Introduction to Biodiversity

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 What is biodiversity?

Services provided by
What you will ecosystem and biodiversity

learn? Global biodiversity

Impacts and causes of

biodiversity losses

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Where does writers, poets,
artists and composers get
their inspiration?

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Can you put a

monetary value on
life and nature? 4
Does everyone
has the right to

exist?
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 If there is no change is seasons?

What If everyone speaks same language?

If there is only same food for all 3 meals for all

happens? days?

If everyone looks the same?

Diversity 6
Recap

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What is biodiversity?
Variety and variability of living organisms and ecosystems

It is applicable to terrestrial, aquatic and marine environment

Diversity within species, between species, variation in ecosystems

Complex ecological interrelationships

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Why
biodiversity is
important?

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Types of biodiversity

Species diversity:
plants and animals present in an ecosystem

Species diversity is high in rainforests, coral reefs and low is isolated islands

Why?

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Types of biodiversity
Genetic diversity:
Number of genetic characteristic that makes up a species

Ecosystem diversity:
Habitats found in an area

Forests, deserts, grasslands occur in a particular area

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 Habitat stress

Geographical isolation
What factors Dominance by one species
determine the
Availability of ecological niche
diversity?
Edge effect

Geological history

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What do we Food, water, fuel, medicine

get from Seeds, microbes, genes

Climate regulation, water purification,

biodiversity flood control, human disease control

and Oxygen, soil formation, biomass

ecosystems? Recreation, exploration, tourism

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What is the cost of these
services we get?

US $ 36 trillion / year

US $ 39 trillion / year -
GWP

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How many
species?
Range 4 M - 100 M; Guess
10 - 14 M Indigenous
Most are not visible to naked knowledge
eye

So far,

1.8 M identified (excluding

bacteria)

270,000 plants ; 45,000

vertebrates ; 950,000 insects

Every year, 10,000 new

species are identified
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Where is the biodiversity?
50-75% species are found in tropical rainforest

100’s of species and M organisms

In tropic zones alone evolutionary activity happens.

Why?

Most of the foods in EU originated from developing

countries

Potato, Coffee, Bean, Soya, Cucumber, Orange

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https://static.toiimg.com/photo/msid-70443136/70443136.jpg

Is tiger extinct?

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http://assets.panda.org/img/original/graph_2.jpg

Target

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How species gets extinct?

Local, Ecological, and

Biological
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Will everything get extinct?
Multicellular organisms evolved 570 M years ago

30 B became 14 M

99.9% species became extinct

Adapt or become extinct

Types of biological extinction: 1. Background 2. Mass

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 Mass
Extinction
Extinction of more than 65% of species due to catastrophe

5 mass extinctions so far…in 500 M

20 - 100 M years to recover (communities change)

Severe extinction happened about 225 M (95% marine species)

65 M (Dinosaurs) which ruled the plant for 140 M

Reasons: Biological and Environmental

Global cooling, falling sea levels, predation, competition

Asteroid

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 Before active humans, 1 per M was
getting extinct

20th Century - 1/year

Now - 1-100/d

Current Status Future - 1000/d

20% of biodiversity will be gone by 2030

50% by end of the century

6th mass extinction is under progress,

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What does current study tell us?
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported out of 4000
species, 22% were threatened

World’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: plants genetic resources
are essential for farmers to tackle climate change

Causes for genetic erosion include: land clearing, population, overgrazing,

changing agricultural practices

Less documented

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Living Planet Report
WWF

Since 1970, 52% of 10,000 representative species such as mammals, birds,

reptiles, amphibians, and fish have declined

IUCN Red List

They bring different stakeholders

76,000 species was evaluated

4500 species were at the risk of extinction (26% mammals, 13% birds, 41%
amphibians)

Everyday we are losing 100 - 200 species 25

Keystone species
They determine the ability of other species to
survive

When they become extinct, it results in cascade

effect

Wolf - Deer / Herbivores - Plants - Small

Animals

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Sentinel species
Sensitive indicators of environmental problems

Early indicators that affect other species

Frogs- Amphibians (Deformed)

Agricultural pesticides, increase in UV, infectious disease, parasites, Habitat loss

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Classification of threatened species
IUCN

Vulnerable: still found in reasonable size, Hippo

Endangered: High risk of extinction, Peregrine Falcon

Critically endangered: Extremely high risk of extinction,

Orangutan, Mountain Gorilla

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Biodiversity Hotspot
Rich area of biodiversity under threat of over exploitation

25 such hotspots in the world, (Tropical forests)

They cover 1.4% of land (60% of biodiversity)

Population growth is more in those areas

Mostly low income people live in those areas

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Biodiversity loss
Loss of natural habitats by deforestation, fragmentation

Overexploitation - overfishing, poaching wildlife

Nutrients and pollution

Invasive of alien species on ecosystems

Climate change and acidification of ocean

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Biodiversity in India
18% of plants found in India are endemic

166 crops, 320 species originated from India

Rice varieties (30,000 - 60,000)

6.5% of world biodiversity is found in India

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Threats
10% of plants are threatened

150 medicinal plants

Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats

Rice: From 30000, to 12 HYV

Indigenous species were replaced

Loss of biodiversity is not reversible

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Values
Intrinsic

Instrumental

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Measuring Biodiversity
Alpha- small area

Beta - diversity between ecosystem (species change between ecosystem)

Gamma - overall diversity in large geography

Delta - global species

Epsilon - variety of life environment

Omega - taxonomy

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Key concepts
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity hotspots
Factors determining biodiversity
Types of biodiversity
Biodiversity in India
Biodiversity losses
Classification of threatened species
Keystone species
Sentinel species
Measuring diversity
Values
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