Ex situ seed banks and the IUCN Red List

Dalrymple, Sarah E.; Abeli, Thomas

doi:10.1038/s41477-019-0366-3

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…2018; Dalrymple & Abeli 2019). For species with long‐lived seeds, seed banks may also have the advantage that collections suffer less genetic erosion caused by genetic drift or artificial selection during the process of ex situ conservation (Dalrymple & Abeli 2019). For some species, however, seed collections lose genetic variation during the periodical regeneration cycles needed to maintain seed viability (Schoen & Brown 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, the type of ex situ conservation (i.e., planting or seed bank) can also influence the genetic representativeness of ex situ populations. Seed banks can store seeds at very high density, reducing space requirement, and are thus expected to harbor larger population sizes and to facilitate higher genetic representativeness than is practical in living plant collections (Wyse et al 2018;Dalrymple & Abeli 2019). For species with long-lived seeds, seed banks may also have the advantage that collections suffer less genetic erosion caused by genetic drift or artificial selection during the process of ex situ conservation (Dalrymple & Abeli 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Seed banks can store seeds at very high density, reducing space requirement, and are thus expected to harbor larger population sizes and to facilitate higher genetic representativeness than is practical in living plant collections (Wyse et al 2018;Dalrymple & Abeli 2019). For species with long-lived seeds, seed banks may also have the advantage that collections suffer less genetic erosion caused by genetic drift or artificial selection during the process of ex situ conservation (Dalrymple & Abeli 2019). For some species, however, seed collections lose genetic variation during the periodical regeneration cycles needed to maintain seed viability (Schoen & Brown 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meta‐analysis of genetic representativeness of plant populations under ex situ conservation in contrast to wild source populations

Wei

Jiang

2020

Conservation Biology

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Ex situ conservation is widely used to protect wild plant species from extinction. However, it remains unclear how genetic variation of ex situ plant collections reflects diversity of wild source populations. We conducted a global meta‐analysis of the genetic representativeness of ex situ populations by comparing genetic diversity (i.e., AR, allelic richness; He, expected heterozygosity; PPB, percent polymorphic bands; and SWI, Shannon–Winner index), inbreeding coefficient (FIS), and genetic differentiation between ex situ plant collections and their wild source populations. Genetic diversity (i.e., He, PPB, and SWI) was significantly lower in ex situ populations than their wild source populations, whereas genetic differentiation between ex situ and wild populations (ex‐situ‐wild FST), but not that among ex situ populations, was significantly higher than among wild populations. Outcrossing species, but not those with mixed mating system, had significantly lower genetic diversity in ex situ populations and significantly higher ex‐situ‐wild FST. When the collection size for ex situ conservation was ≥30 or 50, PPB, He, and ex‐situ‐wild FST were not significantly different between ex situ and wild populations, indicating a relatively high genetic representativeness. Collecting from the entire natural distribution range and mixing collections from different sources could significantly increase the genetic representativeness of ex situ populations. Type of ex situ conservation (i.e., planting or seed bank) had no effect on genetic representativeness. The effect size of He decreased and the effect size of ex‐situ‐wild FST increased as the duration of ex situ conservation increased. Our results suggest that current ex situ plant collections do not effectively capture the genetic variation of wild populations. Low genetic representativeness of ex situ populations was caused by both initial incomplete sampling from wild populations and genetic erosion during ex situ conservation. We emphasize that it is necessary to employ more thorough sampling strategies in future collecting efforts and to add new individuals where needed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Meta‐analysis of genetic representativeness of plant populations under ex situ conservation in contrast to wild source populations

Wei

Jiang

2020

Conservation Biology

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“…We highlight, however, that de‐extinction may not necessarily imply translocation or that resurrected individuals constitute an ecologically functional species. The recovery of an extinct plant species may have important implications for biodiversity conservation, even if reintroduction is not attempted (Dalrymple & Abeli, 2019). A recovered species may contribute to improving techniques and technologies to reverse biodiversity loss, to understand ecological and evolutionary processes, and to educate, even if only cultivated in a botanic garden.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A pragmatic and prudent consensus on the resurrection of extinct plant species using herbarium specimens

