Biological Hotspots

Hotspots Defined
1.Norman Myers first coined the term “hotspots” in 1988.
2.To qualify as a hotspot a region must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants and it has to   have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat.

Hotspots in Peril
1.Habitat destruction
Predatory invasive species
Introduction of exotic plant species
Direct exploitation of species for food, medicine, and the pet trade
Severe decline of amphibians worldwide
2.The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, which compiles the Red List.
3.Yes, researchers have found that there is a relationship between hotspots and population density and hotspots and violence.

Conservation Response
1.Threatened species
Key biodiversity areas
Landscapes
2.Hunting
Direct exploitation
Disease
Predation by invasive species
3.Three conservation responses to specific-species threats are incentives and legislation to reduce hunting pressure, control of invasive species, and captive breeding, propagation, and re-introduction.
4.The biggest threat to species is the degradation and destruction of their habitats
5.The primary response to the biodiversity crisis should be the establishment and effective management of protected areas.
6.$160 million per hotspot per year

Hotspot	Characteristics	Examples of animals	Examples of plants	Major threats
California Floristic Province	Mediterranean-type climate and has the high levels of plant endemism	giant kangaroo rat , the desert slender salamander, and California condor	Giant sequoia, coastal redwood	Wilderness destruction caused by commercial farming
Caribbean Islands	Diverse ecosystems	Solenodon and Cuban crocodile	Caribbean mahogany, West Indian ebony, and poui	introduction of alien species,
Mesoamerica	Includes montane forests, highlands and mountain chains	Quetzals, howler monkeys	Pacific mahogany, more than 300 cacti species	large-scale industrial developments, and  mineral extraction,
Cerrado	woodland-savanna	giant anteater, giant armadillo, jaguar and maned wolf	Mauritia flexuosa palms	rapid expansion of Brazil's agricultural frontier, which focuses primarily on soy and corn. Ranching is another major threat to the region,
Tropical Andes	snowcapped peaks, steep slopes, deep canyons, and isolated valleys,	yellow-eared parrot, yellow-tailed woolly monkey and spectacled bear	Andean bromeliad	mining, timber extraction, oil exploration, narcotics plantations, and invasive species like the American bullfrog and grasses for cattle grazing
Mediterranean Basins	mountains as peninsulas, and one of the largest archipelagos in the world. The climate of the Mediterranean Basin is dominated by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers,	monk-seal, the barbary macaque and the Iberian lynx,	Aphyllanthes monspeliensis and Drosophyllum lusitanicum.	Habitat fragmentation
Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa	tiny and fragmented, the forest remnants	Pemba white-eye, Kenyan wattled bat, golden-rumped elephant shrew	African violets	Agricultural expansion
Gulinean Forests of Western Africa	lowland forests	Jentink’s duiker, pygmy hippopotamus	oil palm, African ebony	Logging, mining, hunting and human population growth are placing extreme stress on the forests,
Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands	A series of islands scattered in the western Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa		baobab, or bottle tree
Himalaya	world’s highest mountains, including Mt. Everest.	vultures, tigers, elephants, rhinos and wild water buffalo.	Tetracentraceae, Hamamelidaceae, Circaesteraceae, Butomaceae and Stachyuraceae.	extensive clearing of forests and grasslands for cultivation, and widespread logging
Philippines	includes more than 7,100 islands covering 297,179 km² in the westernmost Pacific Ocean	Cebu flowerpecker, the Philippine cockatoo, the Visayan wrinkled hornbill, and the enormous Philippine eagle.	Pterocarpus indicus	mining and land conversion
Southwest Australia	high endemism among plants and reptiles.	numbat, honey possum, and the red-capped parrot.	eucalyptus	agricultural expansion, and invasive species