BIODIVERSITY

&
CONSERVATION
Unit IV
 Biological
Diversity
1980
Thomas Lovejoy
 Biodiversity
Published 1988
“Variety and Variability of life Forms”

E O Wilson
Father of Biodiversity

W G Rosen 1985
Levels of Biodiversity
 Genetic Diversity
Each individual of plant or animal species
differ in their genetic makeup

Diversity in wild species forms the gene

pool
Genetic Diversity

Significance in Conservation
Inbreeding Depression
 Species Diversity
Richness of species

Plants / animal /other species in a region

constitutes the species diversity
https://associationmitsinjo.wordpress.com/amphibian-survival-assurance-center/
 BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION

10-40 million species in reality

2.3 Million identified taxa
 Species Diversity

Significance in Conservation
Silent Extinction
 Ecosystem Diversity
Variety of Ecosystem on earth

Forest, grassland, desert, mountains, coral reefs etc.

Natural and modified ecosystem

linked with diversity in species

Ecosystem Diversity

Significance in Conservation
Species-Habitat linkup
 Biodiversity Hotspot
Biogeographic region that is both significant
reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened
with destruction

“Hotspots: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered

Terrestrial Ecoregions”

Norman Myers et al., 2000

 36
Hotspot
 1. The Tropical Andes 2. Mesoamerica 3. The Caribbean Islands 4. The Atlantic Forest 5. Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena 6. The Cerrado 7. Chilean
Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests 8. The California Floristic Province 9. Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands 10. The Coastal Forests of
Eastern Africa 11. The Guinean Forests of West Africa 12. The Cape Floristic Region 13. The Succulent Karoo 14. The Mediterranean Basin 15. The
Caucasus 16. Sundaland 17. Wallacea 18. The Philippines 19. Indo-Burma 20. The Mountains of Southwest China 21. Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
22. Southwest Australia 23. New Caledonia 24. New Zealand 25. Polynesia and Micronesia An additional ten hotspots (blue) have since been
added [1][2]: 26. The Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands 27. Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany 28. The Eastern Afromontane 29. The Horn of Africa 30.
The Irano-Anatolian 31. The Mountains of Central Asia 32. Himalaya 33. Japan 34. East Melanesian Islands 35. The Forests of East Australia 36.
North American Coastal Plains
 Himalayan B . H.

HOTSPOTS

Western Ghats
Indo Burma B. H.
and Sri Lanka B. H.

N
Sundaland B. H.
Nicobar Islands (India)
Biodiversity Pattern

Biodiversity of the earth is distributed

heterogeneously across the earth
Biodiversity Pattern
 Biogeographic zones of
India
10 zones

based on geography, climate and pattern of vegetation

 Himalayan
range of
Kashmir, HP,
UK, Assam
and other NE
states

Snow covered
trans
himalayan
region of
ladakh & north
sikkim
 Gangetic
plains

Semi-arid
regions
 Deccan
plateau

Thar desert
 The Western
Ghats

Northeast
India
 Western and
eastern
coastal belt
(beaches,
forests and
mangroves)

Andaman and
Nicobar
islands
India as megadiversity
nation
High diversity / high endemicity

threatened with extinction

Distribution (World Biodiversity)
2.3 million species
 Indian Biodiversity

1300

975

650

325

0
Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians

Angiosperms 18000+
Threats to Biodiversity
 Threats
Habitat loss (e.g. tigers, nilgiri thar, amphibians)
Poaching (e.g. Tigers, Indian Rhino, Pangolins)
Man animal conflicts (e.g. Asiatic Lions, Leopards,
Snakes)
Climate change (e.g. Amphibians, Polar Bears)

Invasive species (e.g. snakehead fish, cane toads.

Prosopis julifolra, Lantana camara)
Diseases (e.g. amphibians, bird flu, canine distemper)

Over-exploitation e.g.

Co-extinction e.g.
 Habitat loss

Deforestation

Urbanisation

Pollution

Landscape Modification

tigers

Habitat Fragmentation and Habitat Split

nilgiri thar amphibians
 Poaching
Wildlife Protection Act 1972
Schedule 1-VI

Schedule 1

Schedule 2 Schedule 3 Schedule 4 Schedule 5 Schedule 6

Bonnet macaque Chitals

Assamese macaque Indian Porcupine Fruit bats Pitcher Plants
Barking Deer Mice
Bengal Porcupine Hedge hog Ladies slipper orchids
Hyaena Rats
 Poaching
Social Myths
 Poaching

The Indian pangolin, thick-tailed pangolin, or scaly anteater (Manis crassicaudata) is a

pangolin found on the Indian subcontinent. It is not common anywhere in its range.
Like other pangolins, it has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour.
It can also curl itself into a ball as self-defence against predators.
Although the Indian pangolin is protected by national legislation in many protected
areas throughout its range, it is heavily exploited for its flesh, scales, and skin. Illegal
demand has increased over the past 20 years. Populations are declining due to
poaching for both subsistence and international trade. Pangolins are the most heavily
trafficked CITES-protected mammal.
 Poaching

1. Harvested for Meat and Skin

2. Use in traditional medicines.

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), also

known as the hamadryad, is a venomous
snake species in the family Elapidae,
endemic to forests from India through
Southeast Asia. It is the national reptile of
IndiaThe species is classified as Vulnerable
by the IUCN due to pressure from
harvesting for meat, skin and use in
traditional medicine, and also because of
increasing loss of habitat to
deforestation. In India, king cobras are
placed under Schedule II of Wildlife
ProtectionAct, 1972
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
2
 Man Animal Conflict

Negative interaction between

humans and animals
 Man Animal Conflict

Millions of snake gets killed

every year
Man Animal Conflict
Biological Invasion
India

Lantana camara
It is native to South America
 Biological Invasion
India
Lantana camara

There are many reasons why L. camara has been so successful as an invasive

species; however, the primary factors which have allowed it to establish itself are:

1. Wide dispersal range made possible by birds and other animals that eat its
drupes
2. Less prone to being eaten by animals due to toxicity
3. Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions [6]

4. Increase in logging and habitat modification, which has been beneficial to L.
camara as it prefers disturbed habitats
5. Production of toxic chemicals which inhibit competing plant species
6. Extremely high seed production (12,000 seeds from each plant per year) [32]
 Biological Invasion
India

It is native to Mexico, 
South America and the Caribbean.

