Table 2.

Differences between animals (vertebrates) and (seed) plants that affect ex situ conservation practice ^*

Characteristics affecting conservation practice	Vertebrates	Seed plants
Typical life‐history characteristics
‐ ability to assign taxon name confidently	+	–
‐ generation time	medium	short to very long
‐ number of offspring	low to medium	low to very high
‐ gender	male or female	many systems
‐ ploidy	diploid	haploid, diploid, or polyploid
Logistical issues
‐ ability to move gametes	–(some sperm)	+ (many pollen)
‐ ability to move adults	+	– (size dependent)
‐ ability to move embryos	–	+ (seeds)
‐ ability to clone	–	+
Current conservation protocols and investment
‐ existing pedigree	+	–
‐ provenance of ex situ individuals known	–	+
‐ parent determination	+	–
‐ long‐term storage ability (embryos)	–	+ (orthodox seeds)
‐ reintroduction successes	some	several
‐ likelihood of hybridization in living collections	–	+
‐ conservation status assessed	+	–
‐ cost of managing ex situ populations	+	–
‐ current conservation investment	+	–

^*Key: +, relatively likely, high, or easy; –, relatively unlikely, difficult, or low.