BIODIVERSITY:

Biodiversity most often defined as "the totality of genes, species and ecosystem of a region."
Biodiversity includes the different
(i)Types of animals, birds, fish, insects, insects, plants, bacteria and other species.
(ii) Ways in which species interact with their environment.
(iii) Ways of species living together.
(iv) Types of places of species living together.
(v) Characteristics within a species.
Biodiversity differs from place to place.

LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY:
The biological diversity include three hierarchial levels, viz.
(i) Genetic diversity
(ii) Species diversity
(iii) Community and ecosystem diversity

(i) Genetic diversity

It is the basic source of biodiversity. The genes found in organisms can form enormous number
of combinations each of which gives rise to some variability. Genes are the basic units of
hereditary information transmitted from one generation to other. When the genes within the
same species show different versions due to new combinations. It is called genetic variability.
The genetic diversity within a species often increases with environmental variability. The
evolution of new species i.e. speciation, depends upon the amount of genetic variation.
Speciation plays a key role in the maintenance of diversity at species and community levels.
A community with higher number of species has greater diversity than the community having
only a few species.

(ii) Species Diversity

Species diversity refers to the variety of species within a region. It includes the full range of
species in the region, from micro-organisms to multicellular plants and animals. Species are
distinct units of diversity, each of which have specific role in an ecosystem. Therefore, loss of
a species effect the ecosystem as a whole.
The species diversity of a region is measured on the basis of two parameters
- Species richness
- Equitability/evenness
-Species Richness:
It refers to the number of species per unit area. The number of species increases with the area
of the site. Generally, higher species diversity represents greater species diversity.

-Evenness or Equitability:
It indicates the evenness in the number of individuals of a species. The evenness of species
represents higher species diversity in the region.
Suppose, there are three sample areas. The sample area one has three species of birds.Two
species are represented on individual each, while the third species has four individuals. The
second sample area has the same three species, each of which is represented by two individuals.
This sample area shows greater evenness, and there are equal chances for species being
represented in the sample. Thus, the second sample area is considered more diverse than the
first. The third sample area also has three species represented by an insect, a bird and a
mammal. This sample area has taxonomically unrelated species and is therefore, considered to
be the most diverse among the three. In the above example, each sample area, shows equal
number of species but varying number of individuals per species. Thus, both the number or
kind of species as well as the number of individuals per species decide the species diversity of
an area.

The different sample areas showing species richness (sample area 1), species evenness (sample
area 2), wild diversity due to taxonomically unrelated species (sample area 3).
(iii) Community and Ecosystem Diversity: It includes

(i) Alpha diversity

(ii) Beta diversity
(iii) Gamma diversity

(i) Alpha diversity

It indicates diversity within the community. It refers to the diversity of organisms sharing the
same community or habitat. A combination of species richness and equitability/evenness is
used to represent diversity within a community or habitat.

(ii) Beta diversity

It indicates diversity between communities. Species frequently change when habitat or
community changes. There are differences in species composition of communities along
environmental gradients, e.g. altitudinal gradient, moisture gradient, etc.

(iii) Gamma diversity

It refers to the diversity of the habitats over the total land scape or geographical area. The higher
diversity at community level provides stability and higher productivity. In temperate
grasslands, it has been observed that diverse communities are functionally more productive and
stable, even under environmental stresses such as prolonged dry condition.

Thus the alpha diversity refers to 'species richness' beta diversity refers to 'susceptibility to
changes' and gama diversity means 'mobility' over the larger areas.
These can be explain by the following example. Here, various species (i.e. A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H and I) are present on three areas (i.e. I, II and III). However, different species are restricted
to specific area as shown in following table. Here, Alpha, Beta and Gamma diversity can be
calculated as follows:

Alpha diversity: 5 (for I area); 4 (for II area); 3 (for III area)

Beta diversity: I vs II area = 5; II vs III area = 5; I vs III area = 8
Gamma diveristy : 9.

