A brief overview of the Western Ghats – Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot

Gunawardene, Nihara R and Daniels, Dulip AE and Gunatilleke, IAUN and Gunatilleke, CVS and Karunakaran, PV and Nayak, Geetha K and Prasad, S and Puyravaud, P and Ramesh, BR and Subramanian, KA and Vasanthy, G (2007) A brief overview of the Western Ghats – Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot. In: Current Science, 93 (11). pp. 1567-1572.

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Abstract

The Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot is often regarded as one unit because of shared biogeographical history. However, recent studies suggest that certain faunal components, particularly in the wet zones are distinct. This article looks at the existing information on species richness and endemicity of taxa in both regions. Data are available on some taxa but not on others, and many taxa have not received equal attention in both regions. The natural ecosystems of this hotspot are under threat and urgent conservation action is needed, especially in augmenting the protected area network. There is also the need for increasing the level of scientific collaboration in biodiversity studies between the two countries.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Current Science
Publisher:	Indian Academy of Sciences
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:	Biodiversity hotspot;deforestation;species endemism;protected areas;Sri Lanka;Western Ghats
Department/Centre:	Division of Biological Sciences > Centre for Ecological Sciences
Date Deposited:	05 Jun 2008
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:45
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/14186

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