Biodiversity hotspots Biodiversity hotspots A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. The biodiversity hotspots were originally identified by Dr. Norman Myers in two articles in The Environmentalist (1998 & 1990) and revised in an article in the journal Nature (2000). The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to 25 biologically rich areas around the world that have lost at least 70% of their original habitat. The remaining natural habitat in these biodiversity hotspots amounts to just 1.4 percent of the land surface of the planet, yet supports nearly 60 percent of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species. In a recent press release, Conservation Internaional updated the list with 9 new hotspots, although there has been no peer review of this revision and these new hotspots are still questioned by some. The list of authors for this new scientific assessment noticeably lacked the original author of the hotspot idea. ...more on Wikipedia about "Biodiversity hotspot"
The Biodiversity of New Caledonia, a large Pacific island group, is considered to be one of the most important in the region. The island supports high levels of endemism, with many unique plants, insects reptiles and birds. The island has no native land mammals except for bats, and no native amphibians. New Caledonia's biodiversity is threatened by introduced species, logging and nickel mining. It has lost several species since the arrival of man on the island, but none are thought to have become extinct since 1500. ...more on Wikipedia about "Biodiversity of New Caledonia"
The biodiversity of New Zealand, a large Pacific archipelago, is one of the most unusual on Earth, due to its long isolation from other continental landmasses. Its affinities are derived in part from Gondwana, from which it separated 82 MYA, some modest affinities with New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island, both of which are part of the same continental plate as New Zealand and in part from Australia. More recently a component has been introduced by humans. New Zealand's biodiversity exhibits high levels of endemism, both in its flora and fauna. The islands historically have no native mammals except for bats, the main component of the fauna being insects and birds. Its flora is dominated by Gondwanan plants, comprising historically of forests, most famously the giant kauri. ...more on Wikipedia about "Biodiversity of New Zealand"
The East Melanesian Islands is a biodiversity hotspot defined by Conservation International (CI). As defined by CI, the hotspot lies east and northeast of New Guinea and encompasses some 1,600 islands with a land area of nearly 100,000 km², including the Bismarck Archipelago, Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, and the islands of Vanuatu. Politically, the hotspot includes parts of Papua New Guinea (the Bismark Archipelago, Admiralty Islands, and Bougainville), and all of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. ...more on Wikipedia about "East Melanesian Islands"
(Ecoregions of Japan) Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ...more on Wikipedia about "Ecoregions of Japan"
(Ecoregions of the Philippines) * Greater Luzon included Luzon, Catanduanes, Marinduque, Polillo, and several small islands. ...more on Wikipedia about "Ecoregions of the Philippines"
(Himalayas) The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. By extension, it is also the name of the massive mountain system which includes the Himalaya proper, the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and a host of minor ranges extending from the Pamir Knot. The name is from Sanskrit , a tatpurusha compound meaning "the abode of snow". (from "snow", and "abode"; see also Himavat). ...more on Wikipedia about "Himalayas"
The Madrean pine-oak woodlands are subtropical woodlands found in the mountains of Mexico and the southwestern United States. ...more on Wikipedia about "Madrean pine-oak woodlands"
Micronesia (from Greek: μικρός small, νῆσος island) is the name of a region in the Pacific Ocean. The Philippines lie to the west, Indonesia to the south west, Papua New Guinea and Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the south-east and east. ...more on Wikipedia about "Micronesia"
Oceania is the smallest of the world's terrestrial ecozones, and unique in not including any continental land mass. The ecozone includes the Pacific Ocean islands of Micronesia, the Fijian Islands, and most of Polynesia (with the exception of New Zealand). New Zealand and most of Melanesia, including New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia, are included, with Australia in the Australasia ecozone. Oceania is the smallest in area of any of the ecozones, and also the youngest geologically; other ecozones include old continental land masses or fragments of continents, but Oceania is composed mostly of island groups that arose from the sea, as a result of hotspot volcanism, or as island arcs pushed upward by the collision and subduction of tectonic plates. The islands range from tiny coral atolls to large mountainous islands, like Hawaii and Fiji. ...more on Wikipedia about "Oceania ecozone"
Sundaland is a biogeographical region of Southeast Asia that comprises the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands. The eastern boundary of Sundaland is the Wallace Line, first identified by Alfred Russel Wallace, which marks the eastern boundary of the Asia's land mammal fauna, and is the boundary of the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. The islands east of the Wallace line are known as Wallacea, and are considered part of Australasia. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sundaland"
Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena is a biodiversity hotspot, which includes the tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests of the Pacific coast of South America and the Galapagos Islands. The region extends from easternmost Panama to the lower Magdalena River valley of Colombia, and along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador to the northwestern corner of Peru. It is bounded on the east by the Andes Mountains. The hotspot includes a number of ecoregions: ...more on Wikipedia about "Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena"
The Valdivian temperate rain forests are a terrestrial ecoregion located on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and extending into a small part of Argentina. It is a temperate part of the Neotropic ecozone. ...more on Wikipedia about "Valdivian temperate rain forests"
Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of Indonesian islands separated by deep water from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. The islands of Wallacea lie between Sundaland (the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and Bali) to the west, and Near Oceania including Australia and New Guinea to the south and east. ...more on Wikipedia about "Wallacea"
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The Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountains (as they are known in the state of Maharashtra) run along the western edge of India's Deccan Plateau, and separate the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The range starts south of the Tapti River near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and runs approximately 1600 km through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, to the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. The average elevation is around 900 meters. Higher peaks occur in the northern section of the range in Maharashtra, notably Kalsubai 1646 m (5427 ft), Mahabaleshwar 1438 m (4710 ft) and Harishchandragarh 1424 m (4691 ft); in southwest Karnataka, notably Kudremukh at 1862 m (6,109 ft); and in the southern part of the range, with Anai Mudi in Kerala at 2695 meters (8,842 ft) height the highest peak in the Western Ghats, Chembra Peak in kerala at 2100m, Banasura Peak in Kerala at 2073m and Vellarimala in kerala at 2200 meters. The only major gaps in the range are the Goa gap and the Palghat Gap that joins Tamil Nadu to Kerala. Smaller ranges, including the Nilgiri Hills (With Doddabetta being the highest peak at 2623 meters) of northwestern Tamil Nadu and Biligirirangans southeast of Mysore in Karnataka, meet the Shevaroys (Servarayan range) and Tirumala range farther east, linking the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats. These ranges of hills serve as important wildlife corridors, allowing species like elephants to move between the ranges. ...more on Wikipedia about "Western Ghats"
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