MODULE 4

Conservation of Biodiversity and

Ecosystems

Topics: Biodiversity-Introduction, types, Species

interactions, Extinct, endemic, endangered and rare
species, Threats to biodiversity: Natural and
anthropogenic activities.
 Introduction
✓ The term Biodiversity was first coined by
Walter G. Rosen in 1986

✓ The biosphere comprises of a complex

collections of innumerable organisms, known
as Biodiversity, which constitute the vital life
support for survival of human race.

✓ Biological diversity, abbreviated as

biodiversity, represent the sum of total of
various life forms such as unicellular fungi,
protozoa, bacteria, and multicellular
organisms such as plants, fishes and mammals
at various biological levels including gens,
habitats and ecosystem.
 BIODIVERSITY
WHAT DOES “BIO” MEANS?

BIO = LIFE
WHAT DOES “DIVERSITY” MEANS?

DIVERSITY = VARIETY
 BIODIVERSITY - DEFINITION
✓ The number and variety of plants, animals
and other organisms that exist in an ecosystem
is known as biodiversity

✓ It is a measure of the variety

of organisms present in different ecosystems

✓ The richness of biodiversity depends on the

climatic conditions and area of the region
✓ Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years
of evolution
 Types/levels of Biodiversity
There are 3 types of biodiversity:

1) Ecosystem diversity: diversity between

different region
2) Species diversity: diversity between
different species
3) Genetic diversity: genetic variability or
diversity within a species
 Community/Ecosystem diversity
✓ A set of biotic components (plants, animals
and microorganisms) and abiotic components
(soil, air, and water etc.,) interacting with each
other is known as ecosystem.

✓ An ecosystem diversity is defined as the

diversity at an ecological level or habitat
level is known as ecosystem diversity. Ex: River
ecosystem-Rivers include fish, aquatic insects,
mussels and variety of plants that have
adopted.
 Species diversity
✓ A discrete group of organisms of the same kind is
known as species.
✓ Species diversity is the diversity between different
species.
✓ It describes the variety in the number and abundance of
the species within a region
✓ To accurately determine species diversity, both the
species richness, which is the number of different
species, and the relative abundance, which is the
number of individuals within each species, must be
considered
✓ The species richness depends largely on climatic
conditions.
✓ When a species is confined entirely to a particular area,
it is termed as endemic species
✓ The sum of varieties of all living organisms at the
species level is known as species diversity.
 Genetic diversity
✓ Genetic diversity is a measure of the variety of
versions of same gene within individual species.
✓ Within individual species, there are varieties, that
are slightly different from each other. These
differences are due to the combination of genes.
✓ Ex: Rice varieties- All rice varieties belongs to the
species “ORYZASATIVA”. However, there are
thousands of rice varieties that show variation at
the genetic level in the form of different size,
shape, colour and nutrient content.
✓ Ex: Teak wood varieties- the various teak wood
varieties available are- Indian teak, Burma teak,
Malasian teak etc.
• Genetic diversity has the following importance:
• (1) It helps in speciation or evolution of new species;
• (2) It is useful in adaptation to changes in environmental
conditions;
• (3) It is important for agricultural productivity and development
 SPECIES INTERACTIONS

Five Major Types of Species Interactions

1. Predation
2. Parasitism
3. Competition
4. Mutualism
5. Commensalism
 1. PREDATION
✓ In predation, one organism kills and consumes another
(predator-prey).
✓ Helps to regulate populations size
✓ Predators survival depend on their ability to catch prey.
✓ The prey’s survival depends on its ability to avoid being
captured.
✓ The best-known examples of predation involve
carnivorous interactions, in which one animal consumes
another.
 2. Parasitism

Parasitism is an interaction where one organism

benefits and the other organism is harmed.

Vocabulary
Parasite- The individual that benefits.
Host – The individual that is harmed.
 ✓ Ascaris
(parasitic worms)
Lives in the intestine. It Fleas
affects humans and
causes the disease
ascariasis.
May be fatal if the
larvae infiltrate vital
parts of the body.

