572 research outputs found
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Ecology and Conservation Genetics of nyctibatrachusspp in Central Western Ghats
No full textThere are more than 7000 species of amphibians across the world. Yet among vertebrates, they are the highest to be threatened with extinction (Collins 2010). As compared to the historical extinction rate, the current extinction rate of amphibians is 200 times higher. Amphibians are thus considered to be the indicators for the biodiversity loss (Roelants et al., 2007).
A number of factors have been reported to be responsible for amphibian decline such as habitat fragmentation (Cushman 2006), UV radiation (Blaustein et al., 1994), climate change (Pound et al., 1999) and disease (Briggs et al., 2005). Among these factors, habitat fragmentation has been the leading cause of amphibian population decline (Collins 2010). Fragmentation alters the existing habitats of amphibians making them vulnerable to extinction. Amphibians are known to be poor dