BIODIVERSITY|Evolution of Biodiversity |Biodiversity classification |Biodiversity conservation strategies |Threats to Biodiversity |Biodiversity hotspots and their conservation |Biodiversity and Ecosystem services |Biodiversity and climate change | Sustainable management of biodiversity
BIODIVERSITY 1. BIODIVERSITY Sum total of diversity that exists at all levels of biological organisation. o Levels of biodiversity --> Genetic, Species and Ecosystem levels 2. GENETIC DIVERSITY : o A single species might show high diversity at the genetic level over its distributional range. o India has more than 50,000 genetically different strains of rice, and 1,000 varieties of mango. 3. SPECIES DIVERSITY: o The diversity at the species level. o For example, the Western Ghats have a greater amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats. 4. ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: o At the ecosystem level, India, with its deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity than a Scandinavian country like Norway. 5. More than 1.5 million species have been recorded in the world, but there might still be nearly 6 million species on earth waiting to be discovered and named. o Of the named species, >