Introduction to the biodiversity of Taiwan

Abstract

This course is part of the "Exploring Taiwan" series courses at NTU and aimed for the introduction to the biodiversity in Taiwan. The course is conducted in English, in order to ease the learning for international students, and to provide an opportunity for local students to learn their own culture and surroundings in English.

Taiwan is a mountainous island with various habitats nursing many kinds of organisms. Although Taiwan is known for the high density of population, natural vegetation still covers around 68% of the entire island. About a quarter of the 4000 plant species are endemic, while over 50,000 animal species are known to Taiwan. There are 114 mammal species, 543 bird species, 99 reptiles, 38 amphibians, 2800 fish, and around 20,000 named insects in Taiwan. The rich biota in Taiwan largely owes to its diverse ecosystems, but it also reflects the complicate natural history of organisms originated from various neighboring regions, including East Asian continent, Japan, and South East Asia islands.

The course does not have a pre-requisite, but we highly recommend the students took some general biology courses, for basic biological terminology throughout the lectures. The content includes the introduction to the natural history of Taiwan, its flora and fauna, and also the exotic species and the conservation issues in Taiwan. The objective of this course is to provide an overview of the biodiversity in Taiwan, including plants, insects, and animals, in order to let the students know the beauty of Taiwan's biota.