Field Trip to
Swastika Sanskriti
BSc(Hon's) Zoology,
Semester 1
Roll number- 2022/1637
Miranda House
I would like to express a special thanks of
gratitude to Dr. Jyoti Arora for giving us the
opportunity to write a report on the field trip
to Yamuna Biodiversity Park.
We sincerely appreciate the efforts put in by
our teachers and the guides in Biodiversity
Park for making us gain knowledge about the
various plant and animal species.
The field trip really helped me to broaden my
view and taught me an analytical way to look at
the various species.
Swastika Sanskriti
BSc(Hon's) Zoology, Semester 1
Roll number- 2022/1637
Miranda House
Biodiversity describes the richness and
variety of life on earth. It is the most
complex and important feature of our
planet. Without biodiversity, life would not
sustain. The term biodiversity was coined
in 1985. It is important in natural as well as
artificial ecosystems. It deals with nature’s
variety, the biosphere. It refers to
variabilities among plants, animals and
microorganism species. Biodiversity
includes the number of different
organisms and their relative frequencies in
an ecosystem. It also reflects the
organization of organisms at different
levels. Biodiversity holds ecological and
economic significance. It provides us with
nourishment, housing, fuel, clothing and
several other resources. It also extracts
monetary benefits through tourism.
Therefore, it is very important to have a
good knowledge of biodiversity for a
sustainable livelihood.
There are the following three different types of biodiversity:
✓ Genetic Biodiversity
✓ Species Biodiversity
✓ EcologicalBiodiversity
❑ Species diversity
Species diversity refers to the variety of different types
of species found in a particular area. It is the biodiversity
at the most basic level. It includes all the species
ranging from plants to different microorganisms.No two
individuals of the same species are exactly similar. For
example, humans show a lot of diversity among
themselves.
❑ Genetic diversity
It refers to the variations among the genetic resources
of the organisms. Every individual of a particular species
differs from each other in their genetic constitution. That
is why every human looks different from each other.
Similarly, there are different varieties in the same
species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.
❑ Ecological diversity
An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living
organisms and their interaction with each other.
Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the
plant and animal species living together and
connected by food chains and food webs.
➢ Ecological Stability
Every species has a specific role in an ecosystem. They
capture and store energy and also produce and
decompose organic matter. The ecosystem supports
the services without which humans cannot survive. A
diverse ecosystem is more productive and can
withstand environmental stress.
➢ Economic Importance
Biodiversity is a reservoir of resources for the
manufacture of food, cosmetic products and
pharmaceuticals.
➢ Crops livestock, fishery, and forests are a rich sources
of food.
➢ Wild plants such as Cinchona and Foxglove plant are
used for medicinal purposes.
➢ Wood, fibres, perfumes, lubricants, rubber, resins,
poison and cork are all derived from different plant
species.
➢ The national parks and sanctuaries are a source of
tourism. They are a source of beauty and joy for many
people.
➢ Ethical Importance
All species have a right to exist. Humans should not
cause their voluntary extinction. Biodiversity preserves
different cultures and spiritual heritage. Therefore, it is
very important to conserve biodiversity.
According to Conservation International, a region must
fulfill the following two criteria to qualify as a hotspot:
The region should have at least 1500 species of vascular
plants i.e., it should have a high degree of endemism. It
must contain 30% (or less) of its original habitat, i.e. it
must be threatened.
➢ The Himalayas
Considered the highest in the world, the Himalayas
(overall) comprises North-East India, Bhutan, Central
and Eastern parts of Nepal. This region (NE Himalayas)
holds a record of having 163 endangered species
which includes the Wild Asian Water Buffalo, One-
horned Rhino; and as many as 10,000 plant species,
of which 3160 are endemic. This mountain range
covers nearly 750,000 km2.
