abhinav & divyanshu biodiversity)

8/2/2019 Abhinav & Divyanshu Biodiversity)

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SUBMITTED BY:

ABHINAV CHAUHAN -10809471

DIVYANSHU KRISHNA-10810562


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BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity can simply be defined as the variation of life at a given site or

ecosystem. However, it is through this diversity that natural systems adapt,

evolve, and thrive. Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms

within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity

is a measure of the health of ecosystems.


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Biodiversity is considered to exist at three levels: genetics, species, and

ecosystems.

Genetic diversity: the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic

makeup of a species. Genetic diversity allows species to adapt to changing

environments. This diversity aims to ensure that some species survive drastic

changes and thus carry on desirable genes. The survival of individuals ensures the

survival of the population.

Species diversity:a ratio of one species population over total number of

organisms across all species in the given biome. Zero would be infinite

diversity, and one represents only one species present.

Ecosystem diversity: the diversity of a place at the level of ecosystems. The

Earth is our biosphere, and the variation of ecosystems within our biosphere is a

measure of ecosystem diversity.


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Biodiversity is measured by two major components: species richness, and

species evenness. Species richness if similar to species diversity, but it simply

measures the total number of species in an ecosystem. The second component

is species evenness, which gauges the proportion of species at a given site.

Species richness

Species evenness


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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

A specific location that has enormous species diversity but is also under threat from

human activities is known as a biodiversity hot spot. According to Norman Myers,

the man who coined the term hotspot, two key criteria must be met for an area to

be considered a biodiversity hotspot: it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species

of [plants known to only exist in that region (endemic)], and it has to have lost at

least 70% of its primary vegetation.At least 25 areas around the world meet these

qualifications, and they support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal,

reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species.9 This

gives you a sense of how many unique species are under threat from human impacts

around the world.


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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN INDIA


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India, known for its rich heritage of biological diversity, has so far documented

over 91,200 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its ten bio-

geographic regions. Besides, it is recognized as one of the eight Vavilovian

centres of origin and diversity of crop plants, having more than 300 wild

ancestors and close relatives of cultivated plants, which are still evolving under

natural c India ranks among the top ten species-rich nations and shows high

endemism. India has four global biodiversity hot spots (Eastern Himalaya,

Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, and Sundaland). The varied

edaphic, climatic and topographic conditions and years of geological stability

have resulted in a wide range of ecosystems and habitats such as forests,

grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and coastal and marine ecosystem conditions.

BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA


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BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

The conservation ethic advocates management of natural resources for the

purpose of sustaining biodiversity in species, ecosystems, the evolutionary

process, and human culture and society. Conservation biology matured in the

mid-20th century as ecologists, naturalists, and other scientists began to research

and address issues pertaining to global biodiversity declines.

WHY CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY?

Ecological reasons: Individual species and ecosystems have evolved over

millions of years into a complex interdependence. This can be viewed as

being akin to a vast jigsaw puzzle of inter-locking pieces. If you remove

enough of the key pieces on which the framework is based then the whole

picture may be in danger of collapsing.


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Two linked issues which are currently of great ecological concern include

world-wide deforestation and global climate change. Forests not only harbour

untold numbers of different species, but also play a critical role in regulating

climate. The destruction of forest, particularly by burning, results in great

increases in the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Average global

temperatures have been showing a steadily increasing trend. Global sea levels

have risen by 100 - 200 mm over the last century due to melting of snow caps.

scientists predict that the earth could be on average1oC warmer by 2025 and 3oC

warmer by 2100. These changes, while small, could have drastic effects.

Economic reasons: Environmental disasters such as floods, forest fires and

hurricanes indirectly or directly caused by human activities, all have dire

economic consequences for the regions afflicted.


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Erosion and desertification, often as a result of deforestation, reduce the

ability of people to grow crops and to feed themselves. This leads to economic

dependence on other nations. Non-sustainable extraction of resources (e.g.

hardwood timber) will eventually lead to the collapse of the industry involved,

with all the attendant economic losses. Large-scale habitat and biodiversity

losses mean that species with potentially great economic importance may

become extinct before they are even discovered. The vast, largely untappedresource of medicines and useful chemicals contained in wild species may

disappear forever.

Ethical reasons: Do we have the right to decide which species should survive

and which should die out? Do we have the right to cause a mass extinction?

Most people would instinctively answer 'No!'. However, we have to realise

that most biodiversity losses are now arising as a result of natural competition

between humans and all other species for limited space and resources.


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Aesthetic Reasons: Most people would agree that areas of vegetation, with

all their attendant life forms, are inherently more attractive than burnt,

scarred landscapes, or acres of concrete and buildings. Human well-being

is inextricably linked to the natural world.

abhinav & divyanshu biodiversity)

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