Biodiversity hotspots

1. Biodiversity hot spots

2. Biodiversity is life in all its glorious and weird variety,
from genetic to ecosystem diversity and species richness.
But we are on a progressive march towards mass
extinction — the International Union for Conservation
of Nature reports that species are dying out 1,000 to
10,000 times faster than they would without human
intervention.

3. In 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity, the focus
is on the planet’s most species-rich pockets.
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a
significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat
from humans.

4. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers 2000 edition of the
hotspot-map, a region must meet two strict criteria:
1. it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as
endemics
[Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a
defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country
or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are
indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also
found elsewhere. ]
2. It has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.
Around the world, at least 25 areas qualify under this definition, with
nine others possible candidates.
These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal,
reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic
species.

5. Biodiversity Hotspots

6. Three regions that satisfy these criteria exist in India and are
described below
1. The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
2. The Eastern Himalayas
3. Indo-Burma

7. The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
The Western Ghats are a chain of hills that run along the
western edge of peninsular India.
Because of their proximity to the ocean they receive high
rainfall.
These regions have moist deciduous forest and rain forest.
The region shows high species diversity as well as high
levels of endemism.
Nearly 77% of the amphibians and 62% of the reptile
species found here are found nowhere else.
Sri Lanka, which lies to the south of India, is also a country
rich in species diversity. It has been connected with India
through several past glaciation events by a land bridge
almost 140km wide

8. Biodiversity of The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
There are over 6000 vascular plants belonging to over 2500 genera in
this hotspot, of which over 3000 are endemic.
Much of the world's spices such as black pepper and cardamom have
their origins in the Western Ghats.
The highest concentration of species in the Western Ghats is believed
to be the Agasthyamalai Hills in the extreme south.
The region also harbors over 450 bird species, about 140 mammalian
species, 260 reptiles and 175 amphibians.

9. Biodiversity of The Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
Over 60% of the reptiles and amphibians are completely endemic to
the hotspot.
Remarkable as this diversity is, it is severely threatened today.
The vegetation in this hotspot originally extended over 190,000 square
kms.
Today, its been reduced to just 43,000 sq. km.
In Sri Lanka, only 1.5% of the original forest cover still remains

10. Lion-tailed Macaque

11. The Eastern Himalayas
Eastern Himalayas is the region
encompassing Bhutan, northeastern
India, and southern, central, and
eastern Nepal.
The region is geologically young and
shows high altitudinal variation.
Together, the Himalayan mountain
system is the world's highest, and home
to the world's highest peaks, which
include Mount Everest and K2 peak
Some of the world's major river systems arise in the Himalayas, and their
combined drainage basin is home to some 3 billion people (almost half of
Earth's population) in 18 countries

12. Biodiversity: The Eastern Himalayan hotspot has nearly 163 globally
threatened species including the One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros
unicornis), the Wild Asian Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis (Arnee)) and in
all 45 mammals, 50 birds, 17 reptiles, 12 amphibians, 3 invertebrate and
36 plant species
The Relict Dragonfly (Epiophlebia laidlawi) is an endangered species
found here with the only other species in the genus being found in
Japan.
The region is also home to the Himalayan Newt (Tylototriton verrucosus),
the only salamander species found within Indian limits.
There are an estimated 10,000 species of plants in the Himalayas, of
which one-third are endemic and found nowhere else in the world.

13. A few threatened endemic bird species such as the Himalayan Quail,
Cheer pheasant, Western tragopan are found here, alongwith some
of Asia's largest and most endangered birds such as the Himalayan
vulture and White-bellied heron
The Saola, a bovine, is one of the world's rarest mammals. It was
discovered in Vietnam only in 1992
The Himalayas are home to over 300 species of mammals, a dozen of
which are endemic. Mammals like the Golden langur, The Himalayan
tahr, the pygmy hog, Langurs, Asiatic wild dogs, sloth bears, Gaurs,
Muntjac, Sambar, Snow leopard, Black bear, Blue sheep, Takin, the
Gangetic dolphin, wild water buffalo, swamp deer call the Himalayan
ranged their home.

