Biodiversity

&
Conservation
COURSE CODE: ENSC 9604
 Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety and differences among living
organisms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine,
and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are a part.

What does “Bio” mean? Life

 What does “ Diversity” mean? Variety
It is virtually synonymous with “Variety of life on earth”.
Biologists most often define "biological diversity" or
"biodiversity" as the "totality of genes, species, and
ecosystems of a region".
Biodiversity
The biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many
millions of distinct biological species, which is the product
of nearly 3.5 billion years of evolution.
About 2.1 million species have been identified till date,
while many more species are believed to exist.
 -- 1.4 million named species (70% of which are
invertebrates)
According to UNEP estimate, approximately 9.0 – 52
million of species exist on Earth
Around 20,000 new species are described each year and
new biological communities are still being discovered.
Levels of Biodiversity
1) Genetic diversity
It is a level of biodiversity that refers to the total number
of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a
species.
It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes
the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary.
Levels of Biodiversity
2) Species diversity
It refers to the variety of species within a region. Species
diversity is simply the number of different species in a place
also called species richness.
Species diversity is an index that incorporates the number
of species in an area and also their relative abundance.
It is generally a much more useful value than species
richness.
Levels of Biodiversity
3) Community and Ecosystem diversity
Ecosystem diversity refers to the diversity of a place at the
level of ecosystems. This has 3 perspective:
Alpha Diversity: Within community diversity. Alpha
diversity refers to the diversity of organisms sharing the
same Community/Habitat.
Beta Diversity: Between community diversity. It refers to
the diversity of organisms sharing two habitat.
Gamma Diversity: Diversity of the habitat over the total
landscape or geographical area is called gamma diversity
Alpha diversity

Beta diversity

Gamma diversity
Which has more biodiversity?

A B
Which has more biodiversity?

A B
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature
and status of Earth’s biodiversity with the aim of protecting
species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates
of extinction.
It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on sciences,
economics, and the practice of natural resource
management.
In fact the fundamental goal of conservation biology can
simply be stated as “saving species”.
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is concerned with phenomena that
affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biodiversity
and the science of sustaining evolutionary processes that
engender genetic, population, species, and ecosystem
diversity.
It is this challenging situation of biodiversity and habitat
loss that resulted in developing the science of conservation
biology.
It has three goals:
To document the full range of biological diversity on Earth.
To investigate human impact on species, communities, and
ecosystems.
To develop practical approaches to prevent the extinction of
species, to maintain genetic variation within species, and to protect
and restore biological communities and their associated ecosystem
foundations
Strategic speices concept:
Keystone species
Some species, called a keystone species, form a central
supporting hub in the ecosystem.
The loss of such a species results in a collapse in ecosystem
function, as well as the loss of coexisting species.
The importance of a keystone species was shown by the extinction
of the Steller's Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) through its
interaction with sea otters, sea urchins, and kelp. Sea urchins feed
on kelp, while sea otters feed on sea urchins. With the rapid
decline of sea otters due to overhunting, sea urchin populations
grazed unrestricted on the kelp beds and the ecosystem collapsed.
Left unchecked, the urchins destroyed the shallow water kelp
communities that supported the Steller's Sea Cow's diet and
hastened their demise.
The sea otter is a keystone species because the coexistence of
many ecological associates in the kelp beds relied upon otters for
their survival.
Strategic speices concept:
Umbrella and flagship species
An example of an umbrella species is the Monarch
butterfly, because of its lengthy migrations and aesthetic
value.
The Monarch migrates across North America, covering
multiple ecosystems and so requires a large area to exist.
Any protections afforded to the Monarch butterfly will at
the same time umbrella many other species and habitats.
An umbrella species is often used as flagship species,
which are species, such as the Giant Panda, the Blue
Whale, the tiger, the mountain gorilla and the Monarch
butterfly, that capture the public's attention and attract
support for conservation measures.
Strategic speices concept:
Indicator species
An indicator species has a narrow set of ecological
requirements; therefore they become useful targets for
observing the health of an ecosystem e.g. Trout.
Indicator species are monitored in an effort to
capture environmental degradation through pollution
or some other link to proximate human activities.
Monitoring an indicator species is a measure to
determine if there is a significant environmental
impact that can serve to advise or modify practice,
such as through different forest silviculture
treatments and management scenarios, or to measure
the degree of harm that a pesticide may impart on the
health of an ecosystem.
Values of Biodiversity
Food: About 80,000 edible plants and about 90% of present day
food crops have been domesticated from wild.
Drugs & Medicines: About 75% of world’s population depend
on plants or plant extracts.
Fuel: Forests have been used since ages for fuel wood. Fossil
fuels are also products of Biodiversity.
Social Value: Many of the plants like Tulsi, Lotus, Peepal etc.
are considered holy and sacred.
What do we get from
biodiversity?

