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Amphibian Ark
The Amphibian Ark (or AArk) is an organization that focuses on the conservation of amphibian populations by planning and implementing ''ex situ'' programs in zoos and wildlife organizations around the world. Background The Amphibian Ark (or AArk) was formed in 2007 by three principle partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the IUCN/SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CBSG), and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) in response to extreme declines in wild amphibian populations. The AArk was formed to address and carry out the ''ex situ'' components of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP). Specifically, the AArk was formed to establish, maintain, and assist captive populations of amphibian species, focusing on those that cannot be safeguarded in nature, with the goal of using these collections to stabilize or re-establish wild populations. To accomplish its mission, Amphibian Ark’s staff coordinate ''ex situ'' amphibian programs impl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Association Of Zoos And Aquariums
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the "umbrella" organization for the world zoo and aquarium community. Its mission is to provide leadership and support for zoos, aquariums, and partner organizations of the world in animal care and welfare, conservation of biodiversity, environmental education and global sustainability. History After the ''International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens'' (IUDZG), founded in 1935 at Basel, Switzerland, ceased to exist during World War II, it was refounded in Rotterdam in 1946 by a group of zoo directors from allied or neutral countries. In 1950 IUDZG became an international organisation member of International Union for the Protection of Nature. In 1991 the IUDZG adopted a new name, ''World Zoo Organization'', and revised its membership rules to include regional zoo associations. In 2000 the organization got its current name, the ''World Association of Zoos and Aquariums'', to reflect a more modern institution wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excluding the amniotes (tetrapods with an amniotic membrane, such as modern reptiles, birds and mammals). All extant taxon, extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass (biology), subclass Lissamphibia, with three living order (biology), orders: Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater ecosystem, freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems (such as riparian woodland, fossorial and even arboreal habitats). Their biological life cycle, life cycle typically starts out as aquatic animal, aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ex Situ Conservation
FILE:Entrance to the Seed Vault (cropped).jpg, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Svalbard Global Seed Bank, an ' conservation ''Ex situ'' conservation () is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety, or breed of plant or animal outside its natural habitat. For example, by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, an artificial environment which is similar to the natural habitat of the respective animal and within the care of humans, such as a zoological park or wildlife sanctuary. The degree to which humans control or modify the natural dynamics of the managed population varies widely, and this may include alteration of living environments, reproductive patterns, access to resources, and protection from predation and mortality. ''Ex situ'' management can occur within or outside a species' natural geographic range. Individuals maintained ''ex situ'' exist outside an Niche (ecology), ecological niche. This means that they a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extinction
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and recover. As a species' potential Range (biology), range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxon, Lazarus taxa, where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in the Fossil, fossil record) after a period of apparent absence. Over five billion species are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, possibly many times more if microorganisms are included. Notable extinct animal species include Dinosaur, non-avian dinosaurs, Machairodontinae, saber-toothed cats, and mammoths. Through evolution, species arise through the process of specia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species360
Species360 (formerly International Species Information System, abbreviated as ISIS), founded in 1974, is an international non-profit organization that maintains an online database of wild animals under human care. As of 2023, the organization serves more than 1,300 zoos, aquariums and zoological associations on six continents and in 102 countries worldwide. The organization provides its members with zoological data collection and management software called ZIMS—the ''Zoological Information Management System''. ZIMS project was a large global collaboration with 600 people contributing under the leadership of Nate Flesness, Executive Director of Species360 (1979–2009), and Hassan Syed, CIO of Species360 (2003–2010). The ZIMS database contains information on 22,000 species, 10 million animals, and 82 million medical records. Members use the basic biologic information (age, sex, parentage, place of birth, circumstance of death, etc.) collected in the system to care for and ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Climate Change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to Earth's climate. The current rise in global temperatures is Scientific consensus on climate change, driven by human activities, especially fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution. Fossil fuel use, Deforestation and climate change, deforestation, and some Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, agricultural and Environmental impact of concrete, industrial practices release greenhouse gases. These gases greenhouse effect, absorb some of the heat that the Earth Thermal radiation, radiates after it warms from sunlight, warming the lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, the primary gas driving global warming, Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, has increased in concentratio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