Thus, the alpha divesity refers to 'species richness' beta diversity refers to 'susceptibility to
changes' and gamma diversity means 'mobility' over the larger areas.
BENEFITS OF BIODIVERSITY (USES OF BIODIVERSITY):
A rich biodiversity is essential for the health of biosphere and bioindustrial development of a
country. Humans derive many direct indirect benefits from the living world. The main uses of
biodiversity are described below:
1.Source of food and improved varities: Human food is entirely obtained from living world.
There are several thousand species of edible plants, but only less than 20 plants species are
cultivated to produce about 85% of the world's food. The rest of the world's food (i.e. 15%) is
produced by animals.
Improved varieties of crop plants and domestic animals are the backbone of modem agriculture.
In recent years, many improved varieties of crops and other useful plants have been developed
through breeding programmes. Genes of wild species are used to confer new properties, such
as disease resistance or improved yield in domesticated species. For example, rice cultivated
in Asia is protected from the four main diseases by the genes received from a single wild rice
species (Oryza nivara) from India
2. Drugs and medicines : Biodiversity has many medicinal uses. A number of substance with
therapeutic properties are obtained from plants. Several important pharmaceutical valuable
drugs are
(i) Morphine, used as an analgesic is obtained from Papaver somniferum,
(ii) Quinine, used for the treatment of malaria, is obtained from Chinchona ledgerian
(iii) Taxol, an anticancer drug is obtained from the bark of the yew tree (Tax baccata and T.
brevifolia).
Most of the traditional drugs over the world are prepared from plants. About 25% of the
pharmaceutical drugs are derived from a mere 120 species of plants.
3. Aesthetic and cultural benefits: Biodiversity also has great aesthetic value. It provides a
good deal of fun and recreation. Ecotourism, bird watching, wild life, pet keeping gardening,
etc. are some examples of aesthetic rewards of biodiversity. Biodiversity is also related to our
cultural and religious beliefs. Plants and animals are considered to be the symbols of national
pride and cultural heritage. Many plants like Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), Ficus religiosa (Pipal),
Prosopis cineraria (Khejri), etc. are considered sacred and worshiped by the people in majority
of Indian villages and towns. Several birds, animals and even snakes are considered sacred and
worshipped.
4. Ecosystem services: Biodiversity is essential to keep natural cycles going and make the
ecosystem self sustaining unit. It is essential for the maintenance and sustainable utilization of
good and services from ecological systems as well as from individual species. Some of these
services are :
(i) Maintenance of gaseous composition of the atmosphere,
(ii) Climate control by forests and oceanic systems
(iii) Natural pest control
(iv) Formation and protection of soil
(v) Conservation and purification of water
(vi) Nutrient cycling, etc.

5. Unknown benefits: It is unpredictable that which species may become useful in future. If
Penicillium and cinchona tree of Peru had become extinct the valuable drugs like penicillian
and quinine would not be occured.

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:
There are two methods for biodiversity conservation

(i) In-situ conservation

(ii) Ex-situ conservation
(i)In-situ conservation: The conservation of a species is best done by protecting its habitat
alongwith all the other species that live in it in nature, for e.g. creating national parks and wild
life sancturies. Where there are situations in which an endangered species is so close to
extinction that unless alternate methods are instituted, the species may be rapidly driven to
extinction.
(ii) Ex situ Conservation
It involves maintenance and breeding of endangered plant and animal species under partially
or wholly controlled condition e.g. zoos, gardens, nursuries and laboratories. Human care
eliminates the stresses which living organisms experience in natural habitats and provide
conditions for a secure life and breeding. The ex situ conservation is an age old practice but the
application of advance scientific methods and technology has transformed the process into a
well organized discipline of science.
The strategy of ex situ conservation involves identification of species to be conserved, based
on vulnerability of the species to extinction and economic, ecological or aesthetic importance
of the species, and the method of ex situ conservation. This type of conservation is also
important for conservation of crop varieties, the wild relatives of crops and all the local varieties
with the main objective of conserving the total genetic variability of the crop species for future
crop improvement or afforestation programs. In India, we have many gene bank/seed bank.
The important ones are :

1. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR): It is located in New Delhi. Here
agricultural and horticultural crop and their wild relatives are by cryo-preservation of seeds,
pollen etc. by using liquid nitrogen at a temperature preserved
as low as -196°C. Varieties of rice, pearl millet, brassica, turnip, radish, tomato, onion, carrot,
chilli, tabacoo, poppy etc. have been preserved successfully in liquid nitrogen for several years
without losing seed viability.

2. National Facility for Plant Tissue Culture Repository (NFPTCR): It has been set for the
development of a facility of conservation of varieties of crop plants/trees by tissue culture. This
facility has been created within the NBPGR.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY:
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is a unique
union. Its members from some 160 plus countries include 800 plus NGOs. More than 10,000
Internationally recognized scientists and experts volunteer their services to its six global
commissions. IUCN was established in the year1948.

IUCN Red List Book

Threatened (Decrease rapidly): Yellow pages
Endangered (Population already less and likely to extinct): White pages
Extinct species almost or conform end: Red pages
Rare/Vulnerable species (Found in particular area and not very dense): Brown pages
Conserve species (found success for conservation): Green pages.