Hotspots of biodiversity

Biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction A biodiversity hotspot is a The Environmentalist in 1988 Nature, both in 2000. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers' 2000 edition of the hotspot map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of Biodiversity hotspots host their diverse ecosystems on just 2.4% of the planet's surface. Hotspot conservation initiatives [ ] Only a small percentage of the total land area within biodiversity hotspots is now protected. Several international organizations are working to conserve biodiversity hotspots. • • The • • • Birdlife’s Important Bird Areas. • The • The Distribution by region [ ] A majority of biodiversity exists within the tropics; likewise, most biodiversity hotspots are within the tropics. • • • • North American The • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Critiques of "Hotspots" [ ] The high profile of the biodiversity hotspots approach has resulted in some criticism. Papers such as Kareiva & Marvier (2003) • Do not adequately represent other forms of species richness (e.g. total species richness or threatened species richness). • Do not adequately represent taxa other than vascular plants (e.g. vertebrates and fungi). • Do not protect smaller scale richness hotspots. • Do not make allowances for changing • Do not protect • Do not consider A recent series of papers has pointed out that biodiversity hotspots ...

Picture a tropical forest in your imagination. What comes to mind? Large, thick trees? Green foliage? A warm, wet climate? Millions of insects, plants, and animals? If you imagined this, you would not be far off. This abundance of life is known as biodiversity, all types of living organisms within a given area. In 1988, environmentalist Norman Myers set out to define the world’s most biodiverse areas in decline so they could be protected. He published a paper identifying 10 biodiversity hotspots with unique plant species and serious habitat loss. Comparatively, these places contain more species than 97.5 percent of the rest of Earth. In this paper, he outlined two criteria to qualify an area as a biodiversity hotspot: • The region must have at least 1,500 vascular plant species found nowhere else on Earth (known as an endemic species). Vascular plants have tissues arranged in unique patterns and allow the plant to transport fluid. There are two different types of vascular tissues, called xylem and phloem. • The region must have lost at least 70 percent of its original recorded surface area. As of 2022, there are 36 official biodiversityhotspots around the world. Scientists have observed that although biodiversityhotspots are currently composed of approximately 2.5 percent of the land, they are home to nearly 43 percent of Earth’s known endemic mammals, reptiles, and birdspecies, as well as more than half of the world’s endemicplantspecies. Biodiversityhotspots are also hom...

Section snippets Overcoming data constraints Do geographic regions that rank high on a scale of species richness, endemism or threat in well-known taxa also rank high for other taxa? At coarse-grained geographic scales, diversity patterns do correspond across taxa, as shown by the pattern of increased species richness at lower latitudes found in many taxonomic groups. Species richness of tiger beetles (Cicindelidae), for example, is positively correlated with measures of bird and butterfly diversity across North America, Australia and the Setting global priorities Biodiversity hotspot analysis was originally used to identify large regions, typically the size of an entire nation, that deserved conservation attention, such as Madagascar, Northern Borneo, or the Philippines. The 18 global hotspots defined by Norman Myers have since been used by the MacArthur Foundation to target its grantmaking. Organizations including the World Wide Fund for Nature-India and Conservation International also set priorities among countries or regions using Myers' rankings. The How hot are hotspots? One of the most important lessons that we are learning from the study of diversity hotspots is that the extent of the biodiversity crisis is often highly localized. Although hotspots do not always correspond across taxa, a substantial fraction of species diversity can be found in very small regions and most threatened species can be found in smaller regions still. Rarity hotspots covering just 5% of ...

CONTENTS • Biodiversity Definition • Why Is It Important? • Examples • Genetic Diversity • Species Diversity • Ecosystem Diversity • Threats to Biodiversity • The Threat of Urbanization • The Threat of Pollution • The Threat of Climate Change • The Threat of Invasive Species • The Threat of Overexploitation • Benefits of Biodiversity • Quiz Index Definition Biodiversity is a term which describes every living organism within a single ecosystem or habitat, including numbers and diversity of species and all environmental aspects such as temperature, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and climate. Biodiversity can be measured globally or in smaller settings, such as ponds. Why is Biodiversity Important? Without biodiversity, the health of the planet is at stake. Every single species has a role to play, although some – like viruses and disease-carrying mosquitoes – are considered to be damaging to the well-being of humans and other organisms and steps are being taken to eradicate them. A healthy ecosystem has a rich level of biodiversity. The less inhabitable an ecosystem, the less life it can support. For example, a single organism ecosystem was recently discovered deep in a South African gold mine, where only one type of bacteria – Desulforudis audaxviator – is able to survive. Should something drastic happen to affect the health of this bacteria and it becomes extinct, there is no other organism to take advantage of this inhospitable environment. In other terrestrial, aquatic ...

