1. Biodiversity and its conservation

2. – Introduction to biodiversity – Composition of biodiversity – Factors affecting biodiversity

3. Introduction to Biodiversity

4. “Biological Diversity” – Coined by wildlife scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann “Biodiversity” – Coined by W.G. Rosen The variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth Biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species – the product of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution

5. A textbook definition: The variation of life at all levels of biological organization

6. For biologists, “Biological diversity" or “Biodiversity“ – “Totality of genes, species & ecosystems of a region". This definition describes most circumstances and presents a unified view of the traditional 3 levels at which biological variety has been identified: – Genetic diversity – Species diversity – Ecosystem diversity

7. Genetic Diversity The level of diversity referring to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. Difference from genetic variability…??? Population Genetics: many hypotheses & theories reg genetic diversity. – Neutral Theory of Evolution: Diversity is due to accumulation of neutral substitutions. – Diversifying Selection Hypothesis: Two subpopulations of a species live in different environments that select for different alleles at a particular locus. – Frequency-dependent Selection Hypothesis

8. Importance of genetic diversity – National Science Foundation: “Diversity within a species is necessary to maintain diversity among species, and vice versa.” – “If any one type is removed from the system, the cycle can break down, and the community becomes dominated by a single species” – Survival and adaptability of a species: When a species’s environment changes, slight gene variations are necessary for it to adapt and survive. A species with large degree of genetic diversity among its population will have more variations from which to choose the most fit alleles. Species with very little genetic variation are at a great risk.

9. Species Diversity The kind that we are most familiar with – represented by incredible variety of different species on the planet An index that incorporates the number of species in an area and their relative abundance. Most common index of species diversity is a family of equations called Simpson's Diversity Index An example: D = (n / N)2 where “n”: Total no. of organisms of a particular species “N”: Total no. of organisms of all species. “D”: Value of diversity. D ranges between 0 and 1; where 1 is the richest ecosystem

10. Humans have a huge effect on species diversity. Main reasons: - Destruction, Modification, and/or Fragmentation of Habitat - Introduction of Exotic Species - Overharvest - Global Climate Change

11. Ecosystem Diversity The diversity of a place at the level of ecosystems. An ecosystem is the result of all the biological, climatic, geological and chemical "ingredients" in a particular area.

12. Biogeographic classification of India

13. 1. Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh

14. 2. The Himalayan Ranges and valleys of Kashmir, HP, Uttarkhand, Assam & NE states

15. 3. Terai Region – lowlands where Himalayan rivers enter the plains

16. The TERAI Region

17. 4. The Gangetic and Brahmaputra Plains

18. The fertile Gangetic Plains

19. 5. The Thar Desert of Rajasthan

20. The Thar Desert

21. 6. The semi-arid grasslands of the Deccan Gujarat, Maharashtra, AP and TN

22. 7. The NE states of India

23. 8. The Western Ghats Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala

24. Factors affecting Biodiversity

25. Immediate causes Exploitation of wild living resources, including hunting and wildlife trading Expansion of agriculture, forestry and aquaculture Expansion of transport systems and building Habitat loss; especially coral reefs, wetlands, primary forests and coastlines - all vulnerable and with great biodiversity Species introductions Pollution of soil, water and atmosphere Environmental factors - Global climate change, rainfall, etc... The harsher, the less biodiversity….

26. Underlying causes Global trade Pressures of tourism Growth of human population. Patterns of natural resource and energy consumption Economic systems that fail to value the environment Changes in human social organization, including loss of indigenous cultures Inequality in ownership, management and flow of benefits from the use and conservation of biological resources

27. How humans move around life… Has devastating effects on native/indigenous species of local ecosystems. A deliberate act – Rabbits brought over to Australia in 1859 as an additional food source An accidental act – Rats travelling within ship grain cargoes – Dumping of ballast water by ships containing small marine organisms. Islands and aquatic counterparts (fresh or salt water lakes), most vulnerable to species extinctions. – Introdn of predatory Nile perch to Lake Victoria in Africa have reduced the original 350+ varieties of fish by 50%.

29. A driver…!!! DRIVER: Natural or human-induced factor that directly or indirectly cause a change in biodiversity. Direct drivers: – Explicitly influence ecosystem processes. – Include land use change, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution. – Fertilizer usage, water consumption, irrigation, and harvests – Easier to measure Indirect drivers: – Indirectly influence the ecosystem – Changes in human population, incomes or lifestyle, operate more diffusely, etc – Indicators are not as well developed and measurement data is less readily available.

30. Changes in biodiversity are driven by combinations of drivers that work over time, on different scales, and that tend to amplify each other. For example, population and income growth combined with technological advances can lead to climate change.

31. Five major indirect drivers that influence biodiversity are: – Change in Economic activity: Global economic activity is now nearly seven times what it was 50 years ago and it is expected to grow further; Concept of globalization…. – Population change: World population has doubled in the past forty years, reaching 6 billion in 2000. The fact that more and more people live in cities increases the demand for food and energy and thereby pressures on ecosystems. – Socio-Political factors – Cultural and Religious factors – Science and Technology: Allows increased efficiency in resource use Increases exploitation of natural resources.

32. Effect of Direct Drivers Habitat Land use change Climate change Pollution Overexploitation Invasive species

33. In Terrestrial ecosystems: – Land cover change, mainly by conversion to cropland. – Only non-arable areas (deserts, boreal forests, tundra) remain relatively intact…!!! In Marine ecosystems: – Fishing - major direct human pressure – Affects the structure, function, & biodiversity of the oceans. – Major marine accidents

34. Extent of Cultivated Systems, 2000

35. In Freshwater ecosystems: – Physical changes – Invasive species – Pollution – Water withdrawals from rivers and lakes for irrigation or urban or industrial use increased 6- fold since 1900. – Increased discharge of nutrients causes intensive eutrophication and potentially high levels of nitrate in drinking water – Pollution from point sources such as mining

36. Some specific direct drivers affecting biodiversity….

37. Natural disturbances (such as fires) or changes in land use (such as road construction) lead to the fragmentation of forests. – Leads to habitat changes – Since small fragments of habitat can only support small populations – Tend to be more vulnerable to extinction.

38. Fragmentation & Flow in Major Rivers

39. Invasive alien species that establish and spread outside their normal distribution – A major cause of extinction. – Affected islands and freshwater habitats – Eg., In New Zealand, plants have been introduced at a rate of 11 species per year since European settlement in 1840.

40. Nutrient Loading – Introduction of nutrients into ecosystems can have both beneficial and adverse effects – Beneficial effects will eventually reach a plateau – Harmful effects will continue to grow. – The total amount of reactive, or biologically available, nitrogen created by human activities increased ninefold between 1890 and 1990.

41. Measurement of biodiversity A variety of objective measures for “empirical measurement” of biodiversity. Each measure of biodiversity relates to a particular use of the data.

42. Species Diversity is the Simpson's diversity index, which uses the following formula:Simpson's diversity index

43. Biodiversity is plotted as taxonomic richness of a geographic area, with some reference to a temporal scale. Whittaker: 3 common metrics used to measure species-level biodiversity, encompassing attention to species richness or species evenness – Species richness – the least sophisticated – Simpson index – Shannon-Wiener index