Chapter 37

BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

 Biodiversity refers to sum total of diversity that exist at all levels of

biological organisation.

 Ther e ar e more than 20000 species of ants ; 20000 species of orchids, 28000
species of fishes, 3 Lakhs species of beetles.

 In our biosphere immense diversity (or heterogeneity), exist not only at the
species level, but all the lev els of biological or ganisation ranging from
macromolecules within cell to biomes.

 Biodiversity is the term popularised by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to

describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation.

 3 important components of biodiversity are : 1. Genetic diversity, 2. Species

diversity & 3. Ecological diversity

Genetic diversity

 A single species show high diversity at genetic level (not at genus level) over
its distributional range.

 Genetic diversity in India is shown by :

1. Rauwolfia vomitoria (Reserpine). (CPMT-2014-Cancelled)

2. Rice (50,000 strains). (CBSE-2011)

3. Mango (1,000 varities). (BIHAR-2011, AIIMS-2008)

 The genetic variation shown by the medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria growing in
di ff er ent Himalayan ranges might be in terms of potency & concentration of the
active chemical (Reserpine) obtain f rom root s of plants ? (Code : RRR) (MP-2011)

 India has mor e the 50,000 genetically different strains of rice & 1000 variaties
of mango. (CBSE-2009)

Species diversity

 The diversity at the species level is called speciesdiversity. eg.: The Western

Ghat have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.

Ecological diversity

 Diversity at the ecosystem level is calledecological diversity.

 For instance, India with it deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs,
wetlands. estuaries & alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a
Scandinavian country like Norway.
Magnitude of Biodiversity

 According to IUCN 2004 (International Union for Conservation of Nature & Natural

Resources) (CBSE-2011), total number of plant & animals species described so far is
slightly more than 1.5 million (15 lakhs).

 We have no clear idea of how many species are yet to be discovered & described.
Some extreme estimate range from 20 to 50 million.

 A more conservative & scientifically sound estimate made by Robert May places the
global species diversity at about 7 million (70 lakhs).

 More than 1.5 million species have been recorded in the world, but there might
still be nearly 6 million species on earth waiting to be discovered & named.

 For many taxonomic group species inventories are more complete in temperature than
in tropical countries.

 In the tropics, there are large proportion of the species waiting to be
discovered. So, to estimate the total number of species present in the wor ld the
biologist s make a statist ical compar ison of the temperate-tropical species
richness of an exhaustively studied group of insects. Then they extrapolate this
ratio to other groups of animal & plants & calculate the total number of species on
earth.

 More than 70% of all the species recorded are animals while plants (including
algae, fungi, bryophyte, gymnosperms & angiosperms) comprise no more than 22% of
the total.

 Among animals insects are the most species rich taxonomic group making up more
than 70% of total animal species (out of every 10 animal on this planet 7 are
insect). (KERALA 2011)

 The number of fungi species in the wor ld is more than al l the vertebrate species
(fishes, amphibians, reptiles & mammals) combined.

 It should be noted that these estimate do not give any figures for prokaryotes.

 The problem is that : 1. Conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for
indent ifying microbial species. 2. Many species are simply not culturable under
laboratory conditions.

 Biologists are not sure about how many prokaryotic species there might be. If we
accept biochemical or molecular criteria for delineating species for prokaryotes,
then their diversity might run into millions.

 India has only 2.4% of worlds land area. India share of the global species
diversity is an impressive 8.1%. (AMU 2010)

 Share of the global species diversity (8.1%) relative to the world's land area

occupied (2.4%) maker India one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world.

 Nearly 45000 species of plants (DPMT 2003) & twice as many of animals (=

90,000) have been recorded from India.

 If we accept May's global estimates only 22% of the total species have been
recorded so far.

 If May's proposal for discovery of new species is accepted then there are probably
more than 1,00,000 plant species & more than 3,00,000 animal species yet to
discovered & described.

Patterns of Biodiversity

 The diversity of plants & animals is not uniform throughout the world but shows a
rather uneven distribution.

 There are 2 factors which are responsible for eneven distribution of

biodiversity : 1. Lattitudinal gradients, 2. Species- Area relationships.

1. Latitudinal gradients

 For many groups of animals & plants there are interesting pattern in diversity by
latitudinal gradient.

 In general species diversity decreases as we move away from the equater towards
the pole.

