Welcome to the Living World: May 2012

Pollution is any undesirable change in physical, chemical or biological characteristics of air, land, water or soil. Agents that cause pollution are called as pollutants.

The Government of India has passed the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to control environmental pollution and protect and improve the quality of our environment.

7. Ecosystem

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An ecosystem is a functional unit of nature, where living organisms interact among themselves and also with the surrounding physical environment.

6. Organisms and populations

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Human population explosion increases the demand for food, water, home, electricity, roads, automobiles etc.
It leads to pollution of air, water and soil.

5. Biotechnology and its applications

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Biotechnology has a wide range application such as biopharmaceuticals, therapeutics, diagnostics, genetically modified crops for agriculture, processed food, bioremediation, waste treatment and energy production.

Biotechnology has 3 critical research areas:

4. Biotechnology: Principles & Processes

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Biotechnology deals with techniques of using live organisms or their enzymes for products and processes useful to humans.

The European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) defines Biotechnology as ‘the integration of natural science and organisms, cells, parts thereof, and molecular analogues for products and services’.

3. Strategies for enhancement in food production

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I. ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

- It is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock by applying scientific principles.

- It deals with

o The care & breeding of livestock (buffaloes, cows, pigs, horses, cattle, sheep, camels, goats, bees, silkworms etc).

o Poultry farming and fisheries.

2. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

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All flowering plants (angiosperms) show sexual reproduction.

1. Reproduction in organisms

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- Reproduction is a process in which an organism gives rise to young ones (offspring) similar to itself.

- The period from birth to the natural death of an organism represents its life span.

- No individual is immortal, except unicellular organisms. There is no natural death in unicellular organisms.

8. Biodiversity and conservation

Biodiversity is the diversity of biological organisation ranging from cellular macromolecules to biomes.

Edward Wilson popularized the term ‘biodiversity’.

LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY

1. Genetic diversity: Diversity shown by a single species at genetic level. E.g. Rauwolfia vomitoria (Himalaya) shows genetic variation in the potency & concentration of the chemical reserpine. India has more than 50,000 different strains of rice and 1000 varieties of mango.

2. Species diversity: Diversity at species level. E.g. Western Ghats have greater amphibian species than Eastern Ghats.

3. Ecological diversity: Diversity at ecosystem level.

E.g. In India, deserts, rain forests, mangroves, coral reefs, wet lands, estuaries & alpine meadows are seen.

TOTAL NUMBER OF SPECIES ON EARTH (GLOBAL SPECIES DIVERSITY)

o According to IUCN (2004): More than 1.5 million species described so far.

o According to Robert May’s Global estimate: About 7 million (considering the species to be discovered in the tropics. i.e. only 22% of the total species have been recorded so far).

o Animals are more diverse (above 70%) than plants including Plantae and Fungi (22%).

o Most species rich taxonomic group among animals: Insects (70%, i.e. out of every 10 animals, 7 are insects).

o Number of fungi species is more than the combined total of the species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles & mammals.

o Biologists are not sure about total number of prokaryotic species because conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for identifying microbial species and many species are simply not culturable under laboratory conditions.

o India has only 2.4% of world’s land area, but has 8.1% of the species diversity. India is one of the 12 mega diversity countries of the world. Nearly 45,000 species of plants and twice as many of animals have been recorded from India.

o Applying May’s global estimates, India would have more than 1 lakh plant species and 3 lakh animal species.

PATTERNS OF BIODIVERSITY

i. Latitudinal gradients

- Species diversity decreases from the equator to the poles.

- Tropics (latitudinal range of 23.5o N to 23.5o S) have more species than temperate or polar areas.

o Colombia (near equator) has about 1400 species of birds.

o New York (41o N): 105 species of birds

o Greenland (71o N): 56 species of birds

o India (tropical latitudes): > 1200 species

- Equador (Tropical forest region) has up to 10 times as many species of vascular plants as a forest of equal area in Midwest of USA (temperate region).

- Greatest biodiversity on earth: Tropical Amazonian rain forest in South America (> 40000 species of plants, 3000 fishes, 1300 birds, 427 mammals, 427 amphibians, 378 reptiles and more than 1,25,000 invertebrates.

- Biodiversity (species richness) is highest in tropics because

o Tropics had more evolutionary time.

o Relatively constant environment (less seasonal).

o They receive more solar energy which contributes to greater productivity.

ii. Species- Area relationship

According to the study of Alexander von Humboldt (German naturalist & geographer) in South American jungles, within a region, species richness increases with increasing explored area, but only up to a limit. Relation b/w species richness and area for a wide variety of taxa gives a rectangular hyperbola.

On a logarithmic scale, the relationship is a straight line described the equation Log S = log C + Z log A

Where, S= Species richness A= Area C= Y-intercept

Z= slope of the line (regression co-efficient)

The value of Z lies in the range of 0.1 to 0.2

In species-area relationship among the large areas like entire continents, slope of the line is steeper (Z value: 0.6 to 1.2).

E.g. for frugivorous birds and mammals in the tropical forests of different continents, the slope is 1.15.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Different species have been extinct due to human activities.

- IUCN Red List (2004) documents extinction of 784 species (338 vertebrates, 359 invertebrates and 87 plants) in the last 500 years. E.g. Dodo (Mauritius), Quagga (Africa), Thylacine (Australia), Stellar’s sea cow (Russia) and 3 subspecies (Bali, Javan, Caspian) of tiger.

- 27 species have been disappeared in the last 20 years.

- More than 15,500 species are facing threat of extinction.

- 12% birds, 23% mammals, 32% amphibians, 31% gymnosperm species face the threat of extinction.

- The current extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times faster than in the pre-human times. If this trend continues, nearly 50% species on earth might be wiped out within next 100 years.

