Biodiversity can be defined as "the variety of all life on Earth, including ecosystem diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity".

In 1988, Dr Norman Myers, an environmental scientist, first identified ten biodiversity “hotspots” which were characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss. 

In 1989, Conservation International, a non-profit organisation which uses science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity, adopted Myers’ hotspots as its institutional blueprint. In 1990 a further eight hotspots were added to the list.

To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 endemic vascular plant species; and it has to have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat. 

Currently, there are 34 biodiversity hotspots found across every continent except Antarctica.

The South-West Australia Biodiversity Hotspot

The south-west of Australia is a designated biodiversity hotspot covering over 350,000 km2.

Of the 24 threatened species in this hotspot, Perth Zoo is involved in the breeding and/or husbandry of  the:

• White-bellied Frog,
• Orange-bellied Frog,
• Sunset Frog,
• Malleefowl,
• Carnaby's Cockatoo,
• Western Quoll (Chuditch), 
• Dibbler,
• Numbat,
• Quokka,
• Gilbert’s Potoroo,
• Woma,
• Lancelin Island Skink and
• Western Swamp Tortoise.

For more information on Biodiversity Hotspots, visit www.biodiversityhotspots.org.