 The latitudinal range of tropics is 23.5 0N to 23.50S.

 With very few exeptions tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5 0N to 23.5 0S) harbour
more species than temprate or polar areas. (HP 2012)

 Colombia located near the equator has nearly1400 species of birds while New York
at 410 N has 105 species & Greenland at 710 N has only 56 species of birds.

 India with much of its land area in the tropical latitude has more than 1200
species of birds.

 A forest in a tropical region like Equador has upto 10 times as many species of
vascular plants as a forest of equal area in a temperate region like theMidwest of
U.S.A.

 The greatest biodiv er si ty on ear th is pr esent in t ropical Amazonian rain

forest in South America.

 In Amazon rain forests 5532 species of vertebrates are present.

 It is estimated that in Amazon rain forest their might be at least 2 million
insect species waiting to be discovered & named.

1. Species-Area relationships

 German naturalist & geographer Alexander von Humboldt while exploring the
wilderness of South American jungle observe that within a regions species richness
increases with increasing explored area, but only upto a limit.

 The relationship between species richness & area turns out to be a rectangular
hyperbola for wide variety of taxa (angiospermic plants, birds, bats, freshwater
fishes).
[ S = CAZ ] 
On a logarithmic scale the relationship is a straight line. 
[ Log S = Log C + Z log A ] (KERALA 2012)


 Ecologist hav discovered that the value of regression coefficient (Z) have
generally a value of 0.1 to 0.2 regardless of taxonomic group or the region
(Whether it is the plants in Britain, birds in California or mollucs in New York
the slope of the regression line are amazingly similar).

 But when species area relationship is considered for a very large area like the
entire continent slope of the line (Z) to be much steeper (Z values in the range of
0.6 to 1.2). eg. : For frugivorous birds (fruits eating birds) & mammals in the
tropical forest of different continents the slope is found to 1.15.

Importance of species diversity to the ecosystem

1. Stability : Ecologist believed that communities with more species generally tend
to be more stable than those with less species.

(i) Stable community should not show too much variation in productivity from year
to year.

(ii) Stable community must be either resistant or resilient to occasional

disturbances (natural / anthropogenic man made).

(iii) Stable community must also be resistant to invasion by alien species.

2. Productivity : David Tilman's long term ecosystem expriements using "outdoor

plots'' confirm that increased diversity contributed to higher producitivity.

 Tilman also shows that plots with more species shows less year to year variation
in total biomass.

 According to David Tilman greater the biodiversity greater is the primary

productivity. But crop (agricultural) fields like wheat / paddy f ields (monocultur
e pract ices) ar e ver y low diver si ty man-made ecosystem that has high
productivity.

3. Ecosystem Health : Rich biodiversity is essential for maintenance of health of

ecosystem & survival of the human race

Rivet popper hypothesis

 Rivet popper hypothesis is given by Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich. (HP 2011)

 Paul Ehrlich proposed Rivet popper hypothesis to show the effect of biodiversity
loss on the ecosystem.

 An airplane (ecosystem) has thousands of rivets.

 Popping of rivets (causing a species to become extinct) by passenger may not

affect flight safety in the beginning but the plane will become dangerously weak
over a period of time.

 Removal of a rivet of a critical part like wing (key species that derive major
ecosystem functions) is obviously a more serious threat to flight safety than loss
of a few rivets on the seats or window inside the plane.

Loss of Biodiversity

 Loss of Biodiversity is mainly due to human activities.

 The colonisation of tropical Pacific Islands by humans let to the extinction of

more than 2000 species of native birds.

 IUCN Red list (2004) documents the extinction of 784 species in last 500 years
(including : 359 - invertebrates; 338 vertebrates & 87 plants)

 The last 20 years alone have witnessed the dissappearence of 27 species.

 Extinctions across taxa ar e not random. Some group like amphibians appears to be
mor e vulnerable to extinction.

More than 15,500 species world wide (more than 650 from India) are facing the
threat of extinction.

 Presently : 12% all the birds species, 23% all mammals species, 31% all

gymnosperms species &32% al l amphibian species (BIHAR-2014) in world face the
threat of extinctions.

Effect of loss of biodiversity

 In general loss of biodiversity in a region may lead to :

1. Decline in plants production (productivity)

2. Lowered resistant to environmental pertubations like drought

3. Increased variability in certain ecosystem process such as : Plant productivity,

Water use & Pest & Disease cycle.

