The key difference between in-situ and ex-situ conservation is that the in-situ conservation is the conservation method that involves the conservation of species in their usual habitats while the ex-situ conservation is the conservation methods that involves species conservation elsewhere outside the natural habitat.
Conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources is an important phenomenon. Mainly the conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources has two strategies. It can be done while keeping them in their natural environments or taking them outside from their natural habitats and protect in some other places. In in-situ conservation, species conservation takes place while they are in their usual or natural habitats. In ex-situ conservation, species conservation takes place in some other place outside the natural habitat. Hence, these two methods differ from each other in many ways. However, both methods are essential for the protection of endangered or threatened animal and plant species.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is In-Situ Conservation
3. What is Ex-Situ Conservation
4. Similarities Between In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation
5. Side by Side Comparison – In-Situ vs Ex-Situ Conservation in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is In-Situ Conservation?
In-situ conservation, also known as “on-site conservation” is the method of species conservation which takes place on their natural environments. In-situ conservation can be subdivided into protected area conservation, on-farm conservation, and home garden conservation. The main purpose of this strategy is to conserve ecosystems and natural habitats and maintain the natural balance of their populations. Also, In-situ conservation involves the designation, management, and monitoring of target taxa where they have originated. Furthermore, this technique is more applicable for conserving wild species and for landrace material on the farm.
Figure 01: In-Situ Conservation
Moreover, this conservation type is more dynamic since it takes place in natural habitats of the target species. This is the most appropriate method of conserving biodiversity. Therefore, wildlife and livestock conservation focus mainly based on in-situ conservation.
What is Ex-Situ Conservation?
Ex-situ conservation, also known as off-site conservation is the conservation mode in which species conservation takes place outside of their natural habitats. Sampling, transfer, and storage of target taxa from their natural habitats are the major events involve in this method.
Figure 02: Ex-Situ Conservation
Thus, this conservation method has more static nature compared to in-situ conservation. Also, the off-site conservation can be done by using seed storage, in vitro storage, DNA storage, pollen storage, and botanical garden storage methods. Therefore, this method is most suitable for conserving crops and their wild relatives.
What are the Similarities Between In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation?
- In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation are two ways of biodiversity conservation.
- By both methods, species conservation is done successfully throughout the world.
- Also, both methods have advantages and disadvantages.
What is the Difference Between In-Situ and Ex-Situ Conservation?
When we protect or conserve species in their natural habitats, we refer it as in-situ conservation. On the other hand, when we conserve species outside from their natural environments such as in a zoo, research institute, etc., we refer to it as ex-situ conservation. This is the main difference between in-situ and ex-situ conservation. In-situ conservation is one of the most effective conservation methods of threatened species of wildlife.
The below infographic tabulates the difference between in-situ and ex-situ conservation as a side by side comparison.
Summary – In-Situ vs Ex-Situ Conservation
In-situ and ex-situ conservation are two modes of species conservation. Both methods are utmost important and equally adopted in species conservation. The main difference between in-situ and ex-situ conservation is that in-situ conservation performs inside the natural habitats while ex-situ conservation performs outside or exterior to the natural habitats. Species conservation can be done under ex-situ conservation in a zoo, private collection, breeding centre, major horticultural centre, seed bank, botanical garden, etc. In-situ conservation can be done in natural parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, etc. Therefore, this is the difference between in-situ and ex-situ conservation.