CHAPTER AND 15 ITS CONSERVATION

The term Biodiversity is a concise term used for 'Biological diversity'. Biodiversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources, such as terrestrial, marine, other ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part. This includes diversity within the species, between the species and of the ecosystems.  The term biodiversity describes all aspects of diversity but especially the richness of species within a specified region or the world, the complexity of ecosystems and genetic diversity. Diversity differs from place to place as each habitat has its own distinct biota.  The major factors that tend to decrease biodiversity are increasing human population, higher resource consumption and pollution. Loss of biodiversity reduces gene pool of species, number of interactions in the biota and ability of species to adapt themselves to change in the environment. is one of the 12 mega biodiversity countries in the world. The country is divided into 10 biogeographic regions.  Endemism of Indian biodiversity is significant about 5150 species of flowering plants (30% of the world's endemic flora) are endemic to the country. These are distributed over 141 genera belonging to 47 families. These are concentrated in the floristically rich areas of North-East India, , North-West Himalayas and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  These areas constitute 2 of the 18 hot spots identified in the world. It is estimated that 62% of the known amphibian species are endemic to India of which a majority is found in Western Ghats. BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA India with 2.4% of the world's land area share 8.1% of the global species diversity. It is among 12 mega diversity countries of the world. Nearly 45,000 species of plants and twice as many of have been recorded from India. It is estimated that probably more than 1,00,000 plant species and more than 3,00,000 species yet to be discovered and described. LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY The biological diversity includes following three hierarchical levels: 1. Genetic diversity 2. Species diversity 3. Community and ecosystem diversity GENETIC DIVERSITY It is the diversity in the number and types of genes as well as chromosomes present in different species and the variations in the genes and their alleles in the same species. Variations in the genes of a species increases with the increase in size and environmental parameters of the habitat. Ecotype formation depends upon it. Genetic diversity is useful in adaptation to changes

in the environmental condition. It helps in speciation or new species evolution. India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango. SPECIES DIVERSITY It means the species richness in any habitat. Greater the species richness, greater will be their diversity. However, it should not be confused with the species abundance. It is the diversity at the species level. For example, the Western ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than . ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY Ecological or ecosystem diversity is the diversity at the ecosystem level. For example, India with its deserts, rainforests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country-like Norway.

Diversity at the level of community and ecosystem has three perspectives, i.e., , and  - diversity (Whittaker; 1965). (i)  -diversity (within community diversity) It is also called local diversity and is a diversity within a community,

(ii)  -diversity (between community diversity) It is calculated by dividing gamma (  ) by a diversity and is a diversity between two community. (iii)  -diversity Also called regional diversity. It represents the total richness of species in all the habitats found within a region, geographical area or landscape. PATTERNS OF BIODIVERSITY All over the Earth, biodiversity shows following pattern: LATITUDINAL GRADIENT The diversity of plants and animals is not uniform throughout the world. It shows an uneven distribution. In general, species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles. Usually, tropics (latitudinal. range of 23.5°N to 23.5°S) harbour more species than temperate or polar areas. Columbia located near the equator has nearly 1,400 species of birds, while New York at 41°N has 105 species and Greenland at 71°N only 56 species. India, with much of its land area in the tropical latitudes, has more than 1,200 species of birds. The largely tropical Amazonian rainforest in South America has the greatest biodiversity on the Earth. There are about 40,000 species of plants, 3,000 of fishes, 1,300 of birds, 427 of mammals, 427 of amphibians, 378 of reptiles and more than 1,25,000 invertebrates. SPECIES/AREA RELATIONSHIP The great German naturalist and geographer Alexander von Humboldt observed that within a region, species richness increases with increasing explored area, but only up to a limit. In fact, the relation between species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa (angiosperms, birds, bats, freshwater fishes) turn out to be a rectangular hyperbola as described by following

figure15.1. On a logarithmic scale, the relationship is a straight line described by the following equation: log S = log C + Z log A where, S = Species richness A = Area Z = Slope of the line (regression coefficient) C = Y-intercept