Oxygen
Food
Clean Water
Medicine
Aesthetics
Ideas
Should we be concerned about
biodiversity?
What we know:
The Earth is losing species at an alarming rate

Some scientists estimate that as many as 3 species

per hour are going extinct and 20,000 extinctions occur
each year.
when species of plants and animals go extinct, many
other species are affected.
Hot- spots of Biodiversity
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a
significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened
with destruction.
Biodiversity hot spots are areas with exceptional
concentrations of endemic species and a large number
of threatened or endangered species.
These hot spots covering less than 2% of the world’s
land area are found to have about 50% of the terrestrial
biodiversity.
Nearly 30% of all bird species are confined to only 2%
of the Earth’s land area.
About 50,000 plant species (17% of those known)
inhabit 178 hot spots that comprise only 0.5% of the
global land species.
Hot- spots of Biodiversity
Biodiversity hot spots are obvious choices for
reserves, but recognizing them can be difficult.
Designating an area as a biodiversity hot spot is
often biased toward vertebrates and plants, with less
attention paid to invertebrates and microorganisms.
A hot spot for one taxonomic group may not be a hot
spot for another taxonomic group.
Hot spots also include aquatic ecosystems, such as
coral reefs and certain river systems.
Criteria for determining
hot-spots
 No. of Endemic Species i.e. the species which
are found no where else.
 Degree of threat, which is measured in terms of
Habitat loss.
 An area is designated as a hot spot when it
contains at least 0.5% of plant species as
endemic.
Protected areas
IUCN defines a protected area as:

“An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated

to the protection of biological diversity, and of
natural and associated cultural resources, and
managed through legal or other effective means”
(IUCN 1994).
Protected areas
Protected areas are essential for biodiversity
conservation.
They are the cornerstones of virtually all
national and international conservation
strategies, set aside to maintain functioning
natural ecosystems, to act as refuges for species
and to maintain ecological processes that cannot
survive in most intensely managed landscapes
and seascapes.
Governments have set aside about 7% of the
world’s land in various types of reserves.
CATEGORY CATEGORY DESCRIPTION
I Strict Nature Protected area managed mainly for science or
Reserve/Wilderness wilderness protection.
Area:
Ia Strict Nature Reserve: Protected area managed mainly for science.
Ib Wilderness Area: Protected area managed mainly for wilderness
protection.
II National Park Protected area managed mainly for ecosystem
protection and recreation
III Natural Monument Protected area managed mainly for conservation of
specific natural features.
IV Habitat/Species Protected area managed mainly for conservation
Management Area through management intervention.
V Protected Protected area managed mainly for
Landscape/Seascape: landscape/seascape
conservation and recreation

