Question

During a field excursion, a group of class XII students visited Kaziranga National Park and observed efforts to protect the Indian rhinoceros in its natural habitat. They also toured a botanical garden and a gene bank, where they saw endangered plant species and preserved seeds.

Based on this context, answer the following questions:

1. Name and define the two types of conservation methods mentioned above.
2. What is cryopreservation?
3. Is captive breeding an ex-situ or an in-situ strategy? Justify your answer with a reason.

Answer 1

1. In-situ and ex-situ conservation methods, respectively.
   In-situ conservation is the conservation of biotic resources in their natural habitats. Ex-situ conservation is the conservation of threatened species outside their natural habitats.
2. Cryopreservation is the in vitro conservation of tissues, organs, embryos, seeds, etc., at a low temperature of −196°C.
3. Captive breeding is an ex-situ conservation method because threatened and endangered species are bred and reared in zoological parks under human supervision.