Figure 15.1 Showing species area relationship. (Note that on log scale, the relationship becomes linear) Ecologists have discovered that the value of Z-lines in the range of 0.1 to 0.2, regardless of the taxonomic group or the region whether it is the plants in Britain, birds in California or molluscs in New York state, the slopes of the regression line are amazingly similar. LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY The loss of biological diversity is a global crisis. Out of the 1.6 million species known to 1 1 inhabit the Earth, about to is likely to get extinct within the next few decades. Biological 4 3 has been a natural phenomenon in geological history. The destruction of the world's tropical forests, which are disappearing at an alarming rate, is one of the most urgent global environmental issues. Tropical forests are estimated to contain 50 to 90% of the world's total biodiversity. The biological wealth of our planet has been declining rapidly and the accusing finger is clearly pointing towards the human activities. The colonization of tropical Pacific Islands by humans is said to have led to the extinction of more than 2,000 species of native birds Adding to the grim scenario of , the fact is that more than 15,500 species worldwide are facing the threat of extinction. Presently, 12 percent of all bird species, 23 percent of all mammal species, 32 percent of all amphibian species and 31 percent of all gymnosperm species in the world face the threat of extinction. The current species extinction rates are estimated to be 100 to 1,000 times faster than in the pre-human times and our activities are responsible for the faster rates. In general, loss of biodiversity in a region may lead to (a) Decline in plant production, (b) Lowered resistance to environmental perturbations such as drought and

(c) Increased variability in certain ecosystem processes, such as plant productivity, water use and pest and disease cycles.

CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS

The accelerated rates of species extinctions that the world is facing now are largely due to human activities. There are following four major causes of biodiversity reduction.

(i) HABITAT LOSS AND FRAGMENTATION

This is the most important cause of driving animals and plants to extinction. The most dramatic examples of habitat loss come from the tropical rainforests. Once covering more than 14 percent of the Earth's land surface, these rainforests now cover not more than 6 percent. They are being destroyed fast. By the time you finish reading this chapter, 1,000 more hectares of rainforest would have been lost. The Amazon rainforest (it is so huge that it is called the lungs of the planet), harbouring probably millions of species is being out and cleared for cultivating soyabeans or for the conversion to grasslands for raising beef .

(ii) OVER-EXPLOITATION

Humans have always depended on nature for food and shelter, but when 'need' turns to 'greed', it leads to over-exploitation of natural resources. Many species extinctions in the last 500 years (Steller's sea cow, passenger pigeon), were due to over-exploitation by humans. Presently, many marine fish populations around the world are over harvested, endangering the continued existence of some commercially important species.

(iii) ALIEN SPECIES INVASION

When alien species are introduced unintentionally or deliberately for whatever purpose, some of them turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species. The Nile perch introduced into Lake Victoria in East Africa led eventually to the extinction of an ecologically unique assemblage of more than 200 species of cichlid fish in the lake. Another example of environmental damage caused and threat posed to our native species by invasive weed species like carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eichhornia). The recent illegal introduction of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus for aquaculture purposes is posing a threat to the indigenous catfishes in our rivers.

(iv) CO-EXTINCTION

When a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it in an obligatory way also become extinct. When a host fish species becomes extinct, its unique assemblage of parasites also meets the same fate. Another example is the case of a coevolved

plant-pollinator mutualism where extinction of one invariably leads to the extinction of the other.

RED DATA BOOK AND IUCN

IUCN is International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources which is now called World Conservation Union (WCU). It has its headquarters at Merges, Switzerland. It maintains a Red Data Book or Red list which is a catalogue of taxa facing risk of extinction. Threatened species is the one which is liable to become extinct if not allowed to realize its full biotic potential by providing protection from exotic species/human exploitation/habitat deterioration/depletion of food. Red Data Book or Red list was initiated in 1963. The 2000 Red list has made assessment of 18,000 species out of which 11096 species (5485 animals and 5611 plants) are on the threatened list worldwide.

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

Conservation of biodiversity is protection, uplift and scientific management of biodiversity so as to maintain it at its optimum level and derive sustainable benefits for the present as well as future strategies.

