Wildt, 1997
Wildt, 1997
Wildt, 1997
Author(s): David E. Wildt, William F. Rall, John K. Critser, Steven L. Monfort and Ulysses S.
Seal
Source: BioScience, Vol. 47, No. 10, AIBS: The First 50 Years (Nov., 1997), pp. 689-698
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences
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David E. Wildt, William F. Rail, John K. Critser, Steven L. Monfort, and Ulysses S. Seal
B iological diversity is the key to (Foose 1987). But achieving this tar-
maintaining life as we know it get for tigers in nature would require
(Wilson 1992). However, rap- Organized banking of a habitat free of human disruption
idly growing human populations biomaterials from that is at least 25,000-50,000 km2
place extraordinary pressures on eco- (Foose 1987), or approximately the
systems, such as large-scale environ- wildlife species could combined areas of Maryland and
mental destruction, habitat conver- New Jersey. The reality for tigers
sion, habitat fragmentation, and provide important and many other species is that there
pollution. One reaction to these prob- is too little contiguous space left to
lems has been the emergence of con- benefits and options to sustain free-living populations. As
servation biology, an assemblage of habitats become smaller and more
scientific disciplines that are focused biotic managers isolated, the species occupying these
on sustaining biodiversity through a habitats also become more vulner-
cooperative synthesis of ideas, infor- terized as "quaint" given the reali- able to inbreeding depression, dis-
mation, and approaches. ties of the current and future world ease epidemics, natural disasters, and
Virtually all conservation biologists (Soule 1992). Some battles for main- social and political change.
agree that habitat preservation is the taining large, protected ecosystems Other approaches for helping to
best way to conserve biodiversity. Set- have already been lost. One species preserve biodiversity have been pro-
ting aside large tracts of land so that that has been adversely affected by posed. Soule (1991) has described a
they are free from human interfer- habitat loss is the tiger (Panthera "biospatial hierarchy" to protect
ence can protect many species, but tigris): Of the eight tiger subspecies biodiversity, beginning at the top
this approach has also been charac- that were recognized as endangered with whole ecosystems (in situ pro-
in 1969 by the IUCN-World Conser- tection) and proceeding down
David E. Wildt (e-mail:dewildt@shentel. vation Union, three (Panthera tigris through communities, species, popu-
net) is programhead and a codirectorof vigata, P. t. sondaica, and P. t. balica) lations (ex situ zoo breeding pro-
NOAHS (New Opportunitiesin Animal are now extinct, and one (P. t. grams), and eventually to cryobanked
HealthSciences),and StevenL. Monfortis biomaterials. In this article, we refer
an endocrinologistand researchveterinar- amoyensis, the South China tiger) is
critically endangered, with fewer to this last strategy as genome re-
ian in the ReproductivePhysiologyPro- source banks (GRBs), which are re-
than 80 individuals remaining in the
gram, at the Conservation& Research positories of systematically collected
Centerat the National Zoological Park, wild (Table 1;Jackson 1993). More-
SmithsonianInstitution,FrontRoyal, VA over, fewer than 400 Siberian tigers germ plasm (gametes), embryos,
22630. WilliamF. Rallis a cryobiologistin (P. t. altaica) exist in isolated pockets blood products, tissue, and DNA for
the EmbryoCryopreservation Unit of the of eastern Russia, northeast China, defined conservation programs.
NationalCenterfor ResearchResourcesat and North Korea (Jackson 1993).
theNationalInstitutesof Health,Bethesda, Fewer than 500 wild Sumatran tigers
MD 20892-5590. JohnK. Critseris scien- Existing genome
(P. t. sumatrae) live on Sumatra, resource banks
tific directorof the CryobiologyResearch
Instituteat theAdvancedFertilityInstitute, largely in five fragmented protected
areas (Tilson and Brady 1992). The concept of GRBs is not new.
Methodist OutpatientCenterNorth, In-
dianapolis,IN 46202. Ulysses S. Seal is Approximately 250 tigers are Already, biomaterials from farmed
chairmanof the ConservationBreeding needed in a population to sustain crop plants and animals are stored
SpecialistGroupof the IUCN-WorldCon- adequate genetic diversity, which is systematically, a development driven
servationUnion's Species SurvivalCom- defined as 90% of the current gene largely by economics and by the de-
mission,AppleValley,MN 55124. variation for the next 100 years sire to ensure secure food sources.