BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

CONCEPTS: -

1. Biodiversity can be defined as the occurrence of different types of genes, gene pools, species, habitats and
ecosystem in a given region.

(i) The term biodiversity was given by a socio biologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the
levels of biological organization.

(ii) There are more than 20,000 species of ants, 3,00,000 species of beetles, 28,000 species of fishes and nearly
20,000 species of orchids.

Biodiversity can be divided into following three levels:

a) Genetic diversity is the diversity at the genetic level.

• It enables a population to adapt to its environment.

Example: -Domestic Dogs. Humans have created distinct breeds of dogs within the species by selectively breeding
individuals.

b) Species diversity is diversity at the species level. For example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian
species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.

c) Ecological diversity is the diversity at ecosystem level. For example, India with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves,
coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity.

2. Global species diversity means total species present on the earth.

(I) According to IUCN (2004) the total number of plant and animal species is slightly more than 1.5 million.

3. Biodiversity in India

(I) Although India has only 2.4% of the world’s land area, its share of the global species diversity is 8.1%. This makes
India one of the 12 megadiversity countries of the world.

PATTERNS OF BIODIVERSITY

⦁ Biodiversity is not uniform throughout the world but varies with latitude and altitude.

⦁ Favorable environmental conditions Favour speciation and make it possible for a larger number of species to
exist there, i.e., biodiversity is more in such areas than the others.

Latitudinal Gradients

⦁ Species diversity decreased from equator towards poles.

⦁ The tropics harbor more species than temperate and polar regions.

⦁ For example, Colombia (near equator) has 1400 species of birds whereas New York (41 N) has 105 species,
Greenland (71 N) has 56 species and India (equator region) has 1200 species.

Species-Area Relationship

⦁ Alexander Von Humboldt has observed that within a region, species richness gets increased when explored
area is increased, but only up to a limit.
⦁ The relationship between species richness and area for a number of taxa like angiospermic plants, fresh
water fishes and birds is found to be a rectangular hyperbola.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY: -

Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons. Biodiversity is also considered by many to have intrinsic value
—that is, each species has a value and a right to exist.

⦁ Economic—biodiversity provides humans with raw materials for consumption and production.

Many livelihoods, such as those of farmers are dependent on biodiversity.

⦁ Ecological life support—biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and
water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and many ecosystem services.

⦁ Recreation—many recreational pursuits rely on our unique biodiversity, such as birdwatching, hiking,
camping and fishing. Our tourism industry also depends on biodiversity.

⦁ Cultural—the Australian culture is closely connected to biodiversity through the expression of identity,
through spirituality and through aesthetic appreciation.

⦁ Scientific—biodiversity represents a wealth of systematic ecological data that help us to understand the
natural world and its origins.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY: -

Loss of biodiversity is a decrease in biodiversity within a species, an ecosystem, a given geographic area, or Earth as a
whole.

biodiversity loss describes the decline in the number, genetic variability, and variety of species, and the biological
communities in a given area.

*This loss in the variety of life can lead to a breakdown in the functioning of the ecosystem where decline has
happened.

The idea of biodiversity is most often associated with species richness (the count of species in an area), and thus
biodiversity loss is often viewed as species loss from an ecosystem or even the entire biosphere

The primary drivers of biodiversity loss are influenced by the exponential growth of the human population, increased
consumption as people strive for more affluent lifestyles, and reduced resource efficiency.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Biodiversity conservation is the protection and management of biodiversity to obtain resources for sustainable
development.
Biodiversity conservation has three main objectives:

⦁ To preserve the diversity of species.

⦁ Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystem.

⦁ To maintain life-supporting systems and essential ecological processes.

Conservation Methods

Biodiversity can be conserved in the following ways:

⦁ In-situ Conservation: - In-situ conservation of biodiversity is the conservation of species within their natural
habitat. In this method, the natural ecosystem is maintained and protected.

Protected areas where in-situ conservation takes place include national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries and biosphere reserves.

⦁ Ex-situ Conservation: - Ex-situ conservation of biodiversity involves the breeding and maintenance of
endangered species in artificial ecosystems such as zoos, nurseries, botanical gardens, gene banks, etc. There is less
competition for food, water and space among the organisms.

Strategies for biodiversity conservation:

⦁ Unique ecosystems should be preserved first.

⦁ The resources should be utilized efficiently.

⦁ Poaching and hunting of wild animals should be prevented.

⦁ Deforestation should be strictly prohibited.

⦁ Environmental laws should be followed strictly.

Hot Spots:

Hot spots are the areas with high density of biodiversity or mega diversity which are most threatened at present.
There are 16 hot spots in world, out of which two are located in India namely North-East Himalayas and Western
Ghats.

The hot spots are determined considering four factors:

(i) Degrees of endemism;

(ii) Degree of expectation

(iii) Degrees of threat to habitat due to its degradation and fragmentation and

(iv) Number of Species diversity.

Some global hot spot and endemic species present within them are:

(1) North East Himalayas (3,500)

(2) Madagascar (4,900)

(3) Philippines (3,700)

(4) Borneo (3, 500)

(5) Western Ghats (1,600)

RED DATA BOOK

The Red Data Book is a public document which is created for recording endangered and rare species of plants,
animals, fungi as well as some local subspecies which are present in a particular region.
The Red Data Book helps us in providing complete information for research, studies and also for monitoring the
programs on rare and endangered species and their habitats.

This book is mainly created to identify and protect those species w