Question

An area is declared as a ‘hotspot’ when
A. It has 1500 or more endemic species and 75 percent of its original habitat is lost.
B. It has 1500 or more vertebrate species and 75 percent of its original habitat is lost.
C. It has more than 2000 species of plants.
D. Most of the species inhabiting the area are facing the risk of extinction.

Answer 1

Extinction means the permanent disappearance of a species or a population from the earth. There are several reasons for the extinction of organisms. Humans are responsible directly or indirectly for the disappearance of many species on the earth. More than 15000 species are facing the threat of extinction all over the world. The loss of biodiversity and the increased rate of extinction are interrelated.

Complete answer:
Hotspot of biodiversity hotspot is a geographical area with increased biodiversity that is under the threat of damage and extinction. A hotspot is defined as an area with more than 1500 endemic species including vascular plants and areas which have lost 75 percent of their original habitat. Endemic species refers to the species of plants and animals which are indigenous to a specific region and are only found in that area. So if the indigenous area is lost the endemic species living in that area will gradually undergo extinction.
The natural habitats of organisms, especially the Tropical rainforests all over the world are destroyed and the trees are cut down for the cultivation of economically significant crops and are also converted into grasslands for raising cattle. When the area of habitat is lost, the organisms living in that area face the threat of extinction due to the lack of food resources and shelter. Some species require large territories and have migratory needs which are badly affected by habitat loss and fragmentation.
A hotspot will contain a large number of plant and animal species. It may contain more than 2000 plant species. But a religion that contains more than 2,000 plant species cannot be considered as a hotspot only due to that reason.

The correct answer is option (A), It has 1500 or more endemic species and 75 percent of its original habitat is lost.

Note:
Norman Myers described hotspot as a region that has more than 1500 endemic species including vascular plants and has lost 75 percent of its natural habitat. This definition had some criticism as they considered mainly the vascular plants without other animal species. There are currently 36 hotspots all over the world in which 4 are in India. They are Western Ghats, Himalayas, Indo- Burma region, and Sundaland.