Transcript Hotspots - Wallkill Valley Regional High School

Ecological Hotspots
 Observed and predicted loss of biodiversity over
the years = sixth extinction
 Loss of biodiversity permanent
 Conservation biology therefore very important
 Identification of areas under sever threat of
permanent loss
 “Hotspots” origin
Evolution of the term: Hotspot
 Norman Myers-first to develop concept
 Geographical regions that deserved conservation
priority
 High numbers of endemic (rare) species in
relatively small areas
 First 10 hotspots were identified-all tropical
rainforest, plants were indicators for diversity
 Myers then added a further 8 hotspots
(Mediterranean-type ecosystems added)
 High species number or high degree of endemism
or under huge threat or combination of factors
Evolution of the term:Hotspot (Cont.)
 A consequent analysis resulted in 25 hotspots
 A minimum number of plant species was required
to be analyzed
 Two criteria: endemism and degree of threat
 Not just “pristine” vegetation includedfragmented vegetation included
 Mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian endemism
and diversity patterns also analyzed
 Hotspots covered much more diverse terrestrial
ecosystems
 A further 9 hotspots has been added but is
currently still being peer-reviewed
The 34 Terrestrial Hotspots
Biodiversity Hotspots
The 34 Terrestrial Hotspots (Cont.)
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Atlantic Forest
California Floristic Province
Cape Floristic Province
Caribbean Islands
Caucasus
Brazilian Cerrado
Central Chile
Coastal Forests of Eastern
Africa
East Melanesian Islands
Eastern African
Afromantane
Guinean Forests of West
Africa
Himalayas
Horn of Africa
Indo-Burma
Irano-Anatolia
Japan
Madagascar and Indian
Ocean Islands
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Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands
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Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany
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Mediterranean Basin
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Mesoamerica
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Mountains of Central Asia
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Hengduan Mountains of Southwest
China
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New Caledonia
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New Zealand
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Philippines
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Polynesia-Micronesia
28)
Southwest Australia
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Succulent Karoo
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Sundaland
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Tropical Andes
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Tumbès-Chocò-Magdalena
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Wallacea
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Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
The 11 Marine Hotspots
 Major limitation to present hotspot analysis
 Lack of marine realm-purely terrestrial based
 Study of marine ecosystems based on coral reefs
 Hotspots located entirely within tropics
 Study presented not yet comprehensive
 Research is still on going
 Although many marine hotspots extend from
terrestrial hotspots=extension
The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)
http://www.starfish.ch/reef/hotspots.html
The 11 Marine Hotspots (Cont.)
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Philippines
Sundaland Islands
Wallacea
Gulf of Guinea
Southern Mascarene Islands
Eastern South Africa
North Indian Ocean
Southern Japan, Taiwan and Southern China
Cape Verde Islands
Western Caribbean
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
Tropical Regions
 More specifically tropical forests-renowned for
housing the most biologically diverse
ecosystems
 Occurs between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic
of Capricorn
 Share characteristics: climate, precipitation,
canopy structure, complex symbiotic
relationships
 Stable climate
 Canopy-provides array of niches
 Holds up to 50% of planet’s species
Tropical Regions-High Diversity
 “Latitudinal gradient in species diversity”-increases from
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poles to equator
Hypotheses: energy/climate based hypotheses and
historical/evolutionary base hypotheses
Energy/climate-species based–energy and climate stability
hypothesis
Historical/evolutionary based- historical changes and
evolutionary rate hypothesis
These hypotheses do however have critiques and need
further research to be fully accepted
Other hypotheses do exist
This latitudinal gradient is also observed in the marine
realm
High Concentration of Hotspots in
Equatorial Regions
 High diversity compared to temperate and polar regionslatitudinal gradient hypothesis
 High degree of endemism in tropical regions
 Restricted to relatively small land areas
 Most tropical regions are under sever threat-mainly due to
social and economical issues
 Severe habitat loss and destruction
 Tropical forests once covered 12% of Earth's surface-now
reduced to a mere 5% (maybe even less)
 Vanishing at disturbingly high rates
 Therefore most of world’s hotspots found within tropical
regions
 Tropical Andes Hotspot
contains 15 000 endemic
plant species
 Sundaland Hotspot also
contains 15 000 endemic
plant species
 Together these hotspots
harbor nearly 14% of all
vascular plants found on the
planet
 Cape Floral Kingdom
contains the world’s greatest
concentration of non-tropical
endemic plant species
http://www.biodiversityh
otspots.org/xp/Hotspots/
Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial
Species and Freshwater Fish-Plants
Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial
Species and Freshwater Fish-Mammals
biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots
 Sundaland hotspot contains the
highest number of endemic
mammals-172 species, 17 genera
 Madagascar and Indian Ocean
Islands hotspot houses 144
endemic mammals speciesworld's leader in endemic primates
houses 5 endemic lemur families
 Wallacea hotspot – 127 endemic
mammal species
Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial
Species and Freshwater Fish-Birds
 Tropical Andes hotspot harbors 579
endemic bird species
 This hotspot contains all or parts of
21 different Endemic Bird Areas
 This high degree of endemism does
not compare to any other area in
the world
 Wallacea hotspot –262 endemic
bird species which is astonishing
because of its relatively small land
Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial
Species and Freshwater Fish-Reptiles
 Caribbean Islands hosts the largest number of endemic
reptiles-469 species
 Two examples of entirely endemic genera (both snakes)
include: Tropidophis sp.(all 26 species endemic) and
Alsophis sp.(all 13 species endemic)
 The Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands harbors 367
reptile species and is a major center of chameleon diversity
biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots
Distribution of Endemic (rare) Terrestrial
Species and Freshwater Fish-Amphibians
and Freshwater Fish
 The Tropical Andes hotspot is the most significant area in
the world concerning amphibian diversity as it hosts 980
species of which 670 are endemic
 The Mesoamerica hotspot contains 358 endemic amphibian
species
 The Eastern Afromontane hotspot, where the Great Rift
lakes reside, is home to 617 endemic freshwater fish
 The Indo-Burma hotspot houses 553 endemic freshwater
fish species, 30 endemic genera and 1 endemic family
Threats
Social and economic threats=habitat loss
and degradation
Major cause-exponential human population
growth
Increase in foreign debt loads
Decrease funds available for conservation
Poverty
Over hunting and illegal pet trade
Threats (Cont.)
 Human impact overwhelming
 Pollution
 Introduction of invasive alien species
 Unsustainable use and management of
biodiversity (commercial exploitation)
 Climate change-global warming
 Global warming most probably the most
enveloping threat as it has the ability to affect
areas out of range of humans
 Future predictions state that hotspots could lose
between 39-43% of biodiversity
 Lack of efficient practical protection
Threats (Cont.)
 Marine hotspots have specific threats
 Destructive fishing methods
 Over exploitation of fish stocks (unsustainable
use)
 Pollution from urban and agricultural runoff
 Pollution from sediment logging
 Live fish trade
 Oil spills from tankers
 Coastal and agricultural development
Conservation
 Priority-identification of regions under severe threat
of extinction which is why hotspots originated
 Protection of areas through establishment of
reserves, national parks, botanical gardens, heritage
sites, wildlife refuges, etc…
 Incentive measures are essential for conservation
 Regulations and market based tools are also used
 Increase in new conservation tools and conservation
professionals promote action against biodiversity
loss
 Unique projects- Working for water
 Ecotourism-mutually beneficial