Biodiversity of India
Endangered and Endemic Species
By: Mr. Mahesh K. Mahale
Assistant professor at MVP’s SVKT ASC college, Deolali Camp, Nashik
Environmental Awareness
WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
Ever since the happening of the earth summit at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil the term biodiversity has become a buzzword. In fact it is the contracted form of Biological Diversity .
The term 'biodiversity' encompasses the variety of all life on earth. It is identified as the variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are part, including diversity within and between species and ecosystems.
Quite simply it can be defined as “variety, variability,between genes, species and ecosystems”
Biodiversity manifests itself at three levels:
Why Conserve Biodiversity?
Biological diversity affects us all.
Quite Often asked Question ?
Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)
The three preambles of Biodiversity are:
MEGABIODIVERSITY COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
India is one of the twelve-mega biodiversity countries of the world and one of the four in Asia.
Megabiodiversity? :Countries that contain as much as 7-8% per cent of the world's species.
The twelve Megabiodiversity countries that have been identified are : India,Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Madagascar, Zaire, Australia, China, Indonesia and Malaysia.
I- Since India lies at the confluence of African, European and Indo-Malaysian region the biota therefore, includes African,European , Eurasian and Mediterranean elements, which together with Indian and endemic elements contributes to the richness of the characteristic Indian biodiversity.
India has ten biogeographic regions 1.The Trans-
Himalayan,
2. The Himalayan,
3.The Indian desert,
4.The Semi-arid
zone(s),
5.The Western Ghats
6. The Deccan
Peninsula,
7. The Gangetic Plain,
8. The Northeast India,
9. The Islands and
10. The Coasts
NE Himalyas
Western Ghats
II-Biogeographic Diversity in India
III-Habitats and Ecosystems: India has a rich and varied heritage of biodiversity, encompassing a wide Spectrum of Ecosystems from
Wildlife (Protection )Act 1972 Provides for protection of-Wild animals , Animal articles , and - Plants. The WL (P) Act regulates sale, barter etc of notified wild plants and animal species. It also provides control over keeping of wild animals in captivity. The 1991 amendment covers the possession of notified plant species. The Act exercise control under the Schedules I-VI.
Schedule I lists rare and endangered totally protected species.
Schedule II includes game species for which licenses can be issued under special circumstances.
Schedule III and Schedule IV comprises species of small games.
Schedule V includes vermin, common crow, fruit bats, mice and rats.
Amendment 1991: Bird trade was stopped in 1991 following an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Amendment 2006: The creation of a National Tiger Conservation Authority
India’s Zoogeography and Geological History
The whole of the Indian sub-continent is not rich only in biological or ecological diversity but because it lies at the confluence of African, European and Indo-Malayan realms, the biota, therefore, includes, African, European, and Eurasian and Mediterranean elements. T
The very idea for the above concept also came from the theory of continental drift that the continents of south and north America, Africa, Peninsular India, Australia and Antarctica once united in one land mass (Gondwanaland) are now widely separated by southern Ocean and bear striking similarity of geological history and distribution of ancient and modern organisms.
In early tertiary, the breakaway Gondwanaland in a northward drift first hit the Asian landmass at what is presently northeast India, served as the biogeographic gateway, “ the Assam Gate”, for dispersal and migration of much of the fauna and flora. The Northeast Zone is richest of biological resources, and has affinities with Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan regions in the east and southeast. From west came the Palaearctic and Ethiopian elements. Relatively young Himalayan mountain ranges opened up new southwards route of migration and acted as a two-way link between West Africa to South Asia. In peninsula there may be some cross over points between southern - Western Ghats and Eastern Hills.
Status of Total diversity of Indian Fauna
Taxa Species in India Species in World % in India
Protista 2577 31259 8.24
Mollusca 5072 66535 7.62
Arthropoda 68389 987949 6.90
Ot. Invertebrates8329 87121 9.56
Protochordata 119 2106 5.65
Pisces 2546 21723 11.72
Amphibia 240 5150 4.66
Reptilia 460 5817 7.84
Aves 1232 9026 13.66
Mammalia 397 4629 8.42
Total 91206 12,28,103 7.43
Source: UNEP-GBA (1995), MOEF (1997 and 1998), ZSI (1999), Kumar and Khanna, 2003 and Ramakrishna and Alfred, 2007
Endemic Species: India has many endemic vertebrate species. Areas rich in endemism are northeast, the Western Ghats and the northwestern Himalayas. A small pocket of local endemism also occurs in the Eastern Ghats . The Gangetic plains are generally poor in endemics.
Endemic Species are those whose distribution is restricted to certain limited area.
Table : Endemic Indian Fauna
Group No. of species %
Land Molluscs 878
Freshwater Molluscs 89
Insects 16,214 23.00
Amphibia 110 52.63
Reptilia 214 46.92
Aves 69 0.56
Mammalia 38 9.74
Source: MoEF (1999), Kumar and Khanna, 2003
Name of the Group No. of species
1. Protista 750
2. Animalia
3. Porifera 500
4. Cnidaria 790
5. Ctenophora 10
6. Platyhelminthes 350
7. Gastrotricha 88
8. Kinorhyncha 99
9. Annelida 440
10. Mollusca 3370
11. Bryozoa 170
12. Entoprocta 8
13. Phoronida 3
14. Brachiopoda 3
15. Arthropoda
Crustacea 2430
Pycnogonida 16
Merostomata 2
16. Sipunculida 38
17. Echiura 33
18. Tardigrada 33
19. Chaetognatha 5
20. Echinodermata 30
21. Hemichordata 12
22. Chordata
Protochordata 116
Pisces 1800
Amphibia (in esturines/mangroves) 3
Aves 145
Mammals 29
Total 12456
Data for other phyla not available
Source: ENVIS Newsletter, ZSI, 4(1&2), 1997
Table : Marine Biodiversity of India