In Situ
is a Latin phrase meaning 'in place' or 'on site', derived from ' ('in') and ' ( ablative of ''situs'', ). The term typically refers to the examination or occurrence of a process within its original context, without relocation. The term is used across many disciplines to denote methods, observations, or interventions carried out in their natural or intended environment. By contrast, ' methods involve the removal or displacement of materials, specimens, or processes for study, preservation, or modification in a controlled setting, often at the cost of contextual integrity. The earliest known use of ''in situ'' in the English language dates back to the mid-17th century. In scientific literature, its usage increased from the late 19th century onward, initially in medicine and engineering. The natural sciences typically use methods to study phenomena in their original context. In geology, field analysis of soil composition and rock formations provides direct insights into Earth' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biobank
A biobank is a type of biorepository that stores biological samples (usually human) for use in research. Biobanks have become an important resource in medical research, supporting many types of contemporary research like genomics and personalized medicine. Biobanks can give researchers access to data representing a large number of people. Samples in biobanks and the data derived from those samples can often be used by multiple researchers for cross purpose research studies. For example, many diseases are associated with single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Genome-wide association studies using data from tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals can identify these genetic associations as potential disease biomarkers. Many researchers struggled to acquire sufficient samples prior to the advent of biobanks. Biobanks have provoked questions on privacy, research ethics, and medical ethics. Viewpoints on what constitutes appropriate biobank ethics diverge. However, a consensus has been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault () is a secure backup facility for the world's crop diversity on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago. The Seed Vault provides long-term storage for duplicates of seeds from around the world, conserved in gene banks. This provides security of the world's food supply against the loss of seeds in genebanks due to mismanagement, accident, equipment failures, funding cuts, war, sabotage, disease, and natural disasters. The Seed Vault is managed under terms spelled out in a tripartite agreement among the Norwegian government, the Crop Trust, and the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen). The Norwegian government entirely funded the Seed Vault's approximately ( in 2008) construction cost. Norway and the Crop Trust pay for operational costs. Storing seeds in the vault is free to depositors. As of June 2025, the Seed Vault conserves 1,355,591 accessions, representing more than 13,000 years of History of agricu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Ice Core Laboratory
The National Science Foundation Ice Core Facility (NSF-ICF), known as the National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) before 2018, is the primary repository for ice cores collected by the United States. The facility is located at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood, Colorado, and is managed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Funding for the facility comes from the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, while scientific research is managed by the University of New Hampshire. NSF-ICF currently houses ~22,000 m of ice cores collected from Greenland and Antarctica, including the GISP2, Siple Dome, and portions of the Vostok cores. It is the lead facility for management of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) Divide ice core. In addition to providing a large storage facility, maintained at -35 ° C, NSF-ICF also has one of the largest sub-zero research and sample preparation spaces in the world. NSF-ICF is responsible for distributing samples of ice cores in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frozen Zoo
A frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals (e.g. DNA, sperm, eggs, embryos and live tissue) are stored at very low temperatures (−196 °C) in tanks of liquid nitrogen. Material preserved in this way can be stored indefinitely and used for artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, and cloning. There are a few frozen zoos across the world that implement this technology for conservation efforts. Several different species have been introduced to this technology, including the Pyrenean ibex, Black-footed ferret, and potentially the white rhinoceros. Overview The first frozen zoo was established at the San Diego Zoo by pathologist Kurt Benirschke in 1972. At the time there was no technology available to make use of the collection, but Benirschke believed such technology would be developed in the future. The frozen zoo idea was later supported in Gregory Benford's 1992 paper proposing a Library of Life. Zoos such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coral Reef Organizations
Organizations which currently undertake coral reef and atoll restoration projects using simple methods of plant propagation: Coral Cay* Counterpart International Coral Restoration Foundation (CRF) : Adopt a CoralCozumel Coral Reef Restoration Program (CCRRP): Based on Cozumel, Mexico. They restore the local reefs and have a volunteer program. Ocean Gardener: Indonesian NGO that conserves and restores coral reefs in Indonesia. Has tours, courses and volunteer programs and the proceeds go toward their coral restoration programs and helping local communities pivot to a regenerative economy. * U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) * US Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) * National Center for Coral Reef Research (NCORE) * Reef Ball * Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI)Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire (RRFB) [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
