Publisher's Synopsis
Reproductive biology is more than the development of techniques for helping with too little or too much breeding. While some of the relevant techniques are useful for individual species, technical developments have to be backed up by thorough biological understanding of the background behind the problems. Domestic and wild animal species are undergoing a profound erosion process due to natural and genetic causes. Considering the role of livestock in producing food, energy, raw materials and fertilizers, great efforts in the conservation of these genetic resources are needed to prevent, stop and reverse this trend of thinning of animal biodiversity. In the second half of the 20th century, in fact, the increasing industrialization of agriculture and the genetic selection of only few, highly promoted breeds, have constantly reduced the number of breeds, leading, in some cases, to their extinction. Thus, the importance of maintaining livestock breeds and their genetic resources has become mandatory in the last decades. Considering all these elements, the aim of this volume is to highlight the main aspects for the conservation of endangered animals, with particular emphasis to the novel methodological tools, ranging from biotechnologies to digital preservation. Reproductive Sciences in Animal Conservation: Progress and Prospects provides insights into the state of the art in terms of species-specific reproductive technologies, whether for individual animals or whole taxonomic groups. The contributions are from eminent experts in reproduction and associated areas. It is intended to explain the role of reproductive science, including what are termed reproductive technologies (i.e. artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, embryo transfer, cloning), in conservation biology. Reproductive techniques find their greatest application in understanding species uniqueness, adaptations and physiological mechanisms, not in the large-scale assisted breeding and the production of offspring. This volume will be of relevant to anyone involved in reproductive biology or in species conservation and provides provide them some useful perspectives about the real utility of current and emerging technologies.
