Assertion (A): Biodiversity hotspots are regions characterised by exceptionally high levels of species richness and endemism.
Reason (R): Many species found in biodiversity hotspots are unique and can also be found elsewhere in the world.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → A is true, but R is false.
Assertion (A) is about what a biodiversity hotspot is. Reason (R) is about where the species of a hotspot are found.
Assertion (A): Biodiversity hotspots are regions characterised by exceptionally high levels of species richness and endemism. — True. Biodiversity hotspots are regions with very high species richness and a high degree of endemism. There are 34 such hotspots in the world; three of them cover India’s richest regions.
Reason (R): Many species found in biodiversity hotspots are unique and can also be found elsewhere in the world. — False. An endemic species is one confined to that region and not found anywhere else. The species of a hotspot are special because many of them occur nowhere else. R says they “can also be found elsewhere”, which is the opposite of endemism. So A is true, but R is false.
NCERT Extract:
How Do We Conserve Biodiversity? – “… On a global basis, this problem has been addressed by eminent conservationists. They identified for maximum protection certain ‘biodiversity hotspots’ regions with very high levels of species richness and high degree of endemism (that is, species confined to that region and not found anywhere else). Initially 25 biodiversity hotspots were identified but subsequently nine more have been added to the list, bringing the total number of biodiversity hotspots in the world to 34.”