Impacts of Loss of biodiversity:

o Decline in plant production

o Environmental perturbations such as drought.

o Increased variability in ecosystem processes such as plant productivity, water use and pest and disease cycles.

Causes of Biodiversity losses (‘The Evil Quartet’)

1. Habitat loss and fragmentation: Most important cause.

- E.g. Tropical rain forests (loss from 14% to 6%). Thousands hectares of rain forests is being lost within hrs.

- The Amazon rain forest is being cut for cultivating soya beans or for conversion of grass lands for cattle.

- Due to fragmentation, animals requiring large territories and migratory animals are badly affected.

2. Over-exploitation: Many species like Stellar’s sea cow, Passenger pigeon etc extinct due to over exploitation.

3. Alien species invasions: Alien species cause decline or extinction of indigenous species. E.g.

- The Nile Perch introduced in Lake Victoria (East Africa) caused extinction of more than 200 species of cichlid fish.

- Invasive weed species like carrot grass (Parthenium), Lantana and water hyacinth (Eicchornia) caused damage to our native species.

- The illegal introduction of the African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) for aquaculture is posing a threat to the indigenous catfishes in our rivers.

4. Co-extinction: When a species becomes extinct, the plant and animal species associated with it also extinct. E.g.

- Extinction of the parasites when the host is extinct.

- Co-evolved plant-pollinator mutualism where extinction of one leads to the extinction of the other.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Reasons for conservation are 3 categories.

a. Narrowly utilitarian arguments

- Human derive economic benefits from nature such as food, firewood, fibre, construction material, industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes) and medicines.

- More than 25% of the drugs are derived from plants.

- 25,000 species of plants have medicinal value.

b. Broadly utilitarian arguments

Biodiversity has many ecosystem services. E.g.

· Amazon forest (‘lung of the planet’) produces 20% of total O2 in the earth’s atmosphere.

· Pollination through bees, bumblebees, birds and bats.

· Aesthetic pleasures.

c. Ethical arguments

Every species has an intrinsic value. We have a moral duty to care for their well-being.

Types of conservation

a. In situ conservation (on site)

It is the conservation of genetic resources within natural or human-made ecosystems in which they occur. E.g. Protected areas such as National Parks, Sanctuaries, Biosphere reserves, cultural landscapes, natural monuments.

- National Park: Strictly reserved for the welfare of the wildlife where private ownership, cultivation, grazing etc are prohibited. E.g. Eravikulam National Park in Kerala.

- Sanctuary: Here, protection is given only to the animals. Collection of timbers, minor forest products and private ownership are allowed so long as they do not harm the animals. E.g. Periyar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.

- Biosphere Reserves: Areas of land or coastal environments to conserve ecosystem and genetic resources contained therein.

- Sacred forests (Sacred groves):E.g.

· Sacred groves in Khasi & Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya

· Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan

· Western Ghat regions of Karnataka & Maharashtra

· Sarguja, Chanda & Bastar areas (Madhya Pradesh).

India has 14 Biosphere Reserves, 90 National Parks and 448 wildlife sanctuaries.

b. Ex situ conservation (off site)

It is the conservation of organisms outside their habitats. E.g. genetic resource centres, zoological parks, botanical gardens, gene banks etc.

Hotspots:

- These are the richest and the most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth.

- There are 34 hotspots in the world.

- 3 hotspots (Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma and Himalaya) cover India’s biodiversity regions.

International Efforts for conserving biodiversity

- The Earth Summit (Rio de Jeneiro, 1992) - 3 objectives:

a. Conservation of biodiversity

b. Sustainable use of biodiversity

c. Sharing of benefits in the utilization of genetic resources.

- The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002): 190 countries pledged to reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss.

7. Microbes in human welfare

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MICROBES IN HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

· Lactobacillus or Lactic acid bacteria (LAB):

- Convert milk to curd.

- LAB produces acids that coagulate and partially digest the milk proteins.

- A small amount of curd (which contains LAB) + fresh milk converts to curd. It also increases vitamin B₁₂.

- In stomach, LAB helps to check pathogens.

Human health and Infectious diseases

Health is a state of complete physical, mental & social well-being. Health is affected by genetic disorders, Infections, change in life style (food, water, rest, exercise, habits etc).

Diseases may be Infectious or Non-infectious.

5. Evolution

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Evolution is an orderly change from one form to another.
Evolutionary Biology: Study of history of life forms.

POPULATION EXPLOSION & BIRTH CONTROL

1. Human reproduction

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Reproduction is the production of young ones by an organism. Humans are sexually reproducing and viviparous.

Welcome to the Living World

Pages

Monday, May 28, 2012

Biology Powerpoint Presentations

Biology PowerPoint Presentations

Biology Presentations for Plus One

Part-1 Botany

Part-2 Zoology

Biology Presentations for Plus Two

Part-1 Botany

Part-2 Zoology

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Human excretory system (Video)

Structure of teeth (Video)

Mitosis and Meiosis (Video)

Coca cola is dangerous: An experiment (Video)

Human Respiratory system (Video)

Extraction of DNA from onion (Video)

Human nervous system (Video)

Human embryo (Video)

Human digestive system (Video)

Mitochondria (Video)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Osmosis (Video)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

8. Environmental issues

7. Ecosystem

6. Organisms and populations

5. Biotechnology and its applications

4. Biotechnology: Principles & Processes

3. Strategies for enhancement in food production

2. Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

1. Reproduction in organisms

8. Biodiversity and conservation

7. Microbes in human welfare

Human health and Infectious diseases

5. Evolution

Population Explosion and Contraceptive Methods

POPULATION EXPLOSION & BIRTH CONTROL

1. Human reproduction