Biodiversity Conservation

In situ Ex situ

Protected Areas Network Scared plants, Seed banks, Botanical garden, Home field gene banks, arborata, zoological garden cryopreservation gardens, aquaria Scared lacks, Biosphere National parks, grooves reserves wildlife, santuries

Terrestrial Marine Figure 15.2 An outline of biodiversity conservation

IN SITU CONSERVATION

It is the conservation of living resources through their maintenance within the natural ecosystems, in which they occur. The in situ approach is preferable because of the fact that not much diversity can be conserved outside the centres of diversity. It includes a comprehensive system of protected areas such as the national parks, sanctuaries, natural reserves,

natural monuments, cultural landscapes, biosphere reserves, wetlands and several others. These areas vary considerably in size, design, purpose and effectiveness of management, but beyond any doubt, they serve as a repository for much of the world's biological diversity.

1. WETLANDS In India, recently much attention has been paid towards in situ conservation of wetlands. Wetlands are an integral part of the watersheds and generally lie at the interface between the land and water. Wetlands are classified according to their location, water chemistry, dominant vegetation and human intervention. They are very rich in their biodiversity and are highly productive.

2. PROTECTED AREAS Protected areas are the part of land and sea, especially dedicated to protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources. These are managed through legal or other effective means. Examples of protected areas are National parks and Wildlife sanctuaries. The earliest National parks, the Yellowstone in USA and the Royal near Sydney Australia, were chosen because of their scenic beauty and recreational values. Many similar areas throughout the world now protect rare species or wilderness areas. World Conservation Monitoring Centre has recognized 37,000 protected areas around the world. As of September 2002, India has 581 protected areas (89 National parks and 492 Wildlife sanctuaries), covering 4.7 percent of the land surface, as against 10 percent internationally suggested norm. 3. NATIONAL PARKS OF INDIA India's first National park (IUCN Category-II Protected area) was Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park, established in 1935. By 1970, India had only five National parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and to safeguard habitat. Further, federal legislation strengthening protections for wildlife was introduced in the 1980s. As of April 2007, there are 96 National parks. All National park lands encompass a combined 38,029. 18 km2 and 1.16% of India's total surface area. A total of 166 national parks have been authorized. Plans are underway to establish the remaining scheduled parks. All of India's national parks are listed below alongside their home state or territory and the date that they were established. For an overview of Indian protected areas in general, please see the . National Parks in India

Area No Name State Started in (in km²)

01 Anshi National Park 1987 250

02 Corbett National Park Uttarakhand 1936 520.82

03 Gir Forest National Park Gujarat 1965 258.71

04 Silent Valley National Park 1980 237

05 Sundarbans National Park West Bengal 1984 1330.12

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES OF INDIA

India has over 500 animal sanctuaries and wildlife sanctuaries (IUCN category-IV protected area). Among these, the 28 tiger reserves are governed by Project Tiger and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Some wildlife sanctuaries are specifically named Bird sanctuary, e.g., Kepladeo National Park before it attained national park status. Many national parks were initially wildlife sanctuaries. In wildlife sanctuaries, protection is given only to animal life, while in national parks both flora (plants) and fauna (animals) are protected.

Table 15.5 Some Important Sanctuaries of India Name and Location Area (in Key Vertebrate Species sq. km) Tiger, wild boar, golden langoor, one- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Kamrup (Assam) – horned rhii deer, wild dog, wild buffalo. Flamingoes, sandpipers, ducks, water Chilka Lake (Odisha) 990 fowls, cranes, golden plovers, ospreys. Mammals Elephants, leopard, black Periyar Sanctuary (Kerala) 777 langoor, sambhar, gaur, bison.Birds Egret, horn bills. Sultanpur Lake Bird Sanctuary Birds Cranes, duck, green pigeon, drake, 12 (Uttar Pradesh) spot bill.Reptiles Python, crocodile. Mammals Flying squirrel, porcupine, elephant, sambhar, cheetal, barking deer, Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Nilgiri mouse, deer, four-horned antelope, giant 520 () squirrel wild dog, cat and civet.Reptiles Rat snake, python, flying lizard, monitor lizard.

