Types of Ecosystem

Conserving desert ecosystems

• Desert people have traditionally protected their meager water resources.

• The Bishnois in Rajasthan are known to have protected their prosopis cineraria (Khejdi)
and the blackbuck for several generations.

• We need to protect residual patches of this ecosystem within National parks and
wildlife sanctuaries in desert and semi arid areas.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

• The aquatic ecosystems constitute the marine environments of the seas and the fresh
water systems in lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands.

• They provide food such as fish and crustaceans.

• Beyond a certain limit, pollution destroys this natural function.

• Over-fishing leads to a fall in the fish catch.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

• River courses that are changed by dams to provide electricity affect thousands of
people who do not get a continuous supply of water downstream for their daily use.

• Water is an important factor in all our ecosystems.

• Several ecosystems exist in freshwater and marine salt water.

• There is a very little fresh water on earth, which is a key resource for people all over the
world.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

• The special abiotic features of aquatic ecosystems are its physical aspect such as
the quality of the water, which includes its clarity, salinity, oxygen content and rate of flow.

• Aquatic ecosystems

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

based on the salinity levels

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

• Marine ecosystems are highly saline, while brackish areas have less saline water
such as in river deltas.

• Coral reefs are very rich in species and are fond in only a few shallow tropical
seas.

• The richest coral reefs in India are around the Andaman and Nicobar islands and in gulf
of Kutch

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems

• Brackish water ecosystem in river deltas are covered by mangrove forests.

• The largest mangrove swamps are in the Sunderbans in the delta of the Ganges.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Pond ecosystems

• The pond is the simplest aquatic ecosystem to observe.

• Most ponds become dry after the rains are over and are covered by terrestrial
plants for the rest of the year.

• When it fill during the rains, its life forms such as the algae and microscopic
animals, aquatic insects, snails, and worms come out of the floor of the pond where they
have remained dormant in the dry phase.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Pond ecosystems

• Gradually more complex animals such as frogs and fish return to the pond.

• The vegetation in the water consists of floating weeds and rooted vegetation on
the periphery which grow on the muddy floor under water and emerge out of the surface
of the water.

• Crabs, frogs and fish return to the pond.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Pond ecosystems

• The vegetation in the water consists of floating weeds and rooted vegetation on
the periphery which grow on the muddy floor under water and emerge out of the surface
of the water.
 • As the pond fills in the monsoon a large number of food chains are formed.

• Algae is eaten by microscopic animals, which are in turn eaten by small fish on
which larger carnivorous fish depend.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Pond ecosystems

• These are in turn eaten by birds such as kingfishers and birds of prey.

• Aquatic insects, worms and snails feed on the waste material excreted by animals
and the dead or decaying plant and animal matter.

• The temporary ponds begin to dry after the rains and the surrounding grasses
and terrestrial plants spread into the moist mud that is exposed.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Pond ecosystems

• Animals such as frogs, snails and worms remain dormant in the mud,
awaiting the next monsoon

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Lake ecosystems

• A lake ecosystem functions like a giant permanent pond.

• A large amount of its plant material is the algae, which derives energy from the sun.

• This is transferred to the microscopic animals, which feed on the algae.

• There are fish that are herbivorous and are dependent on algae and aquatic
weeds.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Lake ecosystems

• The small animals such as snails are used as food by small carnivorous fish, which
in turn are eaten by larger carnivorous fish.

• Such specialised fish such as catfish, feed on the detritus on the muddy bed of
the lake.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Lake ecosystems

• Energy cycles through the lake ecosystem from the sunlight that penetrates the
water surface to the plants.

• From plants energy is transferred to herbivorous animals and carnivorous.

 • Animals excrete waste products, which settle on the bottom of the lake.

• This is broken down by small animals that live in the mud in the floor of the lake.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Lake ecosystems

• This acts as the nutrient material that is used by aquatic plants for their growth.

• During this process plants use carbon from CO 2 for their growth and in the process
release oxygen.

• This Oxygen is then used by aquatic animals, which filter water through their
respiratory system.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Stream and River ecosystems

• Streams and rivers are flowing water ecosystems in which all the living forms are
specially adapted to different rates of flow.

• Some plants and animals such as snails and other burrowing animals can
withstand the rapid flow of the hill streams.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Stream and River ecosystems

• As deforestation occurs in the hills the water in the streams that once flowed
throughout the year become seasonal.

