Global diversity patterns and loss of biodiversity

Global diversity patterns and
loss of biodiversity

Jitendra Kumar
Department of FRM
College of Fisheries, Mangalore

jitenderanduat@gmail.com

Biodiversity
• Refers to the numbers, variety and
variability of living organisms and
ecosystem

• Includes all terrestrial, marine and
other aquatic organisms

• Covers diversity within species,
between species as well as variations
among ecosystems.
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an
entire planet.

Global Patterns of Biodiversity
• main factors determining species richness
• also increased with the need to understand how
biodiversity might change
– under different scenarios of global climate change


Global biodiversity hotspots
• A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic species.

• Hotspots were first named in 1988 by Dr. Sabina V.
• To qualify as a hotspot, an area must hold at least 1500 endemic species
– Brazil's Atlantic Forest is containing roughly 20,000 plant species &1,350
vertebrates etc

• ! All 34 hotspots contain 50% plant species, 42% terrestrial vertebrates.
• ! Hotspots cover 15.7% of the land surface.
• ! Intact hotspot habitat equals 2.5 of the total land surface.

Major problems with biodiversity
conservation
• Low priority for con-tion of living natural res.
• Exploitation of living natural res.

• Values and knowledge about the spp. and ecosystem
in adequately known
• Uncontrolled Urbanization and Industrialization

Major biodiversity threats
•
•
•
•
•

Habitat destruction
Overexploitation
Deforestation
Anthropogenic climate change
Bioaccumulation and Synergetic effects etc..


Habitat
• “the place
where it lives”

Habitat = Address or home of an
organism

• Term coined
by Elton in
1927.

• Habitat loss and degradation
– Destruction of biodiversity rich areas like tropical
forests.
– Destruction of coral reefs and Wetlands.
– Ploughing of grasslands.
– Aquatic ecosystem is threatened.
– Pollution of freshwater streams, lakes, and marine
habitats.

Habitat loss and degradation
Most pervasive threatImpacting 86% of threatened mammals,

86% of threatened birds and
88% of threatened amphibians


Habitat loss and degradation is the greatest threat to
global diversity among
mammals, birds, amphibians, and gymnosperms


Threats to Reefs
10% of the coral reefs around the world are already dead.


Deforestation
Deforestation is the clearing of trees off an area of land.
It includes any forestry practice that results in a long-term
land use change.
• Types of change:
• –Forest -agriculture
• –Forest -human settlements
• –Forest -non-forest uses e.g.,
urban, industrial, livestock, etc.

DESERTIFICATION


Estimated DEFORESTED areas(brown) vs.
Remaining Forested areas (green)

NORTH AMERICASOUTH AMERICA
Brown = deforested
Green = remaining forested areas

Overexploitation
33% of mammals and 30% of birds are affected by
overexploitation
Invasive are affecting 67% of threatened birds on
islands


Pollution
29% of amphibians are affected by pollution and
17% by disease


Current Patterns of Global Endangerment
• Best data on global endangerment are collated in the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (www.redlist.org)
• All species placed into one of 9 categories
–
–
–
–

3 primary categories:
Critically Endangered,
Endangered &
Vulnerable

• To date, only 2.5% of species evaluated (and 41%
considered endangered)

What groups are in endangered?


Current Pattern of Global
Endangerment


IUCN, Red List of Threatened
Species
• Classifies species according to their extinction
risk
• Searchable online database containing the global
status and supporting information on about 45,000
species
• Primary goal is to identify and document the
species most in need of conservation attention and
provide an index of the state of biodiversity

IUCN Red List
• Contains 784 documented extinctions
• 60 extinctions in the wild since 1500 AD
• Over the past 20 years, 27 documented
extinctions or extinctions in the wild
• Rates of extinctions 100 to 1,000 times natural
background extinction rates

IUCN Red List – 2008 Update
• 2008 assessment includes 44,838
species
• 869 (2%) are extinct or extinct in the
wild
• 16,928 (38%) are threatened with
extinction
–
–
–
–

3,246 critically endangered
4,770 endangered
8,912 vulnerable
5,570 have insufficient info to
determine their status (data deficient)
– Rates of extinctions 100 to 1,000
times natural background extinction
rates

Why are we losing biodiversity?

• INCREASING POPULATION
•

INCREASING USE OF FINITE
RESOURCES

• INCREASING POLLUTION


HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
Time to Attain Year Attained
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

1st Billion
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
6.7

2-5 Million Years About 1880
Approx. 130 Years
1930
30 Years
1960
15 Years
1975
12 Years
1987
12 Years
1999
10 Years
2009
Source: http://math.berkeley.edu/~galen/popclk2009.html

BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA
Himalayas - This majestic range of
mountains is the home of a diverse range
of flora and fauna. Eastern Himalayas is
one of the two biodiversity hotspots in
India.

Chilika - This wetland area is protected
under the Ramsar convention.

Sunder bans - The largest mangrove
forest in India.

Western Ghats - One of the two
biodiversity hotspots in India.

Thar desert - The climate and vegetation
in this area
is a contrast to the Himalayan region.

Source: earthtrends.wri.org


244/18664
88/390
72/458
25/521
03/231
09/5749

Source: www.earthtrends.wri.org/2002-03

Comparative statement of recorded number of
animal species in India and the World
Taxa

Species

World

Percentage of India to
the world

Protista

2577

31259

8.24

Mollusca

5070

66535

7.62

68389

987949

6.9

Other
Invertebrates

8329

87121

9.56

Protochordata

119

2106

5.65

2546

21723

11.72

Amphibia

209

5150

4.06

Reptilia

456

5817

7.84

1232

9026

13.66

390

4629

8.42

Arthropoda

Pisces

Aves
Mamalia


Source: MoEF 2002.

IS THE BIODIVERSITY OF INDIA
UNDER THREAT?
• 10% of India’s plant species are under threat.
• More than 150 medicinal plants have
disappeared in recent decades.
• About 10% of flowering plants,20% of
mammals and 5% of the birds are threatened.


Impact of loss of Biodiversity
• Increased vulnerability of species extinction
• Ecological imbalance
• Reduced sources of food, structural materials, medicinal
and genetic resources
• Cost increase to the society


Solutions will include
– Establishing protected areas

– Targeted interventions at the genetic,
–
– species, and ecosystems levels
– Restoration of damaged ecosystems
– Recovery of endangered species
– Creation of sustainable forms of development

References
• www.redlist.org
• http://math.berkeley.edu/~galen/popclk.html
• www.earthtrends.wri.org
• www.earthtrends.wri.org/2002-03
• MoEF 2002
• http://esl.jrc.it/envind/pf_intro/pf_int07.htm

• http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectur
es/kling/ecosystem/ecosystem.html
• www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity


Thank You


Global diversity patterns and loss of biodiversity

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