BIOSPHERE RESERVES

Biosphere reserves are a special category of protected areas of land and/or coastal environments, wherein people are an integral component of the system. These are the

representative examples of natural biomes and contain unique biological communities. Biosphere reserves represent a specified area zonated for particular activity. These consist of:

(a) Core zone No human activity is allowed in this zone.

(b) Buffer zone Limited activity is permitted.

(c) Manipulation zone Several human activities are allowed.

The Indian government has established 14 biosphere reserves (UNESCO categories roughly corresponding to IUCN category-V protected areas), which protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a national park or animal sanctuary) and often include one or more national parks and /or preserves, alongwith buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. The main biosphere reserves include:

(a) Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (b) Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve (c) Manas Biosphere Reserve (d) Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve

(e) Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (f) Biosphere Reserve Table 15.6 Difference between National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary and Biosphere Reserve

National Park Sanctuary Biosphere Reserve

Attention is not given on biotic Attention is focused on community as a whole. For example, Attention is not given on biotic biotic community as a conservation being connected to community, i.e., conservation while, i.e., conservation habitat for particular wild animal is species oriented. is ecosystem oriented. species such as lion, tiger, rhino, etc.

The size ranges from 0.61 to The size ranges from 0.04 to 3,162 7,818 sq. km, usual size being sq. km. The usual size being between The size is well over between 100 and 500 sq. km, 100 to 500 sq. km, and between 500 5,670 sq. km. and between 500 and 1,000 to 1,000 sq. km. sq. km.

Boundaries are Boundaries are circumscribed by Limits are not circumscribed. circumscribed by the state legislation. state legislation.

There occurs no biotic There occurs no biotic interference There occurs limited biotic interference except in except in buffer zone. interference. buffer zone.

Tourism is permissible but often Tourism is permissible Tourism is not discouraged. Research and scientific Research and scientific permissible. management are lacking. management are lacking. Research and scientific

management are carried out.

Proper attention is not given to Due attention is given to Proper attention is not given to gene gene pool conservation of the conservation of pool conservation of economic economic species, particularly plants as well as animal species, particularly of plants. in plants. species.

EX SITU CONSERVATION It means 'conservation outside the habitats by perpetuating sample population in genetic resource centres, , botanical gardens, culture collections, etc., or in the form of gene pools and gametes storage for fish, germplasm banks for seeds, pollen, semen, ova, cell, etc. This form of conservation includes the following:

Table 15.7 Zoos in India Name City State

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park Vishakhapatnam Nehru Zoological Park Hyderabad Andhra Pradesh Arignar Anna Zoological Park Chennai Tamil Nadu Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Mysore Karnataka Park

ZOOS is a place where wild animals are kept for public viewing. Some of the zoos rare animals. They have recorded success with of animals. BOTANICAL GARDEN This plays an important role in the conservation of plant species so much, so that there are several instances when plants believed to be extinct, were found living only in a botanical garden. Sophora toroniro is the famous example. Record of threatened plants that are in cultivation have been kept in 'Green Books'. The Indian Green Book prepared by BSI, lists 100 such species, which are rare, endangered or endemic but all growing in living state.

GENE BANKS A gene bank or germplasm bank is an institution where valuable plant material is preserved in a viable condition. These are stored either in the form of seeds or dormant vegetative organs or in the form of frozen gametes. SEED BANK

It is a fairly good way of conserving diversity and the seeds have to be stored under 'minimal life' so that it can be kept for many years with the accumulation of mutations and with a minimum loss of viability. Such type of conservation is practised through cold storage in seed banks where seeds are stored for long durations. TISSUE CULTURE Tissue culture technique can be extended to as well as those which may otherwise require very varied climatic condition and can be maintained at one place in aseptic cultures.

