Biodiversity Cold Spots

A “biodiversity cold spot” is a region with a limited number of living things, such as plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. These are areas with a low level of biological diversity but a high rate of habitat loss.

What are Biodiversity Cold Spots?

• Cold spots are areas where the fitness of at least one of the two species is determined by interactions with the other.
• Biodiversity cold spots support critical global and local ecosystem processes, contain unique evolutionary lineages and rare species, encompass the last major wilderness landscapes, support a diverse range of animal species, and may have more favorable national policy environments for conservation success.
• Furthermore, all cold spots would benefit from increased protection, conservation management, and restoration.

What is Paradox of Diversity?

• As per a new study, “paradox of diversity” concludes that extreme environments, such as deserts, mountains, or other “coldspots,” would be better equipped to handle rapid species diversification than tropical regions, which are already overcrowded with existing species.
• Not to say that hotspots aren’t important. While coldspots are generally empty, they are also dry and unstable.
• This is why, as new species emerge and evolve, they migrate to more comfortable habitats, such as tropical biodiversity hotspots.
• According to new research, ecological cold spots for species today may become hot spots for wildlife tomorrow.
• While conservationists frequently focus on protecting areas rich in biodiversity, such as the Amazon Rainforest, new species may not emerge as frequently as previously thought.
• Relatively less diverse areas such as deserts and mountains may provide conditions that lead to greater species diversification.
• Researchers studying a large group of tropical birds known as suboscine passerines — including many specimens held in natural history collections — discovered that relatively barren areas may provide more space for new species to evolve than densely packed lush tropical rainforest areas.
• They discovered that the high diversity of these birds in tropical areas resulted from a slow accumulation over time, whereas the highest speciation rates occurred in colder, dryer, less stable areas.
• The findings have implications for conservation strategy because they imply that not only do current biological hotspots require protection, but also the areas where such speciation occurs.

Conclusion

• Extreme physical environments (low or high temperatures or pressures, or unusual chemical composition) inhabited by only one or two specially adapted species are cold spots that should be conserved because they represent unique biologically and physically interesting environments.