VI Managed Resource Protected area managed mainly for the sustainable

Protected Area use of natural ecosystems.
Protected areas
National parks
Wildlife sanctuaries
Game reserves
Ramsar sites
National parks
A National Park is an area of outstanding scenic merit and
natural beauty where the landscape, flora and fauna are
protected and preserved in a natural state.
Public access for recreation, education and research is
provided for.
Access roads and other facilities should be planned so they
do not conflict with the main objectives of national parks.
Hunting wild animals is prohibited, as is firing gun or
otherwise interfering with animals and plants.
Clearing land for cultivation, mining or allowing polluted
water to flow in National Parks is also prohibited.
Under the regulations, these acts may be allowed for
scientific purposes or to improve the park.
Purpose and Objectives of
National Parks
Protection of biodiversity is the main purpose for the
establishment of a national park however, being biologically,
geologically and culturally important, the national parks also
serve to cater for education, recreation and scientific purposes
for the public.
People visit the parks to see and share the wonders of their
land and to learn about the forces and the people who have
shaped it through the centuries.
Outstanding scenery, majestic places, natural flora and fauna
in natural state renders positive impacts on visitors’ mind
thus helping divert a nation’s attitude towards a healthy tract.
National parks ensure the preservation of national natural
heritage, culture and monuments, and present them to the
public.
Role of National Parks in
Nature Conservation
Due to the growing threats to nature like global warming,
population expansion, habitat destruction and worldwide
reduction of biological diversity, the national parks are now
being considered as the ecological laboratories, gene pools
and bulwarks against the irreversible change or the loss of
species and hence, preserving the nature and ensuring the
ecological health of the planet.
National parks are the ideal places for eco-tourism,
tracking, bird and animal watch and nature photography.
National parks with their lush green forest components
neutralize the carbon emissions in the surrounding
environments.
 National parks in
Pakistan
Margalla Hills National Park: Islamabad, established 1980, area 15,883 ha.

Hazarganji Chiltan National Park: Balochistan, established 1980, area 15,555 ha.

Hingol National Park: Balochistan, established 1997, area 6,19,043 ha.

Kirthar National Park: Sindh, established 1974, area 3,08,733 ha.

Ayubia National Park: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, established 1984, area 3,122 ha.

Chitral Gol National Park: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, established 1984, area 7,750 ha.

Sheikh Badin National Park: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, established 1999, area 15,540 ha.

Khunjerab National Park: Gilgit-Baltistan, established 1975, area 2,27,143 ha.

Deosai National Park: Gilgit-Baltistan, established 1993, area 3,63,600 ha.

Central Karakoram National Park: Gilgit-Baltistan, established 1993, area 9,73,845 ha.

Machhiara National Park: AJ & K, established 1996, area 13,532 ha.

 National parks in
Pakistan
Lal Suhanra National Park: Punjab, established 1972, area 51,368 ha.

Chinji National Park: Punjab, established 1987, area 6,097 ha.

Kala Chitta National Park: Punjab, established Dec. 2008, area 36,965 ha.

Ghamot National Park: Azad Jammu Kashmir, established 2004, area 27394 ha.

Lake Lulu Sar National Park: NWFP, established 2003, area 30375 ha.

Lake Saiful Muluk: NWFP, established 2003, area 4867 ha.

Pir Lasora National Park: Azad Jammu Kashmir, established 2005, area 5625 ha.

Toli Pir National Park: Azad Kashmir, established 2005, area 5045 ha.

Shandur Hundrup National Park: Gilgit Baltistan established 1993,area 1,64,000 ha

