Biodiversity

Abstract

Thus far we have studied models for a single species and for interactions between two species. The next level of study involves an assemblage of species or an ecological community. Conventionally, species of a certain taxon of interest in a specified area are treated as a community e.g. trees in a forest, wader birds in a wetland or mussels in an estuary. If, instead of these convenient but Lilliputian scales of study, we contemplate encompassing the whole biosphere, the problem becomes mind boggling. The number of species involved is extremely large. In fact all living species known to science is only a fraction of the total number. According to one estimate the number of species known to science is around 1.8 million whereas the number unknown may be around 18 million. The figure for described species in India is about 1,26,000 (Khoshoo (1995)). There may be about 2,50,000 species of flowering plants in the world of which about 17000 (7%) are found in India. Corresponding figures for bird species are 10, 000 in the world and 1200 in India.