Explain in brief 'Biodiversity Hot Spots'.

1.	Explain in brief 'Biodiversity Hot Spots'.
Answer» <p>Biodiversity hotspots are areas that support natural ecosystems that are largely intact and where native species and communities associated with these ecosystems are well represented. They are also areas with a high diversity of locally endemic species, which are species that are not found or are rarely found outside the hotspot. The concept of biodiversity hotspots was given by Norman Myers. Originally he gave the twenty-five biodiversity hotspots (green, coded as 1-25) and later Nine hotspots (blue, 26-34) added by Mittermeier. (shown in diagram Below).</p><p>To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:</p><p>It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5 percent of the world’s total) as endemics.</p><p>It has to have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat.</p><p>Three factors that usually determine hotspots:</p><p>The number oftotal species(species richness).</p><p>The number ofunique species(endemism).</p><p>The number of species at risk(threat of extinction).</p>

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