Biodiversity

Prepared by: Veereshgouda. M. Police PatilAssistant ProfessorCollege of Agriculture ,ShivamoggaUAHS, Shivamogga

Bio-diversity

The word BIODIVERSITY • originates from the Greek word BIOS = LIFE • and Latin word DIVERSITAS = VARIETY or DIFFERENCE.• The whole word BIO DIVERSITY generally therefore means: VARIETY OF

LIFE. • The term “Biological diversity” coined by: Thomas Lovejoy.• The word “Biodiversity” coined by Walter. G. Rosen in 1985Definition: The variety and variability among living organisms and the

ecological complexes in which they occur (U.S. office of Technology, 1987).

• ‘Biological diversity’ or biodiversity is that part of nature which includes the differences in genes among the individuals of a species, the variety and richness of all the plant and animal species at different scales in space, locally, in a region, in the country and the world, and various types of ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic, within a defined area.

Number of species worldwide

There are about 14,13,000 identified species. A large number unidentified. If it is done number could be 5 million or more

Insects - 751,000

Plants - 248,000

Other animals - 281,000

Fungs - 69,000

Protests - 30,000

Algae - 26,000

Bacteria

and similar forms

- 4,800

Viruses - 1,000

A sample of fungi collected in summer 2008 in Northern Saskatchewan mixed woods, near LaRonge. In this photo, there are also leaf lichens and mosses

An example of the species diversity of fungi

Comparison Between the Number of Species in India and the World.

Group No. of sps. in India No. of sps. in World % of India to worldMammals 350 4,629 07.60Birds 1,224 9,702 12.60Reptiles 408 6,550 06.20Amphibians 197 4,522 04.40Fishes 2,546 21,730 11.70Flowering Plants 15,000 2,50,000 06.00

Biodiversity hotspot

• A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers 2000 edition of the hotspot-map, a region must meet two strict criteria:

it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and

it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.Around the world, 34 Biodiversity hotspots (in India 4) and these

sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of those species as endemics.

Biodiversity hotspots of India

1. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: western India and Sri Lanka2. Eastern Himalayas: Bhutan, northeastern India, and

southern, central, and eastern Nepal.3. Indo-Burma: from Eastern Bangladesh to Malaysia and

includes North-Eastern India south of Brahmaputra river, Myanmar, the southern part of China's Yunnan province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

4. Sundaland: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia. India is represented by the Nicobar Islands.

Biodiversity hotspots of India

• India is known for its rich heritage of biodiversity.• India is one of the 17 mega-biodiversity countries in the

world.• With only 2.4 % of the world’s area, India accounts for 7–8 %

of the world’s recorded plant and animal species.• India’s ten biogeographic zones possess an exemplary

diversity of ecological habitats like alpine forests, grasslands, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, and desert ecosystems.

India has 16 major types and 251 subtypes of forests. Jim Corbett National Park covering an area of 325 sq km came

into being as the India’s first and world’s third National Park in 1936.

India has currently 4.79 % of total geographic area under an elaborate network of PAs, which includes 99 National Parks, 513 wildlife sanctuaries, 43 conservation reserves, 4 community reserves and 3 biodiversity heritage sites.

Levels of Biodiversity

1. Genetic diversity2. Species diversity3. Ecosystem diversity

Genetic diversity

• Variation within individual species.• Genetic variation within species, both among geographically

separated population and among individuals within single population .

• Includes the differences in DNA composition among individuals within a given species.

Ex: varieties of Rice, varieties of Mango

Varieties of Mango

Varieties of Rice

Varieties of Dog

Species diversity

• Species = a particular type of organism; a population or group of populations whose members share certain characteristics and can freely breed with one another and produce fertile offspring

› Species diversity = the number or variety of species in a particular region.

› Species richness = number of species

› Evenness, or relative abundance = extent to which numbers of different species are equal or skewed

Ex: viruses, bacteria, protista, plants, animals and fungi.

Diversity of species

Ecosystem diversity

• Variety of habitats that occur within a region or the mosaic of patches found within a landscape.

• Includes diversity above the species level. • Some alternative ways to categorize it include:

Community diversity Habitat diversity Landscape diversity

Grassland ecosystem

Desert ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystem

Plant and animal species extinct since 1600 (India)

Animals Plants

Molluscees - 202 Ferns 16

Crustacean - 4 Gymnosperm 12

Insects - 61

Fishes - 33 Angiosperm

Amphibians - 2 Dicot 458

Reptiles - 23 Monocot 120

Birds - 117

Mammals - 62

Total 504 Total 596

• 1 mammal species every 400 years

• 1 bird species/200 yrs

Now…………...

