Question

Where are Hotspots of biodiversity in India?
A. Western ghats, Eastern ghats, Indo Burma
B. Indo Burma, Eastern ghats and Sri Lanka Himalayas
C. Western ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo Burma and Himalaya
D. Eastern ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo Burma

Answer 1

Hint: India has 4 biodiversity hotspots namely: the Himalayas, the Indo-Burma region, the Western Ghats, and the Sundaland. These hotspots are home to numerous endemic species.

Complete Answer:
A biodiversity hotspot can be understood as a biogeographic area which is a large biodiversity reservoir which is at high risk of destruction. The word biodiversity hotspot explicitly refers to areas around the world that are biologically abundant and have lost at least 70% of their original habitat. There are 34 hotspots of biodiversity worldwide, three of which occur in India, including the Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma (North East India) and the Himalayas. Western ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo Burma and the Himalayas are therefore India's hot spots of biodiversity.

So, the correct answer is option C.

Additional information:
- There are about 2,546 species of fish found in Indian waters (about 11 percent of the world's species). India is home to about 197 amphibian species (4.4 percent of the world total) and more than 408 reptile species (6 percent of the world total).
- The highest levels of endemism are observed in amphibians among these groups. There are about 1,250 species of birds from India, with some differences, accounting for about 12 percent of the world's species depending on taxonomic treatments. There are approximately 410 species of mammals known from India, comprising around 8.86% of the world's species.
- India has the highest number of species of cat of any other country. An estimate of about 15,000 species of flowering plants in India is provided by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Note: A series of hills running along the western edge of peninsular India is the Western Ghats. Their proximity to the ocean and they receive high rainfall via orographic influence. There is moist deciduous forest and rain forest in these areas. The area covering Bhutan, northeastern India, and southern, central and eastern Nepal is the Eastern Himalayas. The area is young geologically and displays high altitudinal variation.