➢ Indo – Burma Region The
Indo-Burma Region is stretched over a distance of
2,373,000 km². In the last 12 years, 6 large mammal
species have been discovered in this region: the
Large-antlered Muntjac, the Annamite Muntjac, the
Grey-shanked Douc, the Annamite Striped Rabbit,
the Leaf Deer, and the Saola.This hotspot is also
known for the endemic freshwater turtle species, most
of which are threatened with extinction, due to over-
harvesting and extensive habitat loss. There are also
1,300 different bird species, including the threatened
White-eared Night-heron, the Grey-crowned Crocias,
and the Orange-necked Partridge.
➢ The Western Ghats
The Western Ghats are present along the western
edge of peninsular India and covers most of the
deciduous forests and rain forests. As per UNESCO, it is
home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna,
bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species. Originally, the
vegetation in this region was spread over 190,000 km2
but has been now reduced to 43,000 km2. The region
is also known for the globally threatened flora and
fauna represented by 229 plant species, 31 mammal
species, 15 bird species, 43 amphibian species, 5
reptile species and 1 fish species. UNESCO mentions
that “Of the total 325 globally threatened species in
the Western Ghats, 129 are classified as Vulnerable,
145 as Endangered and 51 as Critically Endangered.”
➢ Sundaland
The Sundaland hotspot lies in South-East Asia and
covers Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, and
Malaysia. In the year 2013, the Sundaland was
declared as a World Biosphere Reserve by the United
Nations. This region is famous for its rich terrestrial and
marine ecosystem. Sundaland is one of the
biologically richest hotspots in the world which
comprises 25,000 species of vascular plants, of which
15,000 are found only in this region.
Yamuna biodiversity park, located on Yamuna river front
is a 9770 hectares biodiversity area in Delhi, India. It is
developed by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) with
the technical help of Centre for Environmental
Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE),
University of Delhi. It serves as an ideal alternative habitat
for migratory and resident bird species. It also is designed
to conserve the wild genetic resources of agricultural
crops and enhance groundwater recharge and
augment freshwater availability.
❖ Flora
According to prof. C R Babu of Delhi University, initially
only mongooses, lizards and 31 species of birds were
there in the park up until 2004. By 2014 the biodiversity
park already had 900 species of native plants. The
native species reintroduced included adina, sal, teak
and hardwickia. As of 2019, it has about 1,500 species
of plants and animals, and 200 species of birds.
❖ Fauna
By 2014, the wetlands was already attracting
thousands of migratory birds from Siberia, Central Asia
and Europe. It had 200 species of birds, 75 species of
butterflies, 10 species of snakes, and big mammals like
porcupine, small Indian civet and wild boars.
The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions
around the world, including the Americas, Africa, Egypt and India.
The greatest diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico,
followed by Australia and Africa. Cotton was independently
domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.
There are four commercially grown species of cotton, all
domesticated in antiquity:
❖ Gossypium hirsutum – upland cotton, native to Central America,
Mexico, the Caribbean and southern Florida (90% of world
production)
❖ Gossypium barbadense – known as extra-long staple cotton,
native to tropical South America (8% of world production)
❖ Gossypium arboreum – tree cotton, native to India and Pakistan
(less than 2%)
❖ Gossypium herbaceum – Levant cotton, native to southern
Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (less than 2%)
The water footprint of cotton fibers is substantially larger than for
most other plant fibers. Cotton is also known as a thirsty crop; on
average, globally, cotton requires 8,000–10,000 liters of water for
one kilogram of cotton, and in dry areas, it may require even more
such as in some areas of India, it may need 22,500 liters.
The kusha grass, the darbha grass and the pavitram,
are the Sanskrit terms for Desmostachya bipinnata grass.
This grass is of literary and ritual significance in Hinduism.
Desmostachya bipinnata, commonly known as halfa
grass, big cordgrass, and salt reed-grass,is an Old
World perennial grass, long known and used in human
history. The grass is tall, tufted, leafy, perennial grass,
branching from the base, erect from a stout creeping
rootstock.
