. Threats to biodiversity Even though India is one of the identified mega diverse countries of the world, it faces lots of threats to its biodiversity. Apart from natural causes, human activities, both directly and indirectly are today’s main reason for habitat loss and biodiversity loss. Fragmentation and degradation due to agricultural practices, extraction (mining, fishing, logging, harvesting) and development (settlements, industrial and associated infrastructures) leads to habitat loss and fragmentation leads to formation of isolated, small and scattered populations and as endangered species.
Some of the other threats include specialised diet, specialized habitat requirement, large size, small population size, limited geographic distribution and high economic or commercial value. Large mammals by virtue of their size require larger areas to obtain the necessities of life - food, cover, mates than do smaller mammals. Individual home range of Lion Trans-Himalaya Himalaya Indian Desert North East India Deccan Peninsula Gangetic Plains Western Ghats Coastal Region Andaman & Nicobar Islands Semi arid Zones Fig. .
Biogeographical regions of India XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- XII Std Biology-Zoology Chapter- Biodiversity and its Conservation can be about square Km. Mammals have specialized dietary needs such as carnivores, frugivores and the need to forage over much larger areas than general dietary herbivores and omnivores. Mammals also have low reproductive output other than small rodents. The interrelationship and interdependence of all living components in a system can be seen from the example of the fruit bats of Guam (South East Asia).
The fruit bats are a delicacy here, and hence their population has dwindled which is not surprising. What is surprising is that local fruit production has got affected as it was identified that the bats served as pollinators. Hence there is a need for conservation of diversity as that could avert such situations.