2. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TERMS RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY
3. DISTRIBUTION OF BIODIVERSITY
4. BIODIVERSITY AND BALANCE OF NATURE
5. BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY
6. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
7. RECENT ISSUES ON BIODIVERSITY
8. CONCLUSION
3. INTRODUCTION
The term Bio-Diversity was first coined by Walter G. Rosen in
1986.
Biodiversity, refers to the variety of life on Earth. It includes
diversity of ecosystems, species and genes, and the
ecological processes that support them. Basically BIO
means “Life” and Diversity means “Variety” . It
represents the sum total of various life forms such as
unicellular fungi, protozoa, bacteria and multi cellular
organisms such as plants, fishes and animals at various
levels.
4. TERMS RELATED TO BIODIVERSITY
• Endemic species- Plant and animal species confined to a particular
geographical area are called endemic species.
• Extinct species- Species that no longer exist anywhere on the
Earth are called extinct species.
• Endangered species- Species that are at a high risk of getting
extinct in their habitat are called endangered species.
• Ecosystem- An ecosystem is a community of living
organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in conjunction
with the nonliving components of their environment (things
like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.
5. DISTIBUTION OF BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly
across the globe as well as within regions. Among other
factors, the diversity of all living things depends on
temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and
the presence of other species. The study of the spatial
distribution of organisms, species, and ecosystems, is the
science of biogeography.
Flora diversity also depends on factors like climate, altitude,
soil and presence of other species.
Most of the biodiversity is concentrated in the tropical region.
6. DISTIBUTION OF BIODIVERSITY
HOTSPOTS
A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level
of endemic species. Hotspots were first named in 1988 by
Dr. Sabina Virk. Many hotspots are nearby of large human
populations. While hotspots are spread all over the world,
the majority are forest areas and most are located in
the tropics. The following picture shows hotspots around the
world.
7. BIODIVERSITY AND BALANCE OF NATURE
TROPICAL LEVEL: Elimination of species from tropical level
can cause destruction of ecosystem as well as biodiversity.
COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM: In a complicated ecosystem having
several tropical levels, loss of one or more species does not cause any
serious problem because the alternative is available.
KEYSTONE SPECIES: Loss or addition of species cause detectable
changes in ecosystem rates i.e. species make unique contribution to
ecosystem functioning.
8. BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY
The following are the benefits of biodiversity:
1. They provide us food.
2. They provide us oxygen which is necessary for our survival.
3. Many medicines and supplements are made with the help of
many plants, animals and micro-organisms.
4. It also helps in stabilization of land against erosion
5. It moreover helps in degradation of waste
The benefits of biodiversity are countless but still man is exploiting
and degrading it.
9. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
The following are the threats to biodiversity:
I. Natural Disasters
II. Habitat Modification
III. Over Exploitation of Selected Species
IV. Pollution
V. Poaching
VI. Agriculture
VII. Global Warming and Climate Change
Most of this is because, human is so greedy now a days that for
fulfilling his needs he is harming the biological diversity or
biodiversity.
10. RECENT ISSUES ON BIODIVERSITY
Some scientists estimated that as many as 3 species per hour are
going extinct and 20,000 extinctions occur each year.
Roughly one-third of world’s coral reef systems have been
destroyed or highly degraded.
About 24% of mammals and 12% of bird species are considered
currently to be globally threatened.
11. CONCLUSION
Biodiversity is our life. If the biodiversity got lost at this rate then in
near future, the survival of human being will be threatened. So its
our moral duty to conserve biodiversity as well as our
environment. Long-term maintenance of species and their
management requires co-operative efforts across entire landscapes.
Biodiversity should be dealt with at scale of habitats or
ecosystems rather than at species level.