WILD LIFE SANCTUARIES
It is a place or area where wild indigenous animals are
kept in protection so they can breed and are thus
preserved.
Shooting or hunting is prohibited in this area. A sanctuary
is established by a notification and it can be abolished by a
similar process.
The main objective of a Wildlife Sanctuary is to protect
flora and fauna from extinction. Hunting is strictly
prohibited in these areas.
At present there are 99 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Pakistan,
66 officially recognized by and up to the standards of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature.
WILD LIFE SANCTUARIES
Astore /Baltistan Wildlife Sanctuaries
Cholistan Wildlife Sanctuary
Hub Dam Wild Life Sanctuary
Nara Desert Wildlife Sanctuary
Chashma and Taunsa Barrage Dolphin
Sanctuary
Rann of Kutch Wildlife Sanctuary
GAME RESERVES
A game reserve is an area wherein controlled hunting and
shooting is permitted on permit basis.
Most of the areas have created to provide habitat protection for
animal species commonly referred to as game (huntable species
for sport or meat).
Providing protection for these species also offers a measure of
security for many lesser known plant species and smaller
animal species (IUCN, 1990).
Pakistan has declared 96 Game Reserves to be included in
protected areas. But the conservation activities are not
implemented properly.
Game reserves, in particular in private land, receive minimal
protection due to the lack of legal provisions to control land
use.
Wildlife protected areas
and management issues
Weakness in Law Enforcement
Lack of Local Community’s Involvement
Deficiencies in Selection Criteria
Limited Protected Area Categories
 Shortage of Professionals
Lack of management Plans
Lack of funds
IUCN Red Data Book & Red List
The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria have several specific aims:
To provide a system that can be applied consistently by different
people;
To improve objectivity by providing users with clear guidance on how
to evaluate different factors which affect the risk of extinction;
To provide a system which will facilitate comparisons across widely
different taxa;
To give people using threatened species lists a better understanding of
how individual species were classified.
IUCN CATAGORIES OF WILD LIFE
EXTINCT (EX)
A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A taxon
is presumed extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate
times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), and throughout its historic range have failed to record an
individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon's life cycle and life
form.
EXTINCT IN THE WILD (EW)
A taxon is Extinct in the Wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or
as a naturalized population (or populations) well outside the past range. A taxon is presumed
Extinct in the Wild when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate
times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed to record an
individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon's life cycle and life
form.
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES (CR)
A category containing those species that possess an extremely high risk of extinction as a
result of rapid population declines of 80 to more than 90 percent over the previous 10
years (or three generations), a current population size of fewer than 50 individuals, or other
factors
ENDANGERED (EN)
A designation applied to species that possess a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid
population declines of 50 to more than 70 percent over the previous 10 years (or three
generations), a current population size of fewer than 250 individuals, or other factors.
VULNERABLE (VU)
A category containing those species that possess a very high risk of extinction as a
result of rapid population declines of 30 to more than 50 percent over the
previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size of fewer than
1,000 individuals, or other factors.
NEAR THREATENED (NT)
A taxon is Near Threatened when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does
not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but is close to
qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.
LEAST CONCERN (LC)
A taxon is Least Concern when it has been evaluated against the criteria and does
not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened.
Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
DATA DEFICIENT (DD)
A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct, or
indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or
population status. A taxon in this category may be well studied, and its biology well
known, but appropriate data on abundance and/or distribution are lacking. Data
Deficient is therefore not a category of threat.
Threats to Biodiversity
Extinction is a natural event and, from a geological
perspective, routine.
In last century, human impact has been so severe that
thousands of species and varieties are becoming extinct
annually.
Some of the main causes are:
◦ Over-hunting
◦ Habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation
◦ Invasion of non-native species
◦ Domino effects
◦ Pollution
◦ Climate change
Threats to Biodiversity
Habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation
Habitat loss & degradation are major causes of
species extinction, affecting 89% of all threatened
birds, 83% of mammals & 91% of all threatened
plants assessed globally (IUCN, 2000)
The main causes of habitat degradation are
agriculture activities, Mining, development of
human settlement, industry etc.
According to IUCN,UNEP report, more than 50% of
wildlife habitat has been destroyed in 49 out of 61
old world tropical countries.
Threats to Biodiversity
Poaching of Wildlife
Poaching is another threat that has
emerged in recent decades as one of the
primary reason for decline in number of
species.
Wildlife is sold and traded in many
countries for live specimens, folk
medicines, furs, Skin, and other products
such as Ivory, horns etc. amounting to
millions of dollars.
Threats to Biodiversity
Man – wildlife conflicts
The conflict between man and wildlife
started with the evolution of man, but
intensity increased due to the activities of
modern man
Due to the lack of stable food and
disruption of movement, wild animals
came out of forest area and attack the
agricultural field and humans and in turn
got killed by the humans.
Threats to Biodiversity
Climate change
A changing global climate threatens
species and ecosystems.
The distribution of species (biogeography)
is largely determined by climate.
Climate change may simply shift these
distributions but, for a number of
reasons, plants and animals may not be
able to adjust.
Threats to Biodiversity
DOMINO EFFECTS:
Domino effects occur when the removal of
one species (an extinction event) or the
addition of one species (an invasion event)
affects the entire biological system.
Domino effects are especially likely when
two or more species are highly
interdependent, or when the affected species
is a "keystone" species, meaning that it has
strong connections to many other species.
Threats to Biodiversity
POLLUTION:
Pollution from chemical contaminants
certainly poses a further threat to species and
ecosystems.
While not commonly a cause of extinction, it
likely can be for species whose range is
extremely small, and threatened by
contamination.
Threats to Biodiversity
Introduction of Exotic (invasive)
species
Organisms introduced into habitats
where they are not native are termed as
exotics.
They can be thought of as Biological
Pollutants and are considered to be among
the most damaging agents of habitat
alteration and degradation the world.
Threats to Biodiversity
An invasive species is one that arrives
(often with human assistance) in a habitat
it had not previously occupied, then
establishes a population and spreads
autonomously.
Species invasions are one of the main
conservation threats today and have
caused many species extinctions.
Impacts of invasive
species
Ecosystem modification
Resource competition
Aggression
Predation
Herbovory
Pathogens and Parasites
Chain reactions
Hybridization
Invasional meltdown
Impacts of invasive
species
Ecosystem modification:
The greatest impacts of invasive species entail modifying entire
ecosystems, because such modifications are likely to affect
most of the originally resident species. Most obviously, the
physical structure of the habitat can be changed.
Resource competition:
In Great Britain, the introduced North American gray squirrel
(Sciurus carolinensis) forages for nuts more efficiently than the
native red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), leading to the decline of
the latter species.
Aggression:
The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) from southern
South America has spread through the southeastern United
States and more recently has invaded California. It attacks
other ant species it encounters, and in disturbed habitats
(which comprise much of the Southeast) this aggression has
caused great declines in populations of native ant species.
Impacts of invasive
species
Predation:
One of the most dramatic and frequently seen impacts
of introduced species is predation on native species.
In many instances, native bird species, not having
evolved adaptations to such predators, nested on the
ground and were highly susceptible to the invaders.
Herbivory:
Introduced herbivores can devastate the flora of areas
lacking similar native species, especially on islands.
Goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) introduced to the
island of St. Helena in 1513 are believed to have
eliminated at least half of _100 endemic plant species
before botanists had a chance to record them
Impacts of invasive
species
Pathogens and parasites:
Many introduced plant pathogens have modified entire ecosystems by
virtually eliminating dominant plants. The geographic range of some
ungulate species in Africa is still affected by rinderpest. Because
ungulates often play key roles in vegetation structure and dynamics,
rinderpest impacts affected entire ecosystems.