Rocchetti

Davis

Caneva

et al. 2021

TAXON

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Herbaria may represent remarkable sources of viable diaspores for recovering lost genetic variation and extinct plant species, but the application of rewilding extinct species using these collections has not been explored in detail. De‐extinction in plants may be achieved by germinating viable diaspores or culturing tissues preserved in herbarium specimens. Germination of old diaspores (fruits, seeds, spores) preserved in sub‐optimal uncontrolled storage conditions demonstrates that the recovery of extinct plants from herbarium specimens may be possible. Plant de‐extinction via herbarium specimens relies on the availability of samples containing viable diaspores, and on the inclination of curators and the conservation community to use such material for this purpose. We developed an internet‐based survey to assess (i) whether the scientific community would consent to the use of herbarium specimens of extinct species to attempt de‐extinction, and (ii) the limitations of removing diaspores from specimens. Despite the risk of potential damages to valuable specimens from historical collections when harvesting diaspores, a consensus for using specimens of extinct plant species emerged. Most respondents would permit the collection of a low number of diaspores, preferably from duplicate specimens and only if the integrity of the specimen is preserved. These considerations would be more restrictive for type specimens and those of historical value. These results help to formalise a decision framework for the grant and use of material from natural history collections and a pragmatic approach to attempt to resurrect extinct species from herbarium specimens.

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“…). Indeed, if one does not consider species in seed banks that do not occur in the wild extinct, sensu IUCN (Dalrymple & Abeli ), then herbaria represent the sole possibility to resurrect true extinct species.…”

Section: Restoration Of Genetic Diversity From Herbarium Specimensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ex situ collections and their potential for the restoration of extinct plants

Abeli

Dalrymple

Godefroid

et al. 2019

Conservation Biology

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The alarming current and predicted species extinction rates have galvanized conservationists in their efforts to avoid future biodiversity losses, but for species extinct in the wild, few options exist. We posed the questions, can these species be restored, and, if so, what role can ex situ plant collections (i.e., botanic gardens, germplasm banks, herbaria) play in the recovery of plant genetic diversity? We reviewed the relevant literature to assess the feasibility of recovering lost plant genetic diversity with using ex situ material and the probability of survival of subsequent translocations. Thirteen attempts to recover species extinct in the wild were found, most of which used material preserved in botanic gardens (12) and seed banks (2). One case of a locally extirpated population was recovered from herbarium material. Eight (60%) of these cases were successful or partially successful translocations of the focal species or population; the other 5 failed or it was too early to determine the outcome. Limiting factors of the use of ex situ source material for the restoration of plant genetic diversity in the wild include the scarcity of source material, low viability and reduced longevity of the material, low genetic variation, lack of evolution (especially for material stored in germplasm banks and herbaria), and socioeconomic factors. However, modern collecting practices present opportunities for plant conservation, such as improved collecting protocols and improved cultivation and storage conditions. Our findings suggest that all types of ex situ collections may contribute effectively to plant species conservation if their use is informed by a thorough understanding of the aforementioned problems. We conclude that the recovery of plant species currently classified as extinct in the wild is not 100% successful, and the possibility of successful reintroduction should not be used to justify insufficient in situ conservation.

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Ex situ seed banks and the IUCN Red List

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Cited by 15 publications

References 13 publications

Meta‐analysis of genetic representativeness of plant populations under ex situ conservation in contrast to wild source populations

Meta‐analysis of genetic representativeness of plant populations under ex situ conservation in contrast to wild source populations

A pragmatic and prudent consensus on the resurrection of extinct plant species using herbarium specimens

Ex situ collections and their potential for the restoration of extinct plants

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