Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, USA.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jun 28;8(1):9789. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-27806-2.
The challenge of recovering threatened species necessitates collaboration among diverse conservation partners. Zoos and aquariums have long partnered with other conservation organizations and government agencies to help recover species through a range of in situ and ex situ conservation projects. These efforts tend to be conducted by individual facilities and for individual species, and thus the scope and magnitude of these actions at the national level are not well understood. Here we evaluate the means and extent to which North American zoos and aquariums contribute to the recovery of species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), by synthesizing data from federal recovery plans for listed species and from annual surveys conducted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We found that in addition to managing ex situ assurance populations, zoos frequently conduct conservation research and field-based population monitoring and assessments. Cooperatively managed populations in zoos tend to focus on species that are not listed on the ESA or on foreign listings, and thus it may be beneficial for zoos to manage more native threatened species. Our results highlight the existing contributions, but also identify additional opportunities for the zoo community to help recover threatened species.
恢复受威胁物种的挑战需要各种保护合作伙伴之间的协作。动物园和水族馆长期以来一直与其他保护组织和政府机构合作，通过一系列就地和异地保护项目来帮助物种恢复。这些努力往往由单个设施为单个物种进行，因此，国家层面上这些行动的范围和规模并不为人所知。在这里，我们通过综合美国濒危物种法案（ESA）列出的物种的联邦恢复计划的数据和由动物园协会进行的年度调查，评估北美动物园和水族馆为恢复这些物种所做的努力和贡献程度。我们发现，除了管理异地保证种群外，动物园还经常进行保护研究以及基于实地的种群监测和评估。合作管理的动物园种群往往集中在那些没有被列入 ESA 或国外名单的物种上，因此，动物园管理更多本地受威胁物种可能会有所裨益。我们的研究结果突出了现有的贡献，但也确定了动物园界帮助恢复受威胁物种的额外机会。
