Need to conserve biodiversity - class-XII

Bioprospecting is the exploration of molecular, genetic and species level-diversity for gaining the products of economic importance. It comes under narrowly utilitarian category. 

The world is facing accelerated rates of species extinction, largely due to human interference. There are four major causes collectively called as the evil quarter.

It is a theory that entails about the conditions of ecosystem wherein a significant loss of a certain species affects the functions and diversity of an ecological community. This hypothesis was given by Paul Ehrlich who used an airplane to explain ecosystem and the passengers as the rivet in the ecosystem. If certain biological areas lose several important species it can lead to a total collapse of ecosystem functions, thus this hypothesis presupposed that communities consist of relatively specialized species with limited ability to compensate each other thereby the vanished of a certain species are important to the performance of the ecosystem. The rate of species loss affects the entire function of ecological unit.  Rivet hypothesis asserts that each species losses to an ecological unit can decrease ecosystem functions although the decrease is rather slow as more species are eliminated. In this depiction any loss of diversity is clearly noticeable. 

Rivet hypothesis was given by Paul Ehrlich. It states that loss of many species in an ecological unit decreases ecosystem functioning. 

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an Act enacted for protection of plants and animal species.

World wild life week is celebrated on October - 2nd to 8th. It is celebrated to  protect the fauna. It was started in 1952 with some major steps in order to protect the Indian wild life  and enrich the diversity in the fauna. Indian Board of Wild Life was a regulatory body set up by the Indian government to spread awareness for wild life preservation.

Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin. It is often considered a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range. When not controlled, water hyacinth will cover lakes and
ponds entirely; this dramatically impacts water flow, blocks sunlight from
reaching native aquatic plants, and starves the water of oxygen, often killing
fish and other aquatic animals. Hence option B is correct.

Extinction means a group of species, family or larger group that have no living member. The extinction can be caused due to various factors such as deforestation (cutting down of trees), Over exploitation of organisms for human good, or by the destruction of the natural habitat or organism. 

Ex-situ conservation is the conservation and maintenance of samples of living organisms outside their natural habitat, in the form of whole plants, seed, pollen, vegetative propagules, tissue or cell cultures. These ex situ collections of living organisms (living collections, seed banks, pollen, vegetative propagules, tissue or cell cultures) need to be managed according to strict scientific and horticultural standards to maximize their value for conservation purposes. Thus they need to be correctly identified, documented and managed and an efficient information management system put in place. Integrated conservation management can also ensure that ex situ collections can support in situ conservation, through habitat restoration and species recovery. 

Protection of animal species is important, because they are useful for humans as a part of ecosystem. They play a significant role in food web also. Wildlife conservation is the practice of protecting wild plant and animal species and their habitats. Among the goals of wildlife conservation are to ensure that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy and to recognize the importance of wildlife and wilderness lands to humans. Wildlife conservation has become an increasingly important practice due to the negative effects of human activity on wildlife. Thus, the correct answer is option B.

Bamboo is commonly called as the poor man's timber because it is used in all aspects of life. Bamboo is also an icon of versatility. It forms part of the paper we use every day and of the houses we build. By virtue of its unique properties like quick growth, tensile strength, availability and renewability, it has the epithet of 'poor man's timber'.

The wildlife is a valuable resource of our country which needs to be protected from the threats imposed by human activities. Several regulatory bodies have laid certain formulations to protect them. The 'World Wide Fund for Nature' (WWF)  deals with the issues regarding the conservation, research, and restoration of the environment. It is an international non-governmental organization founded on April 29, 1961, and isIt was formerly named the 'World Wildlife Fund', which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's largest conservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects. 

From 3 - 14 June 1992, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil hosted the 'United Nations Conference on Environment and Development' (UNCED). The focus of this conference was the state of the global environment and the relationship between economics, science and the environment in a political context. The conference concluded with the 'Earth Summit', at which leaders of 105 nations gathered to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development. 

In order to arouse a general awakening in the common man in favour of protection of wildlife, the 'Indian Board of Wild Life' (IBWL) decided to observe the 'Wildlife Week' and since then from October 2 - 8 every year organize different activities related to wildlife conservattion to commemorate this week. 

Human activities like deforestation, pollution, global warming etc is  a major threat to the natural resources.The scarcity of water is  a common problem nowadays which needs serious attempts.Rainwater harvesting is the method of conservation of rainwater by reusing the stored water for several domestic purposes. The rainwater is collected from various hard surfaces such as rooftops and or other man-made above ground hard surfaces.

A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode and often decreases overall diversity. Other kinds of keystone species are those, such as coral or beavers, that significantly alter the habitat around them and thus affect large numbers of other organisms.

