Would people be interested in an endangered plant sharing project?

[greenbliss]

I'm not talking about 'rare' species that are considered 'fancy' but rather actually endangered plants. What if people would start growing more of these and sharing them around as a method of conservation...?

Aldrovanda vesiculosa - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Just one example. But an interesting species.

'The plant captures small aquatic invertebrates using traps similar to those of the Venus flytrap' this sounds fascinating doesn't it? Surely could get people interested in keeping this?

 

[Ehcosbie]

I would be up for this. Could become a fun experiment.

 

[greenbliss]

Many scientists call useful projects ‘fun hobbies’ because they don’t make money or get funding. So the question is. Should hobbyists play a big part in preserving nature?

 

[MichaelJ]

Should hobbyists play a big part in preserving nature?

Aquarium keepers will barely be a factor in that equation - we are simply too scarce. We can certainly raise awareness and promote preservation for sure, and we should. 😇

No idea what the Law is in the UK, but its worth keeping in mind that in some countries, such as the US, its against the law to traffic or keep endangered species (See IUCN for a definition) including plants without a permit.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[Tyko_N]

Aquarium keepers will barely be a factor in that equation

I'm not so sure about that, there are plenty of threatened species swimming around in our tanks. White clouds and red-tailed black sharks are pretty much extinct in the wild, then there are plenty of endangered blue-eyes, goodeids, rainbowfish (including boesmani), and of course numerous cichlids, bettas, l-numbers etc. So the aquarium hobby could definitely provide some kind of "Ark" for species that are rapidly disappearing in the wild, although as long as the threats remain there isn't much hope of reintroduction programs succeeding, and we will probably have to keep captive-breeding these species for a very long time if we want them to persist.

 

[PARAGUAY]

Think however niche a hobby we are perceived as l think the aquarists have a lot to offer as long as it's done properly. I think it was MD Fish Tanks who visited a chap who had a vast amount of natural aquariums with many fish breeding that are really scarce and at risk in the wild,that's got to be a positive.My son at present working on a project where green land is being developed, a road diversion and industrial park. Several ponds will have to go but the developer has to make several more ponds to replace these on green space and newts etc transfered