Biodiversity And Conservation – Notes

Need for Conservation of Biodiversity
Various human activities such as overexploitation, fragmentation of habitats and the introduction of exotic species cause loss of species diversity.
Currently, more than 15,500 species worldwide are on the verge of extinction.
The reasons to conserve biodiversity are grouped into three categories: narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian and ethical.

Patterns of Biodiversity
Latitudinal gradient pattern is the most widely recognised pattern biodiversity in which there is an increase in the species richness from the poles towards the tropics.
The tropical Amazonian rainforest in South America has the greatest biodiversity with at least two million insect species waiting to be discovered.
According to Alexander Von Humboldt, within a region, species richness increases with the increasing explored area, but only up to a limit.

Introduction to Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the sum total of diversity that exists at all levels of biological organisation.