(a) Indiscriminate human activities such as alien species invasion, fragmentation and habits loss have accelerated the loss of biodiversity. Justify by taking one example of each.
(b) State the importance of (i) IUCN Red data list and (ii) Hot spots in conservation of biodiversity.

Explanation

(a) Alien species invasions : When alien species are introduced unintentionally or deliberatelt for whatever purpose, some of them turn invasive, and cause decline or extinction of indigenous species E.g. The recent illegal introduction of African catfish claries gariepinus for aqua culture purposes is posing a threat to the indigenous catfishes in our rivers.
Habit loss and fragmentation : The most important cause driving animals and plants to extinction. When large habitals are broken up into fragments due to various human activities, badly affected, leading to population declines.
For example , The Amazon rain forest harbouring probably millions of species is being cut and cleared for cultivating soya beans or for conversion to grasslands for raising beef cattle.
(b) The IUCN Red list is set upon precies criteria to evaluta the extinction risk of the thousands of species and sub-species. The role of IUCN (1996) Red data list are :
(i) to provide scientifically based information on status of species and subspecies at a global level,
(ii) todraw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity.
(iii) to conserve biological diversity.
Hot spot has been developed in 1988. Thses include the proteced areas rich in species which are under a constant threat of being ober exploited. There are 25 hot spots in the whole world and two are in India. These are ''The Eastern Himalays'' and ''The Western Ghats''.