One of the biggest reasons that biodiversity hotspots are being destroyed is because of human activities like farming because regions are being deforested to make room for subsistence farming. The influence of myerss hotspot concept is evident in the distribution of the office locations for the three largest nongovernmental conservation organizations green. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is. Large regions containing exceptional concentrations of plant endemism and experiencing high rates of habitat loss. Biodiversity hotspots pennsylvania state university. These areas are the biodiversity hotspots, 36 regions where success in conserving species can have an enormous impact in securing our global biodiversity. The hotspot is second only to the tropical andes in terms of bird endemism, which is particularly impressive given its relatively small land area. This finerscale association between biodiversity and geography is exemplified by the 35 terrestrial biodiversity hotspots proposed by myers et al. Hotspots are most severely threatened in tropical africa and parts of asia, where demographic pressure and the demand for agricultural land is highest. Habeas wwf mediterranean programme portugal 2 hotspot areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in montados report. To qualify, a hotspot should have lost 70% or more of its primary vegetation, this being the form of habitat that usually containsthemostspecies,especiallyendemics. Biodiversity hotspots distribution and protection of. A biodiversity hotspot is the richness and variety of species in a region. Includes entire northeastern india, except assam and andaman group of islands and myanmar, thailand, vietnam, laos, cambodia and southern china.
These are earths most biologically richyet threatenedterrestrial regions. Includes entire northeastern india, except assam and andaman group of islands and myanmar, thailand, vietnam, laos, cambodia and southern china 3. Contact with wildlife increases exposure to wildlifeorigin zoonotic diseases yet bushmeat is an important nutritional resource in many rural communities. One way is to identify biodiversity hotspots where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is threatened with destruction the concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by dr. The tropical andes is the most biologically diverse of all the hotspots and contains about onesixth of all plant life on the planet, including 30,000 species of vascular plants.
A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable it must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. This idea of identifying hotspots was put forth by norman myers in 1988. The 18 global hotspots defined by norman myers have since been used by the macarthur foundation to target its grantmaking. Contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants found nowhere else. Biodiversity hotspots can include a variety of human landuses, rural and urban, as well as protected areas under a range of possible governance types therefore many social andor cultural values are likely to be present in some parts. A third of myers hotspots were located in temperate zones and were more diverse than many regions closer to the. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, an area must meet two strict criteria. The forests and other remnant habitats in hotspots represent just 2. The british biologist norman myers coined the term biodiversity hotspot in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.
Biodiversity refers to the variety and variability among all groups of living organisms and ecosystem complexes in which they occur. Pdf hotspots of biodiversityareas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these. Biodiversity hotspots are areas that support natural ecosystems that are largely intact and where native species and communities associated with these ecosystems are well represented. Eating bushmeat improves food security in a biodiversity. It is a place which needs our immediate and constant attention to survive and thrive in the future as well. Roughly 90% of the population of the southwest australia hotspot lives in and around perth, a single metropolitan area covering less than 2% of the ecoregion. Can biodiversity hotspots protect more than tropical forest plants and. Biodiversity hotspots, despite some criticism, have become a tool for setting conservation priorities and play an important role in decisionmaking for costeffective strategies to preserve. Given are name of hotspot, running number id corresponds with table and fig. This book written by international experts from different disciplines comprises general chapters on diversity and its measurement, human impacts on biodiversity hotspots on a global scale, human diversity itself and various. Pdf hotspots of biodiversity areas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributesare. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria it must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. Elevenhotspotshave alreadylost at least 90% andthreehave lost 95%.
Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the present and coming generations. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities pdf. Hunting and consumption of wild animals, colloquially known as bushmeat, is associated with health tradeoffs. This however is irrespective of the identification of the area as a. Along the way it has generated an unusual amount of interest among conservation biologists, with several hundred journal articles published on one aspect or another.