On the basis of distinct morphological and reproductive
characters, four new subspecies of D. bipinnata have
been described by Pandeya and Pandeya (2002).
However, it is uncertain whether these subspecies
represent actual genetic differences, the authors also
note the existence of different biotypes occurring in
response to soil and climatic conditions in western India.
The four subspecies proposed are:
➢ D. bipinnata longispiculata;
➢ D. bipinnata jodhpurensis;
➢ D. bipinnata sheelai;
➢ D. bipinnata agraensis.
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic
birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different
classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021
the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven genera. The great
cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and the common shag (Gulosus
aristotelis) are the only two species of the family commonly
encountered in Britain and Ireland and "cormorant" and "shag"
appellations have been later assigned to different species in the family
somewhat haphazardly.
Cormorants and shags are medium-to-
large birds, with body weight in the
range of 0.35–5 kilograms (0.77–11.02
lb) and wing span of 60–100
centimetres (24–39 in). The majority of
species have dark feathers. The bill is
long, thin and hooked. Their feet have
webbing between all four toes. All
species are fish-eaters, catching the
prey by diving from the surface. They
are excellent divers, and under water
they propel themselves with their feet
with help from their wings; some
cormorant species have been found to
dive as deep as 45 metres (150 ft). They
have relatively short wings due to their
need for economical movement
underwater, and consequently have
the highest flight costs of any flying bird.
Cormorants nest in colonies around the shore, on trees, islets or cliffs.
They are coastal rather than oceanic birds, and some have colonised
inland waters. The original ancestor of cormorants seems to have been
a fresh-water bird.[citation needed] They range around the world,
except for the central Pacific islands.
Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of
shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family
Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to
Africa and Australasia. The genus name is New Latin, borrowed from the
Greek ἀκακία (akakia), a term used by Dioscorides for a preparation
extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of Vachellia nilotica, the
original type of the genus. In his Pinax (1623), Gaspard Bauhin
mentioned the Greek ἀκακία from Dioscorides as the origin of the Latin
name.
In the early 2000s, it had become evident that the genus as it stood was
not monophyletic and that several divergent lineages needed to be
placed in separate genera. It turned out that one lineage comprising
over 900 species mainly native to Australia, New Guinea, and Indonesia
was not closely related to the much smaller group of African lineage
that contained A. nilotica—the type species. This meant that the
Australasian lineage (by far the most prolific in number of species)
would need to be renamed. Botanist Leslie Pedley named this group
Racosperma, which received little acclaim in the botanical community.
Australian botanists proposed a less disruptive solution setting a different
type species for Acacia (A. penninervis) and allowing this largest
number of species to remain in Acacia, resulting in the two Pan-Tropical
lineages being renamed Vachellia and Senegalia, and the two
endemic American lineages renamed Acaciella and Mariosousa.[5]
Although many botanists still disagreed that this was necessary, this
solution was eventually officially adopted at the Melbourne
International Botanical Congress in 2011.
The Oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster) is a water bird of
tropical South Asia and Southeast Asia. It has a long and
slender neck with a straight, pointed bill and, like the
cormorant, it hunts for fish while its body is submerged in water.
It spears a fish underwater, bringing it above the surface,
tossing and juggling it before swallowing the fish head first. The
body remains submerged as it swims, and the slender neck
alone is visible above the water, which accounts for the
colloquial name of snakebird. Like the cormorants, it has
wettable feathers and it is often found perched on a rock or
branch with its wings held open to dry.
The Oriental darter is like all other anhingas, a cormorant-like
species that has a very long neck. The structure of the neck is as
in other species of darter with strongly developed muscles
about a kink in the neck at the 8th and 9th vertebrae that
allows it to be flexed and darted forward with rapid force to
stab fish underwater. The edges of the commissures of the
mandible tips have minute inward pointing serrations that hold
impaled fish.