55% of Trees in Delhi

Prosopis juliflora (Vilayati kikar)

Biological Invasion
India

Water hyacinth

It is native to South America

Terror of Bengal 
Current Mass extinction
crisis
Drivers
Climate change
Amphibians as an
example
Most threatened
Conservation of
Biodiversity
In situ

Ex situ
 In situ
In their natural habitat
 In situ
In their natural habitat

National Park

Wildlife Sanctuary

Sacred Grooves

Reserve Forest
Biosphere reserves
are areas
comprising
terrestrial, marine
and coastal
ecosystems. Each
reserve promotes
solutions
reconciling the
conservation of
biodiversity with its
sustainable use.
 Ex situ
Outside their natural habitat
 Ex situ
Gene Bank/Seed Bank

Cryopreservation
 Keystone Species
A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on
its natural environment relative to its abundance. Keystone species play a critical role
in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many
other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of
various other species in the community.
Concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine.
Flagship Species and Umbrella Species
 Indicator Species
Indicator species (IS) are animals, plants, or microorganism used to monitor changes
in our environment. For example, they can tell us about the impact of pollution on an
ecosystem, or how well an impaired environment is being managed or restored.
 Vulture Breeding Program

2001
Project Tiger

1972

Project Elephant

1991-92
 Project Tiger

The important thrust areas for the Plan period are:

• Stepped up protection/networking surveillance.

• Voluntary relocation of people from core/critical tiger habitat to provide inviolate
space for tiger.
• Use of information technology in wildlife crime prevention.
• Addressing human wildlife conflicts.
• Capacity building of frontier personnel.
• Developing a national repository of camera trap tiger photographs with IDs.
• Strengthening the regional offices of the NTCA.
• Declaring and consolidating new tiger reserves.
• Foresting awareness for eliciting new tiger reserves.
• Foresting Research.
Project Tiger
 Project Elephant

• 16 States: Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,

Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura,
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. 
 Vulture Breeding Program
Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore Haryana
It is run by the Forests Department, Haryana and Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) with the help of British charity Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds (RSPB).

JCBC houses the following four species, three critically endangered (CR) species

and one threatened species for breeding and conservation at the centre.
• Critically Endangered species
◦ Indian vulture, scientific name: Gyps indicus, formerly knows as the long-
billed vulture.
◦ Slender-billed vultures, scientific name: Gyps tenuirostris, formerly
called long billed vultures, 97% have been wiped out by the diclofenac.
◦ White-rumped vulture, scientific name: Gyps bengalensis, formerly knows as
the Oriental White-Backed vulture, 99.9% have been wiped out by
the diclofenac.
• Near Threatened species
◦ Himalayan vulture, scientific name: Gyps himalayensis.
 Great Indian Bustard

The state of Rajasthan initiated "Project Great Indian Bustard", on World Environment
Day 2013, identifying and fencing off bustard breeding grounds in existing protected
areas as well as provide secure breeding enclosures in areas outside protected areas.

In 2020, nine chicks were incubated successfully creating a world record.

 Save the Western Ghats
Movement

The Save the Western Ghats Movement (SWGM) was a landmark event in
environmental activism in India. It was one of the first of its kind in the country and
became the model for numerous campaigns all over India.

In October 1986, PS organised a national consultation on environment, during which it

was decided to organize a march along the entire length of the Western Ghats, to
focus attention on the urgent need to halt the process of degradation that was
threatening to create irremediable damage to the entire area.

The goal was to create an integrated Ecological perspective providing for both
environmental protection as well as the rights of the rural communities.
 Crocodile Conservation
Project

In 1975, the Indian Crocodile Conservation Project was set up under the auspices of
the Government of India, initially in Odisha's Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary. It was
implemented with financial aid of the United Nations Development Fund and the Food
and Agriculture Organization. The country's first gharial breeding center was built
in Nandankanan Zoological Park.

In 1976, two breeding centres were established in Uttar Pradesh, one in Kukrail
Reserve Forest and one in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, with facilities to hatch and
raise up to 800 gharials each year for release in rivers.

Between 1975 and 1982, sixteen crocodile rehabilitation centers and five crocodile
sanctuaries were established in the country. Gharial eggs were initially purchased from
Nepal. In 1991, the Ministry of Environment and Forests withdrew funds for the captive-
breeding and egg-collection programs, arguing that the project had served its
purpose.

Releasing captive-reared gharials did not contribute significantly to re-establishing

viable populations
 Silent Valley Movement

Save Silent Valley was a social movement aimed at the protection of Silent Valley, an
evergreen tropical forest in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India.

It was started in 1973 by an NGO led by school teachers and the Kerala Sastra
Sahithya Parishad(KSSP) to save the Silent Valley from being flooded by
a hydroelectric project. The valley was declared as Silent Valley National Park in 1985.

The Kuntipuzha is a major river that flows through Silent Valley, and dam would have
submerged 8.3 sq km of untouched moist evergreen forest. In February 1973, the
Planning Commission had approved the project at a cost of about Rs 25 crores.
Endangered Species
India
> 30 Invertebrates

> 250 Plant species

Threatened Vertebrates