Earths biologically richest and most endangered terrestrial ecoregions and a paper published in. The region also has the largest variety of amphibian, bird and mammal species, and takes second place. The biodiversity hotspots thesis was first published a long while ago myers 1988, 1990, and greatly revised and expanded recently mittermeier et al. Pdf interpreting the rarity hotspot maps pdf sierra nevada climate pdf choosing the illustrations in the atlas. Areas which exhibit high species richness as well as high species endemism are termed as hot spots of biodiversity. Norman myers the hotspots idea was also promoted by russell mittermeier in the popular book hotspots revisited 2004 to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on myers 2000 edition of the hotspotmap, a. Many of these are heavily threatened by habitat loss and other human activities. Accordingly, 34 biodiversity hotspots have been so far identified. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities nature. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria. Biodiversity is a measure of ecological health johnson 554. Unique and threatened biodiversity most of the state of california lies within a biodiversity hotspot called the california floristic province, an area of diverse vegetation. Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism.
Hotspot areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services in montados report 2010, from wwf. Upliftdriven diversification in the hengduan mountains, a. It is marked by serious threat to its biodiversity by humans. Myers, although without quantitative criteria but relying solely on the high levels of habitat loss and the presence of an extraordinary number of plant endemism, identified ten tropical forest hotspots mittermeier et al. A subsequent analysis myers, 1990 added a further eight hotspots. Designated a hotspot in 1996, it shares this distinction with 33 other places in the world. Biodiversity hotspots revisited bioscience oxford academic. A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high amount of biodiversity that experiences habitat loss by human activity. In chinas hengduan mountains region, a biodiversity hotspot uplifted over the last 8 million years, this rate does in fact show a significant increase during that time, relative to the rate for adjacent older mountains, and to the rate of species immigration. This confirms that, in the short term, habitat loss is of greater concern than climate change for hotspots and their biodiversity. Critical ecosystem partnership fund in collaboration with. Spatial patterns in biodiversity are well recognized, and form the basis for many conservation strategiesmost notably the biodiversity hotspots approach has been used by conservation agencies as a way of effectively targeting conservation resources at areas of greatest diversity, and the highest levels of endemism and threat myers et al. They are also areas with a high diversity of locally endemic sp.
In order to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, according to conservation international, a region must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants 0. Conserving biodiversity coldspots semantic scholar. Pdf hotspots of biodiversityareas particularly rich in species, rare species, threatened species, or some combination of these attributesare. In addition, geological, climatic and altitudinal variations in the hotspot, as well as topographic complexity, contribute to the biological diversity of the mountains. Biodiversity hotspots will include areas of high biodiversity importance as well as degraded land and urban areas and therefore more detailed assessments are needed to locate the actual distribution of biodiversity within these areas. Indoburma biodiversity hotspot 2011 update final version october 2012. A biodiversity hotspot is an area with unusual concentration of species, many of which are endemic. There are currently 36 recognized biodiversity hotspots.
Pdf on jan 1, 2014, fred van dyke and others published biodiversity hotspots. A biodiversity hotsp ot is a biogeograph ic region with significant lev els of biodiversi ty that is threatened by human habitation norman myers wrote about the concept in two articles in the environmentalist 1988, and 1990 revised after thorough analysis by myers and ot hers hotspo ts. Biodiversity hotspot is a region which is a prime location for the existence of rich biodiversity but also faces the threat of destruction. Includes the entire indian himalayan region and that falling in pakistan, tibet, nepal, bhutan, china and myanmar 2. The 25 hotspots contain the remaining habitats of 3,149 plant species 44% of all plant species worldwide. Biodiversity hotspot analysis was originally used to identify large regions, typically the size of an entire nation, that deserved conservation attention, such as madagascar, northern borneo, or the philippines. Biodiversity of india, biodiversity hotspots of india. The british ecologist norman myers first published the biodiversity hotspot thesis in 1988. Find out the concept of biodiversity hotspots, criteria to qualify as a biodiversity hotspot and the name of hotspots regions of the world, which is very useful for the competitive examinations. Caucasus the deserts, savannas, arid woodlands, and forests that comprise the caucasus hotspot contain a large number of endemic plant species. In this study, we test the hypothesis that bushmeat improves food security in communities that hunt and trade bushmeat.