Importance of assisted reproductive technologies in the conservation of wild, rare or indigenous ungulates: Review article

Biodiversity is increasingly threatened by intensive agriculture, environme ntal pollution, extinction of natural habitats and several other factors. S everal mammalian species including ungulates have disappeared or are threat ened by extinction. However, ungulates play an important role both in the e cosystem and in the economy. In general, species or breeds are considered e ndangered if their population does not exceed 1,000 individuals. In these c ases conservation programmes should be initiated in order to maintain or ev en increase their number. This review deals with the possibilities and limi tations of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in the conservation of ecologically valuable wild, rare and indigenous ungulates. The methods disc ussed here are artificial insemination, cryopreservation of semen and embry os, embryo recovery and transfer, in vitro production of embryos, as well a s micromanipulation techniques including sperm injection, assisted hatching and cloning. Some of these procedures are already being exploited in the b reeding of farm ungulates, but more basic information about the reproductiv e patterns of wild, rare and indigenous animal species is needed before the routine use of ARTs.