Section 1: Numbers to Memorise
| Fact | Number |
|---|---|
| India's plant species | ~45,000 |
| India's animal species | ~100,000 |
| Globally described species | ~1.5 million |
| Estimated total species | 5–50 million |
| India's biosphere reserves | 18 |
| India's national parks | 106 |
| India's wildlife sanctuaries | ~566 |
| India's biodiversity hotspots | 4 |
| Global biodiversity hotspots | 36 (originally 25) |
| India's Ramsar sites | 75+ |
| Hotspot endemism threshold | ≥1,500 endemic vascular plants |
| Hotspot habitat loss threshold | ≥70% original habitat lost |
| Cryopreservation temperature | −196 °C |
| Costanza ecosystem services | ~$33 trillion/year |
| Tropical forests reduction | 14% → 6% of Earth's surface |
| Z for continents | 0.1–0.2 |
| Z for islands | 0.6–1.2 |
| CBD signed | Rio de Janeiro, 1992 |
Section 2: People and Concepts
| Person | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Alexander von Humboldt | Species-area relationship |
| E.O. Wilson | Biophilia + island biogeography |
| Norman Myers | Biodiversity hotspot concept (25, now 36) |
| Robert Costanza | Ecosystem services valuation ($33T/yr) |
Section 3: India-Specific Facts
| Category | Key Facts |
|---|---|
| Oldest NP | Jim Corbett NP (1936, Uttarakhand) |
| Project Tiger launch site | Jim Corbett NP (1973) |
| Largest BR | Nilgiri BR (1986) — also India's first |
| One-horned rhino stronghold | Kaziranga NP, Assam |
| Only wild Asiatic lions | Gir NP, Gujarat |
| First Ramsar site | Chilika Lake, Odisha (1981) |
| Hotspot: SW India | Western Ghats & Sri Lanka → lion-tailed macaque |
| Hotspot: N India | Himalayas → red panda |
| Hotspot: NE India | Indo-Burma → hoolock gibbon |
| Hotspot: Island SE | Sundaland (Nicobar Islands only) → Nicobar megapode |
Section 4: Critical Classification Rules
- Sacred groves → IN-SITU (not ex-situ)
- Seed bank → EX-SITU (not in-situ)
- National parks → STRICTER than wildlife sanctuaries
- Nicobar Islands → Sundaland hotspot (NOT Andaman Islands)
- Rauwolfia → GENETIC diversity (not species diversity)
- DD (Data Deficient) → NOT a risk category; means data insufficient
Section 5: IUCN Order (Most to Least Threatened)
EX → EW → CR → EN → VU → NT → LC → DD/NE "Every Wild Cat Eats Very Neat Lunches Daily, Never Eats"
Section 6: HIPPO (Primary → Least)
H (Habitat loss, primary) → I (Invasive) → P → P (Pollution) → O (cO-extinction)