Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity
Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity: In this post, we will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity. In Bed 2nd Year there is one of the most important questions comes from Environment Education. You will learn about Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity. Teaching is a social and professional activity. It is a process of development. Teaching is a system of actions that induce learning through interpersonal relationships. and all the rest you will study in this Blog
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Meaning of Biodiversity
Biodiversity which is derived from bios-meaning life and diversities meaning variety refers to a wide variety of life on earth all plants, animals and micro organisms which exist on this beautiful planet, to the various species and eco-systems that they live in.
According to the U.S. Office of Technology Assessment (1987), biological diversity is “the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur.”
Levels of Biodiversity
- Genetic Diversity. At finer levels of organizational, biodiversity include the genetic variation within species, both among geographically species, both among geographically separated propulsion and among individuals within single population
- Species Diversity. At its most basic level Biodiversity includes the full range of species on earth, from microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria and protests through the multi-cellular kingdoms of plants, animals and fungi.
- Community/Ecosystem Diversity. On a wider scale, biodiversity includes variation in the biological communities in which species live, the ecosystem in which communities exits, and the interactions among these levels.
Measuring Biodiversity
Diversity is a single statistic in which the number of species and evenness are compounded.” At its simplest level, diversity can be defined as the number of species found in a community, a measure known as species richness. Many methods of calculating diversity have been proposed that combine these two types of information. Mathematical indices of biodiversity have also been developed to cannot species diversity at different geographical scales as follows:
- Alpha Diversity. It refers to a number of species in a single community. This diversity comes closest to the popular concept of species richness and can be used to compare the number of species in different ecosystem types.
- Beta Diversity. It refers to the degree to which species composition changes along an environmental gradient. It is high for example if the species composition of mass communities changes at successively higher elevates on a mountain slope, but is low if the same species occupy the whole mountain side. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
- Gamma Diversity. It applies to larger geographical scales and is defined as “the rate at which additional species are encountered as geographical replacements additional species are encountered geographical replacements in a habitat type in different localities. Thus, gamma diversity is a species turnover rate with the distance between sites of similar habitat or with expanding geographic areas.” (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
On of Species Worldwide
1.413.000 identified species. A large number unidentified. If it is done number could be 5 million or more.
Insects – 751,000
Plants – 248,000
Other animals – 281,000
Fungi – 69,000
Protists – 30,000
Algae – 26,000
Bacteria and similar forms – 4,800
Viruses – 1,000
Hotspots of Biodiversity
The term bioindicators cover a wide spectrum of organisms serving as indicators of the environment. Bioindicators of soil, water, and air pollution provide information for developing a suitable programme for biomonitoring. Bioindicators provide a practical way of assessing the health of the environment. The most rational way the use biological indicators of the environment is to employ those organisms which serve as an index of their environmental status in their presence or absence and in all features of their phenotype and physiology. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
They indicate the level of pollution. They provide a clear insight into the composition of their substratum. Both the positive and negative facets of the environment can be monitored through biological indicators without telling the exact physical or chemical factors responsible for this toxicity. A bioindicator actually indicates the general toxicity of the environment.
A variety of biological indicators can be used as indicators of harmful anthropogenic substances The IUBS in India programme divided Bioindicators into the following six groups:
1. Microbial System. Microbes are rapid detectors of environmental pollution not in water and soil. Some microbes are specifically sensitive to some substances, others take part in the decomposition of pollutants. The elimination (of sensitive spp) or abundance (tolerant and involved in the breakdown of pollutants) of species can indicate changing environments.
The altercation of microbial communities and reduction of species diversity can be the result of the Dr of specific toxic agents. Microbial muds from continental and intercontinental water bodies serve as ideal tools for detecting several compounds including sulphur. The detection of polar lipids of archeobacteria in petroleum belt sediments is an elegant monitoring system.
Solmanella typhimurium, and other bacteria and fungi such as Neurospara and Aspergillus provide an excellent device for monitoring the genetic effects of physical and chemical agents. Several microbes are used in assessment and production of changes in marine environment induced by human activities.
These include E. coli, Vibrio spp. Vibrio Aeromonas sp. Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Streptococcus etc. Cyanobacteria as used as bioindicators of soil pesticides, Nostoc Microscopicum, Haplosiph welwitschii and H. confervaceus indict the pollution of Dithane, Deltan, Aldre BHC, Rogor, Phorate, etc. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
Some filamentous fungi, yeasts, actinomycetous and bacteria are used monitor oil pollution (oil spillage). Scolecobasidium, Mortierella spp., Humicoal Verticillium spp. are able to utilize waste oil. Fedorak et. al. (1984) isolated about 74 yeasted and 224 filamentous fungi from marine water and sediment samples. These include Penicillium spp. Candida quillermonditan Aureobasidium pollutants, which utilize oil factions. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
2. Lower Plants. Both pollution as well a survey of resource different groups of plants indicate the nature of the environment. The susceptibility or resistance towards a substance in the environment varies with species
(i) Lichens. Due to their susceptibility and resistance to different environmental effects, lichens are ideal monitoring agents. Some lichens drive only in the unpolluted air whereas others are resistant even to the most polluted systems. The wide variety of lichens including different species of Lecanora is a good indicator of a broad spectrum of environment.