Causes of losses of biodiversity

 The world in facing accelerated rates of species extinction largly due to human
activities.

 There are 4 major causes of biodiversity losses. These 4 major causes are
described by a sobriquet,'The Evil Quartet' : Habitat loss & fragmentation, Over
exploitation, Alien species invasions, Co-extinction.(KERALA 2008)

 Evil Quartet is related to biodiversity loss. (HP 2010, MP 2011)

1. Habitat loss and fragmentation

 Habitat loss & fragmentation is the most important cause for species
extinction. (CBSE 1999, DPMT 2003)

 The most dramatic examples of habitat loss comes from tropical rain
forests. Tropical rain forestonce covering more than 14% of the earth land surface
but these rain forest, now cover no more than 6%. (BHU 2006)

 Tropical rain for est s are destroyed fast. By the t ime you f inish reading this
chapter, 1000 more hectares of rain forest would have been lost.

 The Amazon rain forest is so huge that it is called the "lungs of the planet".
(KERALA 2011, CPMT 2014 Cancelled)

 Amazon rain forest harbouring probably millions of species is being cut & cleared
for cultivating soyabeans or for conversion to grassland for raising beef cattle.

 Besides total loss the degradation of many habitats by pollution also threatens
the survival of many species.

 When large habitats are broken up into small fragments due to various human
activities, mammals & birds requiring lar ge territories & certain animals with
migratory habits are badly affected, leading to population declines.

2. Over-exploitation

 Humans have always depended on nature for food & shelter but when 'need' turns to
'greed' it leads to over-exploitation of natural resources.

 In the last 500 years many species extinctions(Steller's sea cow, passenger's
pigeon) were due to over-exploitation by human. (KERALA 2011)

 Pressently many marine fish populations around the world are over harvested,
endangering the continued existence of some commercially important species.

3. Alien species invasions

 When alien species are introduce unintentionlly or deliberately for whatever

purpose, some of them turn invasive & cause decline or extinction of indigenous
species

 The Nile Perch introduce into lake Victoria in East Africa led eventually to the
extinction of an ecological unique assemblage of more than 200 species of cichlid
fish in the lake. (KERALA 2010)

 Carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana & water hyacinth (Eicchornia crassipus) are

invasive weeds that cause environment damage.

 The recent illegal introduction of the African catfish (Clarius gariepinus) for

aquaculture purposes posing a threat of the indigenous cat fishes (Clarius
bactrachus) in our rivers.

4. Co-extinctions

 When a species become extinct , the plant & animal species associated with it in
an obligatory way also become extinct. When a host fish species become extinct its
unique assemblage of parasite also meet the same fate.

 Another example is the case of co-evolved plant pollinator mutualism where

extinctions of one invariably leads to the extinction of the other.

Threatened species

 The organisms facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future
are called threatened species.

 Critically Endagered (CR) : A taxon is facing an extremely high risk of extinction

in the wild in immediate future. (KERALA 2009, CBSE 2014) eg. : Sus salvanius
(Pigmy hog). (KERALA 2006)

 Endangered (ER) : It is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near
future if conservation measures are not promptly taken. (BHU 2003)
Biodiversity Conservation

 There are a number of reasons why should we conserve biodiversity, some are
obvious & other not so obvious.

 These reasons can be grouped into three categories : 1. Narrowly utilitarian; 2.

Broadly utilitarian & 3. Ethical

1. NARROWLY UTILITARIAN (Direct economic benefits) : Narrowly utilitarian arguments

that conservation of biodiversity is obvious because human derive countless direct
economic benefits from nature : eg. : I - Food (cereals, pulses & fruits), II -
Fire wood, III - Fibres, IV - Construction materials, V - Industrial products
(resin, lubricants, dyes, perfumes), VI - Products of medicinal importance

 More than 25% of the drugs currently sold in the market world wide are derived
from plants.

 25,000 species of plants contribute to the traditional medicines used by native

peoples arround the world.

 Biospropecting : Exploring molecular, genetic & species level diversity for

products of economic importance.

2. BROADLY UTILITARIAN : Broadly ut il i tar ian ar gument s that biodiversity

plays a major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides :

i . Production of oxygen : The fast dwindling Amazon forest is estimated to produce

20% of total O2 in earth atmosphere.

i i . Pollination : Bees, bumblebees, birds & bats are the pollinating agents.
Without pollination plants can not give us fruits or seed.

i i i . Aesthetic values : a) Walking through thick woods; b) Watching spring

flowers in full bloom; c) Waking up to a bulbuls song in the morning.

iv . Pest control, v. Climate regulation/moderation and vi. Flood control.

