Question

There are 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world. High level of species richness is a criteria for selection of a biodiversity hotspot.

• A. If both assertion and reason are true and reason is the correct explanation of assertion
• B. If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion
• C. If assertion is true but reason is false
• D. If both assertion and reason are false

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

If both assertion and reason are true but reason is not the correct explanation of assertion

Answer 2

Hot spots are areas with high density of biodiversity or megadiversity which are also the most threatened ones. Ecologically hot spots are determined by four factors. (i) Number of species/species diversity. (ii) Degree of endemism (iii) Degree of threat to habitat due to its degradation and fragmentation. (iv) Degree of exploitation. Myers (1988) initially identified 12 hot spots. Today the number of hotspots identified by ecologists is 34 covering an area less than 2% of land surface with about 20% of human population living there.