The presence of SO2 and fluorine in atmosphere is indicated by lichen thalli. Even the dead thalli are capable of absorbing fluorine and heavy metal including lead. Lichens are also utilized for the survey of long live nucleids like cesium 137, and strontium 30, released from nuclear explosions. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
(ii) Algae. Various algae are excellent monitors of the environment. Ulva and Enteromorpha are used in monitoring the water quality of estuaries. Heavy metal pollution of water is monitored by algae such as Cacophora and Stigeolonium. While the former is completely absent, whereas the latter shows abundant growth in water polluted with heavy metals.
Chlorell is used to monitor toxic substances in water bodies. Some algae, Duniella teritolecta, Skeletonema constatum, Criosphaera carterae, Amphidium carterae, Cyclotella cryptica, pavlova lutheri etc., are used as indicators of so pollution (oil spillage). “Moss bags”, epiphytic lichens and mosses have been used for monitoring air pollution. They accumulate heavy metals.
3. Higher Plants. Various higher plants serve as bioindicators. Sensitive species are employed to detect and monitor specific air pollutants. Tolerant indicator species are used to determine the incidence of particular soil conditions Studies on plants have more often been directed specifically to monitoring heavy metals in waters. Higher plants are indicators of air and water pollution. Different species have been used to detect and monitor gaseous (as SO2, O3, Pb, Hg, Mo, Mn, Ag.)
The zinc tolerance of Anthoxanthum spp., copper tolerance of Agrostistis, led to tolerance of Festuca and cadmium tolerance of Festuca and cadmium tolerance of Impatiens are well-known examples. These plants are not indicators well as pollutant scavengers. Studies are very useful in locating new areas of mineralisation.
A wide spectrum of phenotypic, metabolic and anatomical changes in the plants system reflects the nature of the compounds to which the plants are exposed. The weathered flakes of tobacco or chlorite flakes of pine needles are good examples of ozone damage. The collapse glazing and bronzing of leaf cells are products of damage by peroxyacetyl nitrate.
Several physiological and anatomical parameters are taken into account for this purpose. Inhibition of photosynthesis and enolases is associated with fluorine damage. Bleaching of perianth and stamen injury are indicators of mercury poisoning. The nature of stomata, pigmentation, chlorosis and bleaching are generalized effects through bioindicators.
Activities of several metabolites and enzymes are excellent indicators of environmental effects. Taiga and Aery (1985) have presented a list of some of the well-established plants as indicators of heavy metals. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
4. Animal Systems. Individual species or whole community provides data on accumulation of chemicals in animals. Accumulation occurs to different extents in different organs. By selecting a suitable species for routine study accumulation of chemicals within food chains and consequently higher levels of toxicity in human foodstuff are indicated.
Fish, Daphnia, silver carp etc., are used to monitor heavy metal and pesticide pollution levels in the water. Zooplanktons as ratifies and cladocerans are used as indicators of freshwater, Earthworms are good bioindicators of soil radioactive pollution.
5. Aeroallergens. These include aerial flora and fauna. Air is the medium of transport for flying animals, germs of infectious diseases, plant and animals’ parts, fungal spores, pollen grain etc. For its bearing on human allergy and plant pathogenicity, the monitoring of airborne pollen and spores and related microphytoplankton such as trachieds, cuticles, algal filaments, insect scales and wings has received special attention of aerobiologists. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
Pollutants causing bio pollution, pollen grains are occurring everywhere around the globe. They are thus good bioindicators in monitoring programmes. Nair (1985) presented an account of biomonitoring of airborne plant materials.
6. Human Systems. Blood and urine along with others are used as indicators of toxic compounds. However, such an analysis bristles with the limitation of monitoring capacity being restricted to recent exposures. On the other hand, human hair from the head can trap metallic vapour and dust over a long period of time due to their affinity with hair protein. Thus samples as old as 2000 years could be successfully analyzed. (Bed 2nd Year What do you understand by Biodiversity)
7. Cell Biology, Genetics and Comparative Physiology. Cellular and sub-cellular components, even chromosomes, adapted to specific environmental conditions, an excellent parameters for bioindicators. Both, short and long-term test systems have been developed in vitro as well as in vivo to monitor changes caused by different environmental agents. Grover et. al. (1986) presented an account of monitoring environmental chemicals by chromosomal aberrations in plants.