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Biodiversity Of Snakes Of India Article
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Biodiversity Hotspot – Cool Name For A Hot Topic
from:Almost every region of the world has at least one biodiversity hotspot, with a globe wide total of 34 biodiversity hotspots to date. These hotspots contain our richest biological treasures, but are the most at risk from human and natural abuses.
A biodiversity hotspot is an area that is particularly rich in plant and animal life, but is in grave threat of being destroyed. There are two major criteria for an area to be declared a biodiversity hotspot: It must have at least 1,500 endemic species of vascular plants, giving it more than .5% of the world's total of these plants, and must have lost a minimum of 70 percent of its original habitat. Further, the combined area of the world's biodiversity hotspots only covers about 2.3% of Earth's land surface.
A biodiversity hotspot does not arise out of a vacuum. While it can occur because of damage caused by man or by natural changes to the environment, the damage done by man is, by far, the greater threat.
There are currently four North/Central American biodiversity hotspots – The California Floristic Province, the Caribbean Islands, the Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands, and Mesoamerica – and the first two are excellent examples of how these spots fare.
Home of the giant sequoia and the coastal redwood, the California Floristic Province is also the home of a number of threatened species, like the giant kangaroo rat and the desert slender salamander. Some of the last existing California condors also live here. According to Conservation International's Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, the bulk of the destruction here is caused by commercial farming, expansion of urban areas, pollution and road construction. There are currently 4 threatened species of birds, 5 of mammals, and 8 of amphibians.
The Caribbean Islands are three large groups of islands in the ocean between North and South America: The Bahamas, the Lesser Antilles, and the Greater Antilles. While the majority of this biodiversity hotspot is ocean, approximately 89,000 square miles is land. Elevations vary from about two miles to about minus a quarter of a mile below sea level. The low-lying islands are generally semi-arid and sustain scrub lands, but the trade winds tend to make the higher elevations wetter, allowing a much greater variety of forestland. Both scrub land and forest have been decimated by deforestation and encroachment of civilization. Threatened species include giant shrews, and the Cuban crocodile. There are currently 48 threatened species of birds, 18 of mammals, and 143 of amphibians.
These are just the biodiversity hotspots in our own backyard, so to speak. It is clearly of the utmost importance to prevent further damage to any biodiversity hotspot, because they not only provide information to prevent disease, and sustain many forms of life besides humans, but because they are – in and of themselves – some of the planet's greatest treasures.
Biodiversity Of Snakes Of India Specific links
Biodiversity Of Snakes Of India News
Biodiversity could be casualty of Myanmar openness - Atlanta Journal Constitution
 Atlanta Journal Constitution | Biodiversity could be casualty of Myanmar openness Atlanta Journal Constitution Positioned at the core of one of the world's richest biodiversity hotspots, Myanmar is endowed with plant and animal life of the flanking Himalayas, Malay peninsula, Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. Myanmar is home to 1099 of Southeast ... |
Biodiversity could be casualty of Myanmar openness - The Associated Press
Biodiversity could be casualty of Myanmar openness The Associated Press Across the border, Thailand's last five pairs are guarded around the clock against snakes and human predators. The bird's status is among many reasons Myanmar is regarded as one of Asia's last bastions of biodiversity, and why environmentalists view ... |
Island bat goes extinct after Australian officials hesitate - Mongabay.com
 Mongabay.com | Island bat goes extinct after Australian officials hesitate Mongabay.com Nights on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean will never again be the same. The last echolocation call of a tiny bat native to the island, the Christmas Island pipistrelle (Pipistrellus murrayi), was recorded on August 26th 2009, and since then there ... |
New openness may take heavy toll on environment of Myanmar, one of Asia's ... - Washington Post
New openness may take heavy toll on environment of Myanmar, one of Asia's ... Washington Post Across the border, Thailand's last five pairs are guarded around the clock against snakes and human predators. The bird's status is among many reasons Myanmar is regarded as one of Asia's last bastions of biodiversity, and why environmentalists view ... |
Not for your eyes at all - Hindustan Times
Not for your eyes at all Hindustan Times That sharp statement does not come from left- or right-wing protestors who want India's government to step down. You will find it in a 325-page scientific study commissioned by the government, titled 'Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel'. |