• This leads to flash floods in the rains and a shortage of water once the streams dry up
after the monsoon.

• The community of flora and fauna of streams and rivers depends on the clarity, flow and
oxygen content as well as the nature of their beds

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Marine ecosystems

• The Indian Ocean, the

Arabian Sea and the

Bay of Bengal

constitute the marine

ecosystems

around peninsular India.

 • In the coastal area the sea is shallow while further away, it is deep. Both these are
different ecosystems.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Marine ecosystems

• Microscopic algae to large seaweeds - Producers

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Marine ecosystems

• There are millions of Zooplankton and a large variety of invertebrates on which live fish,
turtles and marine mammals.

Types of Ecosystem

Aquatic ecosystems – Marine ecosystems

• The shallow areas near Kutch and around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are some of
the most incredible coral reefs in the world.

• The marine ecosystem is continued to maintain its abundant supply of fish over
many generations.

• Now with intensive fishing by using giant nets and mechanised boats, fish catch in
the Indian Ocean has dropped significantly.

Types of Ecosystem

How are aquatic ecosystems used?

• Clean fresh water (Drinking and domestic uses)

• Agriculture

• Seafood

• Dams store water throughout the year.

• Dams support farmland, produce electricity

Types of Ecosystem

Threats to aquatic ecosystems

• Water pollution from sewage

• poorly managed solid waste in urban areas

• Sewage leads to eutrophication – destroys life in water as the oxygen content is

severely reduced
Types of Ecosystem

Conservation of aquatic ecosystems

• Prevention of water pollution.

• Wetlands need protection by including them in sanctuaries or national parks.

Biodiversity - Definition

• ‘Biological diversity’ or biodiversity is that part of nature which includes the

differences in genes among the individuals of a species, the variety and richness of all the
plant and animal species at different scales in space, locally, in a region, in the
country and the world, and various types of ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic,
within a defined area

Biodiversity - Types

Biodiversity – Genetic diversity

• Each member of any animal or plant species differs widely from other individuals
in its genetic makeup because of the large number of combinations possible in the genes
that give every individual specific characteristics.

• For ex, each human being is very different from others.

• Genetic variability is essential for a healthy breeding population of a species.

Biodiversity – Genetic diversity

• ‘Gene pool’ from which our crops and domestic animals have been developed
over thousands of years.

• Modern biotechnology manipulates genes for developing better types of

medicines and a variety of industrial products.

Biodiversity – Genetic diversity

Biodiversity – Genetic diversity

Biodiversity – Genetic diversity

Biodiversity – Species diversity

• The number of species of plants and animals that are present in a region constitutes
its species diversity.

• This diversity is seen both in natural ecosystems and in agricultural ecosystems.

• Natural undisturbed tropical forests have a much greater species richness.

 • Scientists have been able to identify and categorize about 1.8 million species on
earth

Biodiversity – Species diversity

• Each member of any animal or plant species differs widely from other individuals
in its genetic makeup because of the large number of combinations possible in the genes
that give every individual specific characteristics.

• For ex, each human being is very different from others.

• Genetic variability is essential for a healthy breeding population of a species.

Biodiversity – Species diversity

• Many new species are being identified especially in the flowering plants and insects.

• India is among the world's 15 nations that are exceptionally rich in species diversity

Biodiversity – Ecosystem diversity

• Distinctive inter linked species based on the differences in the habitat.

• Ecosystem diversity can be described for a specific geographical region.

• India is exceptionally rich in its ecosystem diversity.

Evolution and the Genesis of Biodiversity

• The origins of life on earth – obscure.

• Once life took hold on the planet, it began gradually to diversify.

• Unicellular forms gradually evolved into complex multi- cellular plants and animals.

• Evolution is related to ability of living organisms to adapt changes in their environment.

Evolution and the Genesis of Biodiversity

• Changes in nature viz., climatic and atmospheric, continental drifts, formation of

geographical barriers, segregated different communities of plants and animals and gradually
lead to the formation of new species over million of years.

• Behavioral patterns of different species links through their breeding biology,

feeding patterns, migrations, etc.

Evolution and the Genesis of Biodiversity

• When man came on the scene some 2 million years ago, the earth was more rich
in species than ever before.