CRYOPRESERVATION Preservation at 196°C (liquid nitrogen) can maintain tissue culture, embryos, animal cells/tissues, spermatozoa indefinitely. The cryopreserved material is revived through special technique when required. HOT SPOTS Hot spots are areas that are extremely rich in species diversity, have high endemism and are under constant threat. Among the 25 hot spots (cover 1-4% of Earth land area) of the world, two are found in India extending into neighbouring countries — the Western Ghats/Sri Lanka and the Indo-Burma region (covering the Eastern Himalayas also known as cradle of speciation). These areas are particularly rich in floral wealth and endemism, not only in flowering plants but also in reptiles, amphibians, swallow-tailed butterflies and some mammals (tropical forest appears in 15 hot spots.) Western Ghats occur along the Western coast of India for a distance of about 1,600 km in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala extending over to Sri Lanka. Major centres of biodiversity are Agasthyamalai hills, Silent valley and Amambalam reserve. The key criteria for determining a hot spot are: 1. Number of endemic species, i.e., the species, which are found nowhere else. 2. Degree of threat, which is measured in terms of habitat loss. Tropical forests appear in 15 hot spots, Mediterranean-type zones in 5, and 9 hot spots are mainly or completely made up of islands. As many as 16 hot spots are in the tropics. About 20 percent of the human population lives in the hot spot regions. The first effort to conserve biodiversity came into effect from the Earth summit at Rio de Janerio (1992), Brazil. It promoted conservation on biological diversity, which was signed by 152 nations. Its recommendation came into effect on 29th December, 1993. India became a party to this conservation on biological diversity in May, 1994. The various commitments were listed below: 1. Adoption of ways and means to conserve biodiversity. 2. Managing biodiversity for sustainable use. 3. Ensuring equitable sharing of benefits from the biological diversity including utilization of genetic resources. HOT SPOTS OF INDIA

The following two hot spots in India are: (i) Eastern Himalaya (ii) Western Ghats (i) EASTERN HIMALAYA The Eastern Himalayan hot spots extend to the North-eastern India and Bhutan. The temperate forests are found at altitudes of 1,780 to 3,500 metres. Many deep and semi-isolated valleys found in this region are exceptionally rich in endemic plant species. Besides being an active centre of evolution and rich diversity of flowering plants, the numerous primitive angiosperm families (e.g., Magnoliaceae and Winteraceae) and primitive genera of plants, like Magnolia and Betula, are found in Eastern Himalaya.

(ii) WESTERN GHAT

The Western Ghat region lies parallel to the Western coast of Indian Peninsula for almost 1,600 km, in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, The forests at low elevation (500 m above mean sea level) are mostly evergreen, while those found at 500-1,500 metres height are generally semi-evergreen forests. The Agasthyamalai hills, the Silent valley and the new Amambalam reserve, are the main centres of biological diversity.

Question Bank One Mark Questions 1. How does fragmentation of large habitats due to human activities lead to population decline? (July2015) 2. Define Endemism. (March 2017) 3. Mention a biodiversity hot-spot in India. (July 2017) Two Marks Questions 1. Introduction of some alien species causes biodiversity loss. Justify the statement with an example. (March 2014) 2. What are sacred grooves? Mention any two examples. (March 2014) 3. Mention any two effects of loss of biodiversity. (July 2014) 4. What are sacred grooves? Give an example. (July 2014) 5. Write two examples for loss of biodiversity due to alien species invasion. (July 2015) 6. Define biodiversity. Write any two types of biodiversity. (March 2016) 7. Name any four recent extinct organisms as per IUCN Red list. (March 2016) 8. ―Alien species invasion leads to extinction of indigenous species‖. Justify the statement by consideringtwo animals as examples. (July 2016) 9. What is ex-situ conservation? Mention two examples. (July 2016)

10. Define endemism. Name any two regions of accelerated habitat loss in India. (March 2018) 11. Invasion of Alien species eliminates the native animal species. Give two examples. (March 2018) 12. Name any two species which have become extinct due to overexploitation. (July 2018) 13. What are sacred grooves? Name any two sacred grooves of India. (July 2018) Three Marks Questions 1. a) What is endemism? b) Mention ‗The Evil Quartet‘ of biodiversity loss. (March 2015) 2. Mention three causes for biodiversity loss. (March 2017) 3. a) Mention any two causes of biodiversity losses. b) What are endemic species? (July 2017)