• Today (May 22) is World Biodiversity Day. In celebration, below is a look at the world’s ten most biodiverse countries as measured by species richness. • This list takes a simplified approach, created a weighted index using five groups of animals — amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles — and one group of plants — vascular plants. • One major caveat: The list does not include invertebrates due to paucity of data in many countries. If we were able to include invertebrates, it would further boost tropical countries in the rankings. • Note: the rankings were updated on September 26, 2021. Author’s note: September 26, 2021 update: this list was revised to reflect new data on plant diversity, which slightly affected the order of the rankings of the top ten countries. May 22 has been designated as the “International Day for Biological Diversity” by the United Nations to “increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues”. In celebration of World Biodiversity Day, below is a look at the world’s ten most biodiverse countries as measured by species richness. A few caveats before we get to the list. There are many ways to measure biodiversity. This list takes a simplified approach, created a weighted index using five groups of animals — amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles — and one group of plants — vascular plants. Each country is ranked by its percentage of species in each group relative to the total global number of species for each group. There are...

Mangroves are one of the world’s most important ecosystems. Healthy mangrove forests are hotspots of biodiversity, cornerstones of climate resilience and a source of livelihoods for coastal communities worldwide. They are carbon stores, fish factories, coastal defenses and more, conveying incalculable benefits to both people and planet. But these critical systems have been threatened for decades, with the total footprint of mangroves declining over the past 35 years, largely due to human activity. Yet there are reasons for hope. The average rates of global mangrove loss are now slowing, and mangroves are being restored across their endemic lands despite external threats. But to fully recover mangrove populations and reap their benefits for generations to come, people worldwide will need to come together as allies for these critical systems. The The State of the World’s Mangroves, a new report by the GMA that was coauthored by TNC, is a guide for NGOs, scientists and other stakeholders to the current condition of global mangrove populations and the best pathways forward to recovering these remarkable habitats. Here are three important things to know from The State of the World’s Mangroves. Mangroves provide invaluable benefits to coastal communities around the globe, and they will only become more important in the face of accelerating climate change. Mangroves’ aerial roots prevent erosion, retain and filter sediments, and can facilitate soil’s vertical growth—and in some c...

hot spot, any one of several biodiverse regions which requires protection on the grounds that it hosts a significant number of The concept was introduced by British conservationist The Environmentalist in 1988 and 1990, as well as in Nature in 2000. He claimed that a hot spot must meet two criteria: it ought to host more than 1,500 species of History of hot spot delineation The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund reflects the international expanse of conservation, bringing together Conservation International, the Agence Française de Développement, the government of The Global 200, which considered 238 ecoregions whose preservation would purportedly foster the planet’s biodiversity. The criteria considered included

Biodiversity Hotspots in the World– The areas serving as the richest spot for biodiversity location are termed as ‘ BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS’. The concept of Biodiversity Hotspots was given by Sir Norman Myers in the year 1988. Biodiversity Estimation of Earth BIODIVERSITY, in general terms, comprises the variability of all life forms present on the Earth including all the fauna and flora species present on the planet. To be more specific, it denotes the total species present in a specific ecosystem. All the species on Earth compete with each other for ensuring their survival while living together in the same ecosystem with each other. It has been estimated that about 8.7 million species of flora and fauna are currently in existence on the Planet Earth of which only 1.2 million species have been discovered so far and still a lot more is yet to be discovered as many of the Earth’s rich biodiversity areas are still unexplored. These places serve as the plethora of fauna and flora species including some of the endemic species because of the geologic formations and also exhibiting exceptional scientific interest. These designated areas account for about 2.3% of the Earth’s surface accounting for a total of 35% of the global ecosystem services. The hotspots provide crucial ecosystem services for human life, such as the provision of clean water, pollination and climate regulation besides supporting rich biodiversity. They also serve as a home for several ‘ ENDEMIC SPECIES’ that are...