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extinct species
I don't think this is the right forum for this, but I will post this
last thing:
Generally, extinct means "extinct in the wild" when you see it in
print. And I repeat, your aquarium bred plants are not the same
genetically as those that were in the wild and may or may not
successfully reestablish due to either changes in the adaptive ability
of the plant or in the environment; sometimes these things are hard to
figure out in nature as you'd expect. I suspect that the poor
translocation record for plants (I am not discussing fish or cheetahs
here now) has to do with subtle changes in the environment that make it
difficult for the plant to persist. Note I say "persist". It may
indeed grow for a year, or 3 years. We seldom monitor for over 5 years,
and in one case I know well, an aquatic endangered plant was
translocated (Lilaeopsis masonii) and it persisted for 5 years only to
blink out after 7. Noone in industry wants to pay for what it really
costs to do these experiments correctly. Few think in the long term.
So, translocation experiments tend to fail; over 90% fail in our area as
reported the Endangered Species Program of Dept of Fish and Game in two
separate reports.
By the way, the cheetah genetics story is an interesting one and has
little if anything to do with re-introduction of the cheetah. It has
more to do with (perhaps) cheetah biology and (perhaps) habitat
fragmentation and genetic bottlenecks created from that. Now, some
zoologists believe that the cheetah is not threatened by its odd genetic
situation (in that cheetahs are all so similar genetically). Others
still think that it is. Note that it is an extremely narrowly adapted
cat - has to hunt during the day, built for speed, etc. The cheetah and
other African animals are indeed threatened, but by habitat loss and
degradation more than anything else. This is something I know about;
see my website and the links on it:
http://www.cheetahfilmsphotography.com/, especially the one for the
Cheetah Conservation Fund. Sorry this isn't plant related.
Roxanne Bittman