biodiversity hotspots

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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

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Biodiversity hotspots. What is a biodiversity hotspot ?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Biodiversity hotspots

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

Page 2: Biodiversity hotspots

What is a biodiversity hotspot ?

A biodiversity hotspot is a geographic area containing at least 1,500 endemic plant species, but which has already lost at least 70% of species in their original state. The total area of hot spots is only 2.3% of the surface of the Earth. At present, areas 34 are hot spots. More than 50% of plant species and 42% of terrestrial vertebrate species live in these hot spots.

Page 3: Biodiversity hotspots

Where are they located ?As you can see there a lot of hot spots, more precisely 34. They are concentrated in the southern hemisphere of the planet

Page 4: Biodiversity hotspots

We will look at four hot spots among the 34 identified to understand what are the characteristics of these areas. 4 hot spots are: New Caledonia, Central America, Tropical Andes, the Mediterranean Basin

New Caledonia Tropical Andes

the Mediterranean Basin

Central America

Page 5: Biodiversity hotspots

Some statistics

Taxons Total number of species

described worldwideVascular plants 25000Land mammals 4596Birds 9950Reptiles 7900Amphibians 4780Freshwater fish 10000

Total number of described species in the world for 6 groups of beings living

Page 6: Biodiversity hotspots

Metropolitan FranceTaxon number

species% From total described species

% Of species endemic

Vascular plants 10507 4,2 0,58

Land mammals 166 3,6 0

Birds 539 5,41 1

Reptiles 40 0,5 0

Amphibians 32 0,66 3

Freshwater fish 94 0,94 9,5

Number of identified species and endemic in France 6 for these taxa

Page 7: Biodiversity hotspots

New Caledonia

Taxon number species

% From total described species

% Of species endemic

Vascular plants 3270 1,3 74,4

Land mammals 9 0,19 66,7

Birds 105 1,05 21,9

Reptiles 70 0,88 88,6

Amphibians 0 0 0

Freshwater fish 85 0,85 10,6

Page 8: Biodiversity hotspots

Central America

Taxon number species

% From total described species

% Of species endemic

Vascular plants 1700 6,8 17,3

Land mammals 440 9,57 15

Birds 1113 11,16 18,7

Reptiles 692 8,75 34,7

Amphibians 555 11,61 64,5

Freshwater fish 509 5,09 66,8

Page 9: Biodiversity hotspots

Andes Tropicales

Taxon number species

% From total described species

% Of species endemic

Vascular plants 30000 12 50

Land mammals 570 12,40 13,2

Birds 1724 17,29 33,6

Reptiles 692 8,75 34,7

Amphibians 555 11,61 64,5

Freshwater fish 509 8,09 66,8

Page 10: Biodiversity hotspots

Mediterranean BasinTaxon number

species% From total

described species

% Of species endemic

Vascular plants 22500 9 52

Land mammals 226 4,9 11,1

Birds 489 4,9 5,1

Reptiles 230 2,91 33,5

Amphibians 79 1,65 34,2

Freshwater fish 216

2,16 29,2

Page 11: Biodiversity hotspots

Why did we have to protect these areas ?

These areas have high biodiversity and high levels of endemism. It means that we encounter in these areas some species that is not found in other places. This can justify that the priority is to protect these areas.

Page 12: Biodiversity hotspots

ConclusionBiodiversity is not evenly distributed across Earth. Some areas provide an habitat on small areas a high proportion terrestrial biodiversity. These particularly sensitive areas are called hot spots.