Ex situ conservation is a complementary approach which offers
insurance against these threats to species. It has some useful advantages. Most important
of these is that it represents an efficient and cost effective way of conserving the variation
within individual species because germ banks occupy little space, and they require little
attention over considerable periods of time. In addition, due to the
portable nature of such samples, their storage can easily be duplicated in different
places with the result that they are less vulnerable to catastrophes.