Explain the relationship between the decline in the number of biodiversities with that of over-exploitation with the help of two examples. Construct a mental map of problems caused by ever-increasing human population. [3 + 2]
Relationship: Over-exploitation refers to the excessive use of biological resources beyond their natural rate of renewal. Such exploitation leads to a decline in biodiversity by reducing population size, destroying habitats, and causing local or total extinction of species.
Examples:
- Cheetah in India: Excessive hunting and poaching for sport and fur led to a rapid decline in cheetah population, resulting in their local extinction from India.
- Sundari trees in the Sundarbans: Over-felling of Sundari trees for timber depleted dominant mangrove vegetation, causing habitat shrinkage for animals like tigers and rhinoceroses and disrupting the mangrove ecosystem.
Mental map of problems caused by ever-increasing human population
├── Resource depletion (food/water/forest)
├── Pollution ↑ (air/water/soil)
├── Habitat loss → Biodiversity decline
├── Over-exploitation (hunting/logging)
└── Climate change (CO₂ emissions)
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