance policy while the wild habitat is restored.