FYB Sc - North Maharashtra University

F.Y. B. Sc (Zoology)
Paper – I Animal Diversity Marks : 80+20
(A – Diversity of Non-Chordates and B – Diversity of
Chordates)
Background of the Course
One of the day’s most pressing environmental issues is conservation of the
biodiversity. Many factors threaten the world’s biological heritage. The challenge is
for nations, Government agencies, Organizations and individuals to protect and
enhance bio-diversity while continuing to meet people’s need for natural resources.
This challenge exists from local to global scales.
Biodiversity is the variety of life on the earth and its myriad of processes. It
includes all life forms, from the unicellular fungi, protozoa and bacteria to complex
multicellular organisms. Practically, biodiversity deals with the collection of
information about species, genera and ecosystems occurring as interacting entities
in any well-defined geographical areas constituting habitats.
Biodiversity can be divided into four levels, genetical, species, ecosystem
and landscape diversity. Most attention is often given to species diversity, the
number of different kinds of organisms found at a particular locale and how it
varies from place to place and even seasonally at the same place.
A diversity of living things provides subtle needs. People enjoy picnicking,
visiting seashores, and a variety of other recreational activities. Our homes, air,
livestock, vegetables, fruits and grains all derive from the product of diverse and
healthy ecosystems. Diverse communities of plants, animals and microorganisms
also provide indispensable ecological services. Insect, help in pollination to plants.
But the value of the biodiversity goes far beyond the aesthetic aspects. We
hardly know a fraction of species on these planets, especially in tropical ecosystem,
despite years of intensive scientific effort. Every year species are lost before we
have a chance to know anything about them. The vast insect faunas contain large
3