• 10,000 times the background rate!

• 20-75 plant/animal species each day?

Background rates

Values/Benefits/Importance of Biodiversity

Direct values • The direct value include food resources like grains, vegetables, fruits which

are obtained from plant resources and meat, fish, egg, milk and milk products from animal resources. These also include other values like medicine, fuel, timber, fiber, wool, wax, resin, rubber, silk and decorative items.

• The direct values are of two types (i) Consumptive use value and (ii) Productive use value.

(i) Consumptive use value: These are the direct use values where the biodiversity products can be harvested and consumed directly. Example: Food, fuel and drugs. These goods are consumed locally and do no figure in national and international market.

(a) Food: (i) Plants: wheat, maize and rice constitute more than two third of the food

requirement all over the world.(ii) Fish: Through the development of aquaculture techniques, fish and fish

products have become the largest source of protein in the world.

(b) Fuel wood and timber: forests provided wood which is used as a fuel. Moreover fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, natural gas are also product of biodiversity which are directly consumed by humans.

(c) Drugs and medicines: The traditional medical practice like ayurveda utilizes plants or their extracts directly. In allopathy, the pharmaceutical industry is much more dependent on natural products.

Indigenous medicine systems utilize nearly 6,500 native plants for both human and animal healthcare.

Many drugs are derived from plants like • Quinine: The famous anti malaria drug is obtained from cinchona tree.• Penicillin: A famous antibiotic is derived from pencillium, a fungus.• Tetracycline: It is obtained from bacterium (Antibiotic).• Recently vinblastin and vincristine, two anti cancer drugs have been

obtained from catharanthus plant which has anti cancer alkaloids.

(ii) Productive use values: These are the direct use values where the product is commercially sold in national and international market. Many industries are dependent upon these values.

• Example- Textile, leather, silk, paper and pulp industry etc.

Indirect values

• These include social and cultural values, ethical values, aesthetic values, option values and environment service values.

(i) Social and cultural values: Many plants and animals are considered holy and sacred in India and are worshipped like Tulsi, peepal, cow, snake etc. In Indian society great cultural value is given to forest and as such tiger, peacock and lotus are named as the national animal, bird and flower respectively.

(ii) Ethical values: These values are related to conservation of biodiversity where ethical issue of ‘all life forms must be preserved’ is laid down. There is an existence value which is attached to each species because biodiversity is valuable for the survival of human race. Moreover all species have a moral right to exist independent of our need for them.

(iii) Aesthetic value: Natural landscapes at undisturbed places are a delight to watch and also provide opportunities for recreational activities like bird watching, photography etc. It promotes eco-tourism which further generates revenue by designing of zoological, botanical gardens, national parks, wild life conservation etc.

(iv) Option values: These values include the unexplored or unknown potentials of biodiversity.

(v) Environment service values: The most important benefit of biodiversity is maintenance of environment services which includes

(i) Carbon dioxide fixation through photosynthesis.(ii) Maintaining of essential nutrients by carbon (C), oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N),

Sulphur (S), Phosphorus (P) cycles.(iii) Maintaining water cycle and recharging of ground water.(iv) Soil formation and protection from erosion.(v) Regulating climate by recycling moisture into the atmosphere.(vi) Detoxification and decomposition of waste.

Measuring Biodiversity

[I] Alpha diversity

[II] Beta diversity

[III] Gamma diversity

[I] Alpha diversity:

Refers to Number of species in a unit area.This diversity comes closest to the popular concept of species

richness and can be used to compare the number of species in different ecosystem types.

Richness and evenness of individuals within a habitat unit.

Alpha Diversity of Site A = 7 species, Site B = 5 species, Site C = 7 species.

A vs B = 8 speciesB vs C = 4 speciesA vs C = 10 species

[II] Beta diversity:

This refers to the degree to which species composition changes along an environmental gradient.

Beta diversity is high for example, if the species composition of moss communities changes at successively higher elevations on a mountain slope, but is low if the same species occupy the whole mountain side.

Beta Diversity = expression of diversity between habitats. In the example below, the greatest Beta Diversity is observed between Site A

and C with 10 species that differ between them and only 2 species in common.

A vs B = 8 speciesB vs C = 4 speciesA vs C = 10 species

[III] Gamma diversity:

This applies to larger geographical scales and The rate at which additional species are encountered as geographical

replacements within a habitat type in different localities. Thus gamma diversity is a species turnover rate with distance between sites

of similar habitat or with expanding geographic areas”.

Gamma Diversity = landscape diversity or diversity of habitats within a landscape or region.

In this example, the gamma diversity is 3 habitats with 12 species total diversity.