Hybridization:
If introduced species are sufficiently closely related to native species,
they may be able to mate and exchange genes with them, and a
sufficient amount of genetic exchange (introgression) can so change the
genetic constitution of the native population that we consider the
original species to have disappeared—a sort of genetic extinction. This
process is especially to be feared when the invading species so
outnumbers the native that a native individual is far more likely to
encounter the introduced species than a native as a prospective mate.
Impacts of invasive
species
Chain reactions:
Some impacts of introduced species on
natives entail concatenated chains of various
interactions: species A affecting species B,
then species B affecting species C, species C
affecting species D, and so forth.
Invasional meltdown:
It is a phenomenon in which two or more
introduced species interact in such a way
that the probability of survival and/or the
impact of at least one of them are enhanced.
Threats to Biodiversity
However despite the threats to biodiversity, there are many
positive signs that allow the conservationist biologists to be
hopeful e.g.:
The rate of population growth has slowed down
The number of protected areas around the globe continues
to increase, with a dramatic expansion in the number of
marine protected areas
Our ability to protect biological diversity has been
strengthened due to a wide range of local, national and
international efforts
Certain endangered species are now recovering as a result
of conservation measures
We can point to an expansion of our knowledge base and
the science of conservation biology, the developing linkages
with rural development and social sciences, and our ability
to restore degraded environments
Conservation of Biodiversity
The convention on Biological Diversity held in
June, 1992 stressed the need of the conservation
of Biodiversity for sustainable development and
perpetuation of human beings on earth.
Conservation is defined as “ the management of
human use of the biosphere so that it may yield
the greatest sustainable benefit to the present
generation while maintaining its potential to meet
the needs and aspirations of the future
generations”.
Approaches to wildlife
conservation
The two basic approaches to wildlife conservation in
protected habitats are:
1) In- situ conservation and
2) Ex- situ conservation
In- situ conservation
It simply means conservation of species in its
natural ecosystem or even in man made ecosystems.
This strategy emphasizes protection of total
ecosystem through a network of “protected area”.
Protected Areas: an area of land and/or sea
specially dedicated to the protection and maintenance
of biological diversity and managed through legal
effective means.
There are different categories of protected areas
which are managed with different objectives. These
include; Biosphere reserves, National parks, Wild
Life Sanctuaries etc.