Biodiversity

hotspots
In India

Made by
Himanshu soni
15/IFT/014

What does biodiversity mean?

Lets go from the beginning..

BIODIVERSITY :

Flora and Fauna

Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the existence of a
wide range of living organism at a specific
place at a given time in a relationship .

Flora and fauna of a certain region together

form the biodiversity of an area.
If said in one line "Biodiversity is the
coincidence of interdependence of life
processes in nature to sustain life on earth.

Types of Bio-diversity
Genetic diversity - Diversity of genes within a
species. i.e. genetic variability among the
populations and the individuals of the same
species.
Species diversity- Diversity among species in
an ecosystem. Biodiversity hotspots are
excellent examples of species diversity.
Ecosystem diversity- Diversity at a higher
level of organization, the ecosystem. To do
with the variety of ecosystems on Earth.

How is Biodiversity important

to humans ?

Humans benefit greatly from Biodiversity.

In fact , Humans are also a big part of
Biodiversity.
We get our food, oxygen to breath, all raw
material for any industry, medicine,
energy

And a lot more

Importance of Biodiversity
Biodiversity has contributed in many
ways to the development of human
culture, and, in turn, human
communities have played a major role
in shaping the diversity of nature at
the genetic, species, and ecological
levels.

Important Role of Biodiversity

Ecological Role..
Economic Role..
Scientific Role..

Ecological Role of Biodiversity

All species provide at least one

function in an ecosystem. Each
function is an integral part of
regulating the species balance,
species diversity and species health:
all aspects which are intrinsic for the
ecosystem as a whole to survive and
prosper

Economic Role of Biodiversity .

Food: Crop Biodiversity or agro

biodiversity.
Goods: Various things like
timber,paper,medicines.
Recreation: Wildlife tourism, trekking
nature photography,birdwatching.

THE BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

The world's most remarkable places are also the most threatened.
These are the Hotspots: the richest and most threatened reservoirs
of plant and animal life on Earth.

Biodiversity hotspots of ASIA

EAST MELANESIAN ISLANDS

EASTERN HIMALAYA
INDO-BURMA
JAPAN
MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH WEST CHINA
PHILIPPINES
WESTRN GHATS AND SRI LANKA

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT
The British biologist Norman Myers coined the term

"biodiversity hotspot" in 1988 as a biogeographic

region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant
and animal endemism and by serious levels of habitat
loss.
India is one of the richest countries in the world in

terms of biodiversity.

Here we will talk about

Indian Biodiversity
Hotspots
Which are:
i. Western Ghats
ii.The Himalayas

Biodiversity in India

Biodiversity in India
India is rich in various kinds of
biodiversity ranging in various
habitats from tropical rainforests to
desert, tidal etc.
There are seven major regions for
plant and animal life in India.

Regions of wildlife in India

The Indus Plain,
The Gangetic
Plain,
The Himalayas,
The Assam
Valley,
The Malabar
Coast,
The Peninsular
plateau,
The Andaman
and Nicobar

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

Natural vegetation

TheAssamValleyfeatures evergreen
forests, bamboo, and areas of tall
grasses.
The Malabar Coast has several
varieties of evergreen and timber
trees.

 IntheHimalayasmany varieties of
Coniferous trees ,oaks, orchids
magnolia etc. are found .
Peninsular plateau feature bamboo,
palm, deciduous trees etc.

Wild life

In India, many species of tiger,

panther, Asiatic lion, rhinoceros ,
black bear, wolf, jackal, dhole, wild
buffalo, wild hog, antelope, deer,
monkeys etc live throughout the
country.
Reptiles, include the cobra, krait,
saltwater snake, pythons, crocodiles,
gharials etc are also found.

 Birds of India include the parrot,

peacock, kingfisher, heron etc.
Rivers and coastal waters of India
have fishes, including many edible
varieties.

map

INVERTEBRATES

ANEURETUS SIMONI

.
.

PARANEURETUS

CYPHOMIRMEX

FRESH WATER FISHES

AMPHIBIANS
PURPLE FROG

NASIKABATRACHUS SAHADRENSIS

REPTILES
AGAMIDAE

GEKKONIDAE

UROPELTIDAE

AVES
GREEN BILLED COUCAL

WHISTLING
THRUSH

LAUGHING THRUSH
SPOT B PELICAN

LESSER
ADJUTANT

KASHMIR FLY CATCHER

FROG MOTH

MAMMALS

LATIDENS SALIMALII

LONG CLAWED SHREW

OHIYA RAT

LION TAILED MACAQUE

NILGIRI
TAHR

MALABAR CIVET

Manipuri Larynx

ASIAN ELEPHANT

HIMALAYA
,

FRESH WATER FISHES

MAHASEER

AMPHIBIANS

REPTILES

AVES
HIMALAYAN QUILL

WESTERN TRAGOPAN

ORANGE

CHEST NUT BREASTED PARTRIDGE

BULLFINCH

RUST
TROATED
WRENBABBLER

WHITE WINGED DUCK

BENGAL FLORICAN

WHITE BELLIED HERON

MAMMALS

GOLDEN LANGUR

HIMALAYAN TAHR

PYGMY
HOG

NAMADAPHA FLYING SQUIRREL

SLOTH BEAR

ASIATIC WILD DOG

MUNTJAC AND SAMBAR

RESH WATER GANGETIC

DOLPHIN

WATER BUFFALO

SWAMP DEER

SNOW
LEOPARD

Loss of Biodiversity

IS THE BIODIVERSITY OF INDIA UNDER

T H R E AT ?

10% of Indias plant species are

under threat.
More than 150 medicinal plants have
disappeared in recent decades.
About 10% of flowering plants,20%
of mammals and 15% of the birds are
threatened.

Threats to Biodiversity
1.

Habitat destruction

2.

Globalclimate change

3.

Habitat fragmentation

4.

Pollution

5.

Disease

6.

Over-exploitation (This includes the illegal wildlife trade

as well as overfishing, logging of tropical hardwoods etc.)

Factors determining Degree of

Diversity

Habitat stress
Geographical isolation
Dominance by one species
Availability of ecological niches
Edge effect
Geological history

Some other causes of decline

Pollution of wetlands.
Over-exploitation of resources.
Construction of large dams.
Commercial hunting and poaching.

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

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

Conservation of biodiversity
o Priority-identification of regions under severe

threat of extinction which is why hotspots

originated.
o Protection of areas through establishment of

reserves, national parks, botanical gardens,

heritage sites, wildlife refuges and etc.
o Incentive measures are essential for

conservation

o Regulations and market based tools can also be

used.
o There is a need to Increase the new conservation
tools and conservation professionals to promote
action against biodiversity loss.
o Unique projects can be taken up. For eg. Working
for water
o Ecotourism might prove mutually beneficial.

Impact of loss of Biodiversity

There is an Increased vulnerability of species

extinction.
Ecological imbalance
Reduced sources of food, structural materials,

medicinal and genetic resources

Our society is paying its price.

THANK
YOU
For hearing