Madagascar hotspot
Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 14 "Biodiversity and Conservation"
Meaning
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean, off the south-east coast of Africa. It is a biodiversity hotspot, meaning a region with many endemic species (species found nowhere else) that is under severe threat. To qualify, a region must have at least 1,500 endemic plants and must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. These criteria were set by Norman Myers and Conservation International. About 85% of Madagascar's plants and animals are endemic.
Example
Lemurs are found naturally only in Madagascar. Their forest home is being cleared for food, firewood and farmland.
Don't confuse with
- Megadiverse country: a country with a large share of the world's species. Madagascar is in NCERT's list of 12 megadiverse countries, but a hotspot is defined by endemic plants plus threat, not by total numbers of species.
Related concepts
- Megadiverse countries
- Biodiversity hotspot
- Biodiversity hotspots in India
- Western Ghats and Sri Lanka hotspot