Destruction of wildlife will cause a drastic effect in an ecosystem. One of them will be wild gene of disease resistance will not be obtained as the gene pool of the particular area will be disturbed. There will no major effect in soil erosion, floods or greenhouse effect which is caused by other factors like deforestation and greenhouse gases respectively. 

We know that the level of the ground is decreasing day by day due to its excessive use. As a result, the world is facing serious water issues. Apart from this, oceans form a resource for the development of electricity from water and form a habitat for a vast variety of marine organisms. Marine organisms form a major part of biodiversity fauna. All these are natural resources necessary to maintain the balance of the ecosystem.

An area which is conserved to protect the biodiversity and culture of that area is known as biosphere reserve. A biosphere reserve is consisted of many protected areas like sanctuaries, national parks, lakes, lands mountains etc. 

Biodiversity is the variety of different types of life found on the Earth and the variations within species. It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. we must preserve it as we have inherited it and maintain the ecological stability.

Rotation of crop or mixed cropping protects the fertility of soil and provide which yield. Use of compost (organic matter) to enrich the soil.

Evil quartet or four horsemen of the ecological apocalypse explains the four main human-induced causes of extinction which were habitat degradation, fragmentation, the introduction of exotic species and over-harvesting. Thus, the correct answer is option C.

Jared Diamond, a biologist coined the phrase 'evil quartet' to explain the four main human-induced causes of extinction which were habitat degradation, fragmentation, the introduction of exotic species and over-harvesting. Thus, the correct answer is option B.

There are two main groups of monkeys, 'New World monkeys' and 'Old World monkeys. Monkeys in South and Central America are called as 'New World monkeys', whereas monkeys in Africa, Asia, and Europe are called as 'Old World monkeys'. New World monkeys include marmosets, capuchins, howler monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and spider monkeys. New World monkeys are arboreal, and some have long, slender limbs, that permit easy movement in the trees. A few have prehensile tails capable of wrapping around branches and serving as fifth limbs. Thus, the correct answer is option A.

A number of world's ecosystems have undergone significant degradation leading to a negative impact on the biodiversity and livelihood. One such ecosystem that has depleted over the years is the mined habitats. Since the mineral rich areas are also rich in forest resources. However continuous mining activities tend to change the ecological equilibrium. Restoration of the ecological equilibrium of the mined areas can be achieved by understanding the ecology, plant succession and soil types of the place and revegetation of the spoils .

Paul Ehrlich, an ecologist, gave the rivet popper hypothesis. The hypothesis explains the important role played by each species in an ecosystem. It compares the ecosystem with an airplane and says if you keep popping rivets (species), the plane will no longer fly. It also explains the role of different species in an ecosystem.

Loss of habitat or destruction which is a result of increasing human population in the region has put heavy pressure on the food requirements.

the Earth summit which took place in Rio de Janeiro Brazil in 1992 was related to conservation of biodiversity which is a raging topic now.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was formerly known as the World Conservation Union.

The IUCN is widely recognized by its former name, the World Conservation Union.

The Nagoya Protocol is an international agreement that implements the Convention on Biological Diversity, focusing on access to genetic resources and the fair sharing of benefits.

Wildlife is the most important natural resorce which needs to be conserved. The great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) or Indian bustard is a bustard that can be traced in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan. It is characterized by a horizontal body and long bare legs giving it an ostrich-like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, as few as 250 individuals were estimated in 2011 to survive and the species is critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as blackbuck. In Rajasthan, the largest stronghold of the 'Great Indian Bustard', became the first state to announce a plan to recover its critically endangered state bird.

Environment is preserved as a self-sustaining system by wildlife. Wildlife includes various living organism which are interdependent on each other and able to meet the basic requirement for survival.

A keystone species is a species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance. Such species are described as playing a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. 

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species. The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants.

The Wildlife Act was passed in 1972 to protect the wildlife and their habitats. The major activities and provisions in the act can be summed up as follows: 

The genetic material from wild varieties can be preserved either in gene banks or in-situ preservation. Gene bank saves the genes and other regenerative material from a wide range of plants. In-situ, is the preservation of wild variety of plants in the fields and forests where they grow. Thu, the correct answer is option A.

An endangered species is a native species that faces a significant risk of extinction in the near future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.

As the population is growing at the fast pace, it is very important to manage the use to conventional resources. Replacing or reducing the conventional natural resource by non-conventional resources shall help in benefiting the future generation.

Protecting wildlife involves multiple strategies, including habitat preservation (preventing deforestation) and legal protections (banning poaching).

Biogas constitutes 50-80% methane and rest carbon dioxide. Methane is produced by anaerobic degradation of organic matter. 

'Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wild Life Protection Award' is given for significant contribution in the field of wildlife protection, which is recognised as having having done exemplary work for the protection of wildlife. A cash award of rupees one lakh is presented to individuals / institutions involved in wildlife protection.