14. Snow leopard
Asiatic black beer
Wild dogs
Golden langur
Sloth bear

15. The only endemic genus in the hotspot is the Namadapha flying squirrel
which is critically endangered and is described only from a single specimen
from Namdapha National Park ( Arunachal Pradesh)

16. Indo-Burma

17. The Indo-Burma region encompasses several countries. It is spread out
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.
The Indo-Burma region is spread over 2 million sq. km of tropical Asia.
Since this hotspot is spread over such a large area and across several
major landforms, there is a wide diversity of climate and habitat
patterns in this region

18. Biodiversity of Indo-Burma
Much of this region is still a wilderness, but has been deteriorating
rapidly in the past few decades.
In recent times, six species of large mammals have been discovered
here: Large-antlered muntjac, Annamite muntjac, Grey-shanked douc,
Annamite striped rabbit, Leaf deer, and the Saola.
This region is home to several primate species such as monkeys , langurs
and gibbons with populations numbering only in the hundreds.
Many of the species, especially some freshwater turtle species, are
endemic.
Almost 1,300 bird species exist in this region including the threatened
white-eared night-heron, the grey-crowned crocias, and the orange-
necked partridge.
It is estimated that there are about 13,500 plant species in this hotspot,
with over half of them endemic. Ginger, for example, is native to this
region

19. Saola (1992)

20. Global Biodiversity Hot-spots
1. TROPICAL ANDES, SOUTH AMERICA
Original extent: 1,542,644 km2
Habitat remaining: 385,661 km2
Only one quarter of Earth’s most diverse region – the tropical Andes –
remains intact.
Here, pockets of vegetation contain one sixth of the planet’s plant life in
just one per cent of its land area.
“Preserving biodiversity is very important – ecosystems provide a
number of services essential for human well-being,” says ecologist Will
Steffen from the Australian National University in Canberra

21. 2. MADAGASCAR
Original extent: 600,461 km2
Habitat remaining: 60,046 km2
A fragment of a lost continent, Madagascar is home to 90 species of
primates, including more than 50 lemur species, that are found
nowhere else on Earth. Humans have destroyed much of
Madagascar’s habitat, but in recent years it has become a model for
conservation. Unfortunately, a political coup in March 2009 has
derailed efforts.

22. 3. CERRADO, BRAZIL
Original extent: 2,031,990 km2
Habitat remaining: 438,910 km2
Biodiversity loss in Brazil conjures up images of razed Amazon
rainforest. But the Cerrado, Brazil’s wide savannah, hosts almost as
many plant species as the Amazon Basin (more than 10,000) and is
losing vegetation even faster.
Two-thirds of the Cerrado have been converted to grow soy beans and
graze cattle. Conservation International estimates that the Cerrado
ecosystem could be gone by 2030.

23. 4. CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
Original extent: 229,549 km2
Habitat remaining: 22,955 km2
One of the world’s top five biodiversity hotspots in terms of its species
richness, the Carribean is home to at least 2% of the planet’s species.
Following the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010,
conservation has taken a back seat to relief efforts dealing with the
human devastation.

24. 5. SOUTHWEST AUSTRALIA
Original extent: 356,717 km2
Habitat remaining: 107,015 km2
Pinned to Australia’s striking southwest coast is the Fitzgerald River
National Park.
The World Biosphere Reserve is home to almost 4,000 plants — 80%
found nowhere else on Earth — which shelter honey possums and small,
carnivorous dibblers.
North of the biosphere, some of the world’s tallest trees house
threatened birds and marsupials such as phascogales and the western
quoll.
Although at risk from habitat fragmentation, salinity and the root fungus
Phytophthora cinnamomi, the area is one of the most sparsely populated
hotspots, with just five people per square km.

25. 6. POLYNESIA-MICRONESIA
Original extent: 47,239 km2
Habitat remaining: 10,015 km2
The “epicentre of the global extinction crisis” according to
Conservation International, this swathe of 4,500 Pacific islands —
including Fiji and Hawaii — has lost 43 species, including 25 birds,
since the arrival of Europeans 200 years ago.
Islands are prone to become centres of biodiversity – when cut off
species evolve to fill the ecological niches.

