Page 37 - 2023-bfw-APES-4e-new.indd

Hotspots
Outer limits

FIGURE SA2.2 Biodiversity hotspots. Conservation International has identified 34 biodiversity
SECOND PASS
hotspots (shown in red) that have at least 1,500 endemic plant species and a loss of at least 70 percent
fried_es4e_SA02_02_1417 - February 11, 2022
of all vegetation. (Data from Conservation International at http://www.conservation.org/where/priority_areas/hotspots/Documents/
CI_Biodiversity-Hotspots_2013_Map.pdf.)

that so many species are endemic species. Endemic species What makes a hotspot hot?
are those that live in a very small area of the world and
nowhere else, often in isolated locations such as the Since Norman Myers initiated the idea of biodiversity
Hawaiian Islands. Because these isolated areas are home to hotspots, scientists have debated which factors should be
so many endemic species, they end up containing a high considered most important when deciding where to focus
proportion of all the species found on Earth. Myers called conservation efforts. For example, most scientists agree that
these areas biodiversity hotspots. species richness is an important factor. For example, there are
Scientists originally identified 10 biodiversity hotspots, more than 1,300 bird species in the small nation of Ecuador —
including Madagascar, western Ecuador, and the Philippines. more than twice the number of bird species living in the
Myers argued that these 10 areas needed immediate conser- United States and Canada. For this reason, protecting a
vation attention because human activities there could have habitat in Ecuador has the potential to save many more
disproportionately large negative effects on the world’s bio- bird species than protecting the same amount of habitat in
diversity. A year later, the group Conservation International the United States and Canada. From this point of view, the
adopted Myers’s concept of biodiversity hotspots to guide choice to protect areas with a lot of species makes sense.
its conservation priorities. As of 2022, Conservation Inter- Identifying biodiversity hotspots is challenging, however,
national had identified the 36 biodiversity hotspots shown because scientists have not yet discovered and identified all
in FIGURE SA2.2. Although these hotspots collectively the species on Earth. Because the distribution of plants is
represent only 2.3 percent of the world’s land area, more
than 50 percent of all plant species and 42 percent of all
verte brate species are confined to these areas. As a result of Endemic species Species that live in a very small area of
this categorization, major conservation organizations have the world and nowhere else, often in isolated locations such
adjusted their funding priorities and are spending hundreds as the Hawaiian Islands.
of millions of dollars to conserve these areas. What does Biodiversity hotspots Isolated areas that are home to so
environmental science tell us about the hotspot approach to many endemic species, that they contain a high proportion
of all the species found on Earth.
conserving biodiversity?

UNIT 2 ■ Science Applied 2: Concept Explanation 165
Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample.
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.

03_FriedlandRelyea4e_40928_Unit 2_094_171_6pp.indd 165 16/08/22 2:40 PM