• During the recent past however, extinctions due to the activities of modern man have
begun to take place so rapidly that nature had no time to evolve new species.

• The earth is loosing species more rapidly than ever before.

India’s Biogeographic Zones

1) The cold mountains snow covered Trans Himalayan region of Ladakh.

2) The Himalayan ranges and valleys of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, uttarakhand, Assam
and other North Eastern States.

3) The Terai, the lowland where the Himalayan rivers flow into the plains.

4) The Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains.

India’s Biogeographic Zones

5) The Thar desert of Rajasthan.

6) The semi arid region of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Deccan plateau

7) The Northeast states of India.

8) The Western Ghats in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala

9) The Andaman and Nicobar islands

10) The long western and eastern coastal belt with beaches, forests and mangroves

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• Geological events inn the landmass of India have provided conditions for high
levels of biological diversity.

• Tectonic movements shifted India northward across the equator to join the Northern
Eurasian continent.

• Plants and animals that had evolved both in Europe and in the far east migrated
into India before the Himalayas had formed.

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• Influx came from Africa with Ethiopian species which were adapted to the semi-
arid regions.

• Thus India’s special geographical position between three distinctive centers of

biological evolution and radiation of species is responsible for our rich and varied
biodiversity.

• India stands among top 10 countries for its great variety of plants and animals,
many of which are not found elsewhere.

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• India has 350 different mammals (8th highest in world)

• 1200 species of birds (8th in the world)

• 453 species of reptiles (5th in the world)

 • 45,00 plant species (15th in the world)

• 50,000 known species of insects including 13,000 butterflies and moths

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• It is estimated that 18% of Indian plants are endemic to the country and found nowhere
else in the world.

• Among amphibians found in India, 62% are unique to this country.

• Among lizards, of the 153

species recorded,

50% are endemic.

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• There is also a great diversity of cultivated crops and breeds of domestic live stock.

• Gene-banks have collected over 34,000 cereals and 22,00 pulses grown in India.

• India has 27 indigenous breeds of cattle, 40 breeds of sheep, 22 breeds of

goats and 8 breeds of buffaloes.

India as a Mega Diversity nation

• The Andaman and Nicobar islands are extremely rich in species and many subspecies of
different animals and birds have evolved.

• The Andaman and Nicobar islands alone have as many as 2200 species of
flowering plants and 120 species of ferns.

• Out of 135 land mammals in India, 85 are found in Northeast.

Hotspots of Biodiversity

• Areas with rich biodiversity and exhibiting high levels of endemism, which are under
immediate threat of species extinction and habitat destruction are recognized on priority
basis worldwide for conservation practices and are known as hot spots.

Hotspots of Biodiversity

• 12 mega diversity nations (Mexico, Columbia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Madagascar,

Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China, and Australia)contain 60-70 % of the world’s
biodiversity.

• Out of the total hot spots worldwide 2 lies in India (Himalayas and Western Ghats)

Biodiversity at Global levels

Global initiatives for Biodiversity Assessment

 • 1991 – Initiative for biodiversity assessment with UNEP (United Nations
Environment Programme) Biodiversity Country studies Project.

• 1992 – Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted by 101 governments in

Nairobi, Kenya.

Biodiversity at Global levels

Global initiatives for Biodiversity Assessment

• It was signed by 159 governments and the European Union at the United nations
conference on Environment on Environment and Development (UNCED)

held at Rio de Janerio in June 1992.

• At present 174 governments is party to this convention

Biodiversity at Global levels

International Biodiversity Initiatives

• From Genes to Ecosystems: A research agenda for Biodiversity (1991)

• Caring for the earth; A strategy for sustainable living (1991)

• Global Biodiversity Strategy (1992)

• Global biodiversity; status of the Earth’s Living Resources (1992)

Biodiversity at Global levels

International Biodiversity Initiatives

• Global marine biological diversity: A strategy for sustainable living (1993)

• Norway/UNEP expert conference on biodiversity (1993)

Biodiversity at Global levels

Levels of Action

• Need for biodiversity conservation is realized by all nations of the world because
their lies common interest of masses.

• They are simply global.

• Each and every member on the earth has equal right over it.

• To limit the loss of biodiversity globally 4 major steps have been realized important
at national, regional and local levels.