26. 7. GREAT BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA
Original extent: 345,950 km2
Habitat remaining: Periodic bleaching has wiped out over half the
reefs, but recovery has been excellent.
A 2008 study in Science found one third of reef-building corals around
the world were at risk of extinction as a result of stressors such as
acidification, sediment run-off and rising ocean temperatures.
The world’s largest collection of living organisms, the Great Barrier
Reef is home to 1,600 species of bony fish, 400 corals, 5,000 molluscs
and marine mammals from whales to dugongs.
In 2002, 55% of corals were bleached by heat-stress, highlighting the
threat of climate change to biodiversity.

27. 8. SUCCULENT KAROO, SOUTHERN AFRICA
Original extent:: 102,691 km2
Habitat remaining: 29,780 km2
A desert bonanza rich in succulent plants, this arid hotspot is
one of only two globally significant arid regions.
Surprisingly, it nurtures 2,439 native plants, like the spiny, four-
metre-tall Pachypodium namaquanum.
Little is being done to protect the unique region – only 2% of
the area is protected by National Parks.

28. 9. HORN OF AFRICA
Original extent: 1,659,363 km2
Habitat remaining: 82,968 km2
Conservation International defines the arid biodiversity region of the
Horn of Africa as encompassing Somalia and parts of Ethiopia,
Eritrea, Kenya, Yemen and Oman.
It is one of the most degraded hotspots in the world, with less than
5% of its original habitat remaining.
Antelope, such as the endangered Arabian Oryx, share drought-
struck vegetation with livestock.
Overgrazing and the uncontrolled production of charcoal have led to
increasing desertification in the area.

29. Measurement of biodiversity

30. Species diversity is the effective number of different species
that are represented in a collection of individuals (a dataset).
The effective number of species refers to the number of equally
abundant species needed to obtain the same mean
proportional species abundance as that observed in the dataset
of interest (where all species may not be equally abundant).
Species diversity consists of two components:
1. species richness
2. species evenness.
Species richness is a simple count of species, whereas species
evenness quantifies how equal the abundances of the species
are.

31. Diversity may be measured at different scales. These are three indices
used by ecologists:
1. Alpha diversity refers to diversity within a particular area,
community or ecosystem, and is measured by counting the number
of taxa within the ecosystem (usually species)
2. Beta diversity is species diversity between ecosystems; this involves
comparing the number of taxa that are unique to each of the
ecosystems.
3. Gamma diversity is a measurement of the overall diversity for
different ecosystems within a region.

32. The term alpha diversity (α-diversity) was introduced by R. H.
Whittaker together with the terms beta diversity (β-diversity) and
gamma diversity (γ-diversity).
Whittaker's idea was that the total species diversity in a landscape
(gamma diversity) is determined by two different things, the mean
species diversity in sites or habitats at a more local scale (alpha
diversity) and the differentiation among those habitats (beta
diversity)

33. Concept of Centre of Origin
The center of origin (or centre of origin) is a geographical area where a
group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its
distinctive properties.
Centers of origin are also considered centers of diversity.
Vavilov centers
A Vavilov Center (aka Vavilov Center of Diversity) is a region of the
world first indicated by Dr. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov to be an original
center for the domestication of plants.
Vavilov developed a theory on the centers of origin of cultivated plants.
He stated that plants were not domesticated somewhere in the world at
random but there are regions where the domestication started.
The center of origin is also considered the center of diversity.
Until today Vavilov centers are regions where a high diversity of crop
wild relatives can be found, representing the natural relatives of
domesticated crop plants.

34. (1) Mexico-Guatemala, (2) Peru-Ecuador-Bolivia, (2A) Southern Chile, (2B)
Southern Brazil, (3) Mediterranean, (4) Middle East, (5) Ethiopia, (6) Central
Asia, (7) Indo-Burma, (7A) Siam-Malaya-Java, (8) China and Korea.
Vavilov centers

35. Different centre of Origins

36. The End