3. ETHICAL ARGUMENTS : Ethical arguments states that every species has an intrinsic
value even if it may not be current or any economic values of us.

 We have a moral duty to care for their well-being & pass on our biological legacy
in good order to future generations.

 Biodiversity conservation may be in-situ as well as ex-situ.

In-situ conservation

 Conser v at ion of organisms in natural habi tat , is called in s itu

conservation. (ODISHA 2010)

 In In-situ conservation the endangered or threatened (organism facing a very high
risk of extinction in wild in near future) species are protected in their natural
habitat so that the entire ecosystem is protected. eg.: When we conserve & protect
the whole ecosystem its biodiversity at all levels is protected- we save the
eintire forest to save tiger, this is an example of the in-situ conservation.

1. Hotspot
 There are 3 characterstics of biodiversity hotspots :

1. High level of species richness.

2. High degree of endemism.

3. Accelerated habitat loss.

 Species which are confined to that region & not found anywhere else are called
endemic species & characterstic is called endemism.

 These hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss.

 Initialy 25 biodiversity hotspots were identified but subsequently 9 more have

been added bringing the total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world to 34.
(AIIMS 2014)

 Three hotspots are found in India : 1. Western Ghat & Sri lanka, 2. Indo-Burma, 3.
Himalaya.

 Although all the biodiversity hotspots put together cover less than 2% of earth
land area, the number of species they collectively harbour is extremely high ( ~~
44%).

 Str ict prot ection of these hot spot s could r educe the on going mass-extinction
by almost 30%.

 In India ecologically unique & biodiversity rich regions are legally protected as
biosphere reserve, national park & sanctuaries.

 India has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks & 448 wildlife sanctuaries.

5. Sacred Groves

 India has a history of religious & cultural traditions that emphasised protection
of nature. In many cultures, tracts of forest were set aside of all the tr ees & wi
ldl if e wi thin were venerat ed & giv en total protection. These areas are called
sacred groves.

 Not a single branch is allowed to cut from these forests.

 Example of Sacred Groves :

1. Khasi & Jaintia hills in Meghalaya. (KERALA-2012, Chd.-2011)

2. Arawali Hills of Rajasthan.

3. Western Ghat regions of Karnataka & Maharashtra

4. Sarguja, Chanda & Baster areas of Madhya Pradesh.

 In Meghalaya the sacred groves are last refuges for a large number of rare &
threatened plants.

Ex-situ conservation

 Biodiversity conservation may be in-situ as well as ex-situ.

 Howev er when there ar e situat ions where an animal & plant is endangered or
threatened & need urgent measure to save it from extinction, ex-situ conservation
is the desirable approach.

 In ex-situ conservation threatened animals & plants are taken out from natural
habitat & placed in special place where they can be protected & given special care.

 Zoological park, botanical garden & wildlife safari park serve these purpose.

 Now, gametes of threatened species can be preserved in viable & fertile condition
for long periods using cryopreservation techniques.

 Eggs can be fertilized in vitro.

 Plants can be propogated using tissue culture methods.

 Gene Bank is col lect ion of seeds, spor es & f rozen germplasm. (DPMT-2005,
WARDHA-2011)

 Seeds of different genetic strains of commercially important plants can be kept

for long periods in seed banks. (CBSE-2014)

 In recent years, ex-situ conservation has advanced beyond keeping threatened
spcies in enclosures.

 Wildlife sanctuaries are the in-situ conservation technique while the wildlife
safari parks serve the purpose of ex-situ conservation.

International efforts of conserving biodiversity

 Biodiversity knows no political boundaries and its conservation is therefore a

collective responsibility of all nations.

1. The Earth Summi t : This historical conv ent ion on biological diversity held in
Rio-de-Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. Attending nations take appropr iat e measur e for
conser vat ion of biodiv er isi t y & sustainable utilization of its benefits.

2. The World Summit : The world summit on sustainable development held in

Johannesbur g in South Af rica in 2002. 190 count r ies attending summit pledged
their commitment to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in current rate of
biodiversity loss at global, regional & local levels.