Biodiversity and Its Values

Study Notes

Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life forms from all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems.
It is categorized into different levels and possesses various values, including commercial utility, ecological services, and social/aesthetic significance (McNeely et al., 1990).

Consumptive Use Value: Direct use of biodiversity resources, such as food (80,000 edible plant species, 90% of current crops domesticated from wild plants), drugs (75% of the world population relies on plants/plant extracts for medicine; examples include Isabgol, penicillin, tetracycline, quinine, digitalin, vinblastine, and vincristine), and fuelwood.
Productive Use Value: Commercial use of biodiversity, generating marketed products like musk from musk deer, silk from silkworms, wool from sheep, and lac from insects. This supports various industries (pulp and paper, silk, ivory, pearl, leather). Challenges include exploitation and illegal trading of products from endangered species.
Social Values: Biodiversity’s significance in social life, customs, religion, and culture. Plants like Tulsi, mango, and peepal hold sacred status. Animals like cows, snakes, owls, and bulls have cultural importance.
Ethical Value: The intrinsic value of all life, emphasizing preservation regardless of direct utilization (e.g., Passenger Pigeon, Dodo).
Aesthetic Value: Biodiversity's beauty and recreational value, driving ecotourism and economic valuation.
Option Value: Potential future benefits from currently unknown species, such as marine animals with potential anticancer properties.
Ecosystem Value: Non-consumptive value derived from ecosystem services like nutrient cycling and water regulation.

India is a mega-diversity nation, with high levels of endemism (species unique to a specific area; e.g., 50% of Indian lizards).
Western Ghats are a significant site of endemism.
Origin of many species: India is the origin of nearly 5000 flowering plants, 166 cropping plants, and 320 wild relatives of cultivated crops.
Extensive marine biodiversity (7500 km coastline encompassing mangroves, estuaries, coral reefs, and more than 340 coral species). Rich in mollusks, crustaceans, polychaetes, and corals. Possesses 93 major wetlands and large forest cover.

Approximately 1.9 million species are known (as of 2010), a likely underestimate. Estimates range from 0-30 million insects, 5-10 million bacteria, 1.5 million fungi, 1 million mites, 321,212 plants, and 1,367,555 animals (including 1,305,250 invertebrates and 62,305 vertebrates).
Rainforests hold 50-80% of global biodiversity, while deserts have minimal biodiversity.
Marine biodiversity is exceptionally high, with 125,000 flowering plant species in tropical forests and approximately 1.5 million known species (potentially 15% of the total).

Characterized by richness across spatial scales:
- Point Richness: Species found at a single point.
- Alpha (α) Richness: Number of species in a small, homogeneous area (strongly correlated with physical factors; e.g., tunicates in Arctic, temperate, and tropical seas).
- Beta (β) Richness: Rate of species composition change across different habitats.