Biodiversity at Global levels

 (i) Global Environment Facility (GEF)

• World bank, United Nations Development programme (UNDP), United nations

environment programme (UNEP) established the GEF.

• The GEF is expected to commit $400 million for the biodiversity conservation issue .

Biodiversity at Global levels

(ii) International Biodiversity Strategy Programme (IBSP)

• World Resources Institute (WRI), World Conservation Union (WCU), UNEP together
with more than 40 governmental and non-governmental organizations have
prepared the framework to drastically reduce the loss of biodiversity.

• This would serve mankind on a more sustainable basis.

Biodiversity at Global levels

(iii) Convention on Biological Diversity (COBD)

• Under UNEP, more than 100 nations gathered during Earth Summit at Brazil.

• This was accomplished to workout a legal framework for

• Governing international financial support for biodiversity conservation

• The identification of international conservation priorities and

• Technology transfer for conservation and use of biodiversity .

Biodiversity at Global levels

(iV) Agenda 21

• Agenda 21 is a implemented action plan of the UN with regards to sustainable

development.

• It is an action agenda for the UN and individual governments around the world that can
be executed at local, national and global levels.

• The “21” in agenda 21 refers to the 21 st century. It has been affirmed and had a few
modifications at subsequent UN conferences.

Biodiversity assessment: Initiatives in India

• Ministry of Environment and forests, government of India has launched a project,

National Biodiversity strategy and action plan (NBSAP) which envisages the
assessment and stock taking of biodiversity related information at various levels,
including distribution of endemic and endangered species and site specific threats.

Threats to Biodiversity

Main Causes of threat to species

 • It is well known now that several plant species have become extinct due to certain
natural phenomena, such as volcanic eruptions, glaciations, protracted periods of rain
or drought, spreading of desert lands, forest fires and eutrophication in the geological
past.

Threats to Biodiversity

Main Causes of threat to species

• While natural processes in the past led to extinction of flora, the resulting new
environmental conditions had also resulted in the evolution and speciation of new flora
and migration of floral elements.

Threats to Biodiversity

Main Causes of threat to species – Habitat Destruction

• Deforestation

• Increase in human population and the growing need for resources.

• Industrial demands.

• Habitat destruction leads to loss of environment, which provides food and breeding
grounds to facilitate rearing of their young ones.

Threats to Biodiversity

Main Causes of threat to species – Habitat Destruction

• Wild animals are left with no alternative but to adapt, migrate or perish.

• Habitat loss all over the country has diminished the population of many species,
making them rare and endangered.

• In our race for progress and prosperity we have disturbed the delicate balance of
Nature.

Threats to Biodiversity

Main Causes of threat to species – Hunting and Poaching

• Uncontrolled hunting of wildlife for pleasure, food, furs, skins, horns, tusks, etc.
pose a serious threat to the survival of wildlife

• In India, the Cheetah was hunted to extinction.

• Elephants were hunted for ivory.

• Rhinoceros killed for its horns.

• Trade in exotic mammals, birds and reptiles.

Threats to Biodiversity
Main Causes of threat to species – Pollution

• Pollution of air, water and soil due to various industrial activities not only affect our
health, but the health and well being of animal population also.

• pesticides like DDT are very harmful.

• These have a major effect particularly sea birds and their eggs.

• Oil pollution is another serious problem affecting the seas through leakage from
cargo ships or accidents.

Conservation ofBiodiversity

• The aims and objectives of wildlife management in India includes the following

(i) Protection of natural habitats

(ii) Maintenance of a viable number of species

(iii) Establishment of biosphere reserves

(iv) Protection through legislation

Conservation ofBiodiversity

• Laws governing Biodiversity conservation in India

(i) The Madras wild elephant preservation act, 1873.

(ii) All India Elephant preservation act, 1879

(iii) The Indian Fisheries act, 1897

(iv) Wild birds and wild animals protection act, 1912.

(v) The Indian forest act, 1927.

(vi) Bengal Rhinoceros act, 1932.

(vii) Haily National park act, 1936

Conservation ofBiodiversity

• (viii) Bombay wild, animals and wild birds protection act, 1951

• (ix) Assam Rhinoceros protection act, 1954

• (x) The cruelty against animals act, 1960

• (xi) The wildlife (Protection) act, 1972

• (xii) The forest act, 1980

• (xiii) Wildlife Amendment act, 1991