• The text talks about the enormous diversity of life that exists on Earth.
• Even for humans, the rich variety of living organisms on the planet is astonishing and fascinating.
• There are more than 20,000 species of ants, 3,00,000 species of beetles, 28,000 species of fishes and nearly 20,000 species of orchids.
• Ecologists and evolutionary biologists have tried to understand the significance of this diversity by asking important questions.
• Some of the questions are: Why is there so much diversity? How did this diversification happen? How and why is this diversity
important? Would Earth function differently if there was less diversity? How do humans benefit from this diversity?
• Biodiversity refers to diversity at all levels of biological organization from macromolecules within cells to biomes.
• Biodiversity includes diversity of species, genes, ecosystems as well as diversity within species.
• The term biodiversity was coined by biologist Edward Wilson to describe total biological diversity.
• Genetic diversity:
- The medicinal plant Rauwolfia vomitoria shows genetic diversity over its distributional range in the Himalayas. This diversity is shown
in the potency and concentration of the active chemical (reserpine) it produces.
- India has over 50,000 genetically different strains of rice and more than 1,000 varieties of mango, demonstrating high genetic diversity
within single species..
• Species diversity: Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity compared to Eastern Ghats.
• Ecological diversity: India has a wide range of ecosystem diversity with deserts, rainforests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries
and alpine meadows compared to Scandinavian countries like Norway.
• It has taken millions of years for nature to accumulate the current level of biodiversity.
• We could lose most of this biodiversity within the next two centuries at the current rate of species loss.
• Biodiversity conservation is now a vital global environmental issue.
• More people realize how important biodiversity is for human survival and wellbeing on Earth.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
BIODIVERSITY
Types of Biodiversity
Genetic diversity
Species diversity
Ecological diversity