Leaches
Ticks
✓ Parasitism is a type of ✓ Predation is a biological
symbiotic relationship interaction in which one
between two organisms, organism is known as the
where one organism known predator, kills and eats
as parasite, benefits at the another organism, known as
expense of the other the pray.
organism, known as the host. ✓ EX: lion and shark
✓ EX: Bacteria and Mosquito
 3. Competition
Competition results from the use of the same limited resources
by 2 or more species (niche overlap).
 4. Mutualism
Mutualism is a type of symbiosis where two or more species
benefits from each other.
One of the most important mutualistic relationships is
pollination.
How does pollination work?
Animals that carry pollen are called pollinators.
Examples birds, bees, butterflies, beetles,
moths etc…

It is a mutual relationship where the bee is

provided with food (nectar or pollen) and the
stationary plant gets to disperse its pollen to
other plants of the same species.
5. Commensalism
 Commensalism Example:

The fish hides under the shark for

protection. The shark is not harmed
helped in this situation.
 Endangered Species
✓ A species considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
✓ A plant, animal or microorganism that is in immediate risk of biological
extinction is called Endangered species or threatened species.
✓ Examples; Amur Leopard, Black Rhino, Bornean Orangutan, Javan Rhino,
Orangutan, Sumatran Elephant, Cross River Gorilla, Eastern Lowland Gorilla,
Hawksbill Turtle, Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Rhino, Sunda Tiger
 ✓In India, 450 plant species have been identified as
Endangered species. 100 mammals and 150 birds are
estimated to be endangered.
✓India’s biodiversity is threatened primarly due to the….
1. Habitat destruction/deforestation
2. Degradation and
3. Over exploitation of resources

Golden lion tamarin

(Brazil)

Arabian oryx (Middle east) Gaint panda (china)

 Endangered Animals of India
✓ Asiatic Lion: The total number of
Asiatic lions are left in the country now
just 650.

✓ Bengal tiger: Overall the number of

these tigers in india are down to
around 2000.

✓ Snow leopard: The total number of

snow leopards are drop down to
almost 500. These cats can be now
spotted in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh,
and Uttarakhand.
✓ Nilgiri Tahr: These are around 2500
left in the world.
 Endemic Species
✓ A species that are found only in a particular region are known as Endemic
species. Almost 60% of Endemic Species in india are found in Himalayas and
the Western Ghats.
✓ Endemic Species are mainly concentrated in:
1. North-East India
2. North-West Himalayas
3. Western Ghats and
4. Andaman Nicobar Islands
brown palm civet
lion tailed macaque

sapria himalayana
Nephenthis Khashiyana
 Extinct Species
✓ A species that are no longer found in the world.
✓ Extinction of a particular animal or plant species occurs when
there are no more individuals of that species alive anywhere in
the world - the species has died out. This is a natural part of
evolution... Today human intervention is also causing rapid
extinction.
✓ Example; Dodo, Great Auk, Passenger Pigeon, Stellars Sea Cow
 Rare Species
✓ Rare species are species with small populations. They are localized within a
restricted area. Many move into the endangered or vulnerable category if
the negative factors affecting them continue to operate.
✓ Examples; Himalayan brown bear, Fennec fox, Wild Asiatic buffalo and
Hornbill.
ENDANGERED & ENDEMIC SPECIES IN INDIA
Group Species
Reptiles Gharial, Green sea turtle, Star
Tortoise
Birds Great Indian Bustard, Hornbill

Carnivore (Mammals) Indian Wolf, Red Fox, Sloth

Bear, Tiger, Panthers, Asiatic
Lion

Primates Hoolock Gibbon, Lion Tailed

Macaque
Plants Orchids, medicinal plants
 Threats to Biodiversity

Natural causes
➢ Narrow geographical area
➢ Low population
➢ Low breeding rate
➢ Natural disasters

Anthropogenic causes
➢ Habitat modification
➢ Over exploitation of selected
species
➢ Innovation by exotic species
➢Pollution
➢Hunting
➢Global warming and climate change
➢ Agriculture
 CONCLUSION
Biodiversity is our life. If the Biodiversity got lost at this rate, then in near
future, the survival of human being will be threatened. So, it is our moral
duty to conserve Biodiversity as well our Environment. Long-term
maintenance of species and their management requires co-operative efforts
across entire landscapes. Biodiversity should be dealt with at scale of
habitats or ecosystem rather than at species level.