A vs B = 8 speciesB vs C = 4 speciesA vs C = 10 species

Why biodiversity is rich in the tropics ?

• More stable climate than the temperate zones.• Tropical communities are older than temperate ones and, therefore, there has

been more time for them to evolve. This could have allowed them greater degree of specialization and local adaptation to occur.

• Warm temperatures and high humidity in most tropical areas provide favourable conditions for many species.

• In tropics, there may be greater pressure from pests, parasites and diseases. This does not allow any single species to dominate and thus there is opportunity for many species to co-exist. On the contrary in temperate zones there is reduced pest pressure due to cold.

• Higher rates of out crossing may lead to higher levels of genetic variability.• Tropical areas receive more solar energy over the year more productive or

greater resource base that can support a wider range of species.

Threats to biodiversity

[I] Habitat destruction[II] Habitat fragmentation[III] Habitat degradation and pollution[IV] Introduction of exotic species[V] Disease[VI] Overexploitation[VII] Shifting or Jhum cultivation[VIII] Others Urbanization Industrialization Overgrazing Destruction of forests Illegal trade Mining Developmental works; dams, roads, electric line, schools etc.

Threats to biodiversity

• Human activity is the major threat to biodiversity and following are the chief causes of extinction of species caused by man to fulfill its needs.

[I] Habitat destruction: Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered

functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity.

Human population went from 1 billion in 1850, to 2 billion in 1930, to 5.3 billion in 1990, 6.5 billion in the year 2000, 7.1 billion in 2011.

More than 50% of the wildlife habitat has been destroyed in 49 out of 61 Old World tropical countries.

Huge amounts of habitat are lost each year as the world’s forests are cut down. Rain forests, tropical dry forests, wetlands, mangroves and grasslands are threatened habitats and leading to desertification.

Burnt forest area

[II] Habitat fragmentation: Habitat fragmentation is the process by which habitat loss results in the division of large, continuous habitats into smaller, more isolated remnants.

Habitat that formerly occupied wide areas are now often divided up into pieces by roads, fields, towns, canals, power lines etc. Habitat fragmentation is the process where a large, continuous area of habitat is both, reduced in area and divided into two or more fragments.

[III] Habitat degradation and pollution: some activities may not affect the dominant species in the community but other species are greatly affected by such habitat degradation. For example, physical degradation of forest habitat by uncontrolled ground fires, might not kill the trees, but the rich perennial wild plant community and insect fauna on the forest floor would be greatly affected.

[IV] Introduction of exotic species: Introduction of exotic species increased levels of diseases, and excessive exploitation of particular species by people.

[V] Disease: Animals held in captivity are also more prone to higher level of disease.

[VI] Overexploitation: Increased use of natural resources.[VII] Shifting or Jhum cultivation: Rural people destroy biological

communities and hunt endangered species because they are poor and have no land of their own.

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION

• Swidden agriculture (slash-and-burn)> 60% of deforestation> Rapid decline in soil productivity (nutrient storage?)> Can be sustainable

-- (15 - 20 year rotation)> Inequitable land ownership (e.g., Brazil where only 5% of farmers own land)

Shifting cultivation

Over exploitation

Extinct of Dodo bird

Hunting of tigers for skin

Elephant tusk for Ivory

• Commercial logging21% of deforestationcreaming of the most valuable hardwoods1-2 trees per hectare taken (widespread damage)clearcut versus selective

Uncontrolled Logging

• Cattle ranching12% of deforestationfrequently aided by government subsidies2 trees destroyed for each hamburger made from “tropical forest beef”

Unscientific Cattle ranching

Biodiversity conservation strategies

Global scenario• Considering the immense value of biodiversity and

subsequent rapid loss of the same, during past couple of decades, enormous conservation efforts were made for restoring the biodiversity of various habitats.

Conservation of biodiversity

i. Ex-Situ Conservation: maintenace and breeding of endangered species both plants and animals, outside their original habitat.

ii. In situ Conservation: conservation of species in its natural habitat in places where the species naturally occurs.

Other biodiversity conservation techniques

• Imparting Environmental Education• Environmental Legislations• Population control• Reviewing the Agricultural Practices -Sustainable use• Controlling Urbanization• By adopting the above measures we can stop doing harm to

the biodiversity and conserve it.

International efforts for biodiversity conservation

• United nations environment programme (UNEP)• World conservation union• WWF• Convention on international trade in endangered animals and

plant species (CITES)

Indian efforts for biodiversity conservation

• The biodiversity bill 2002• India became party to convention on biodiversity (CBD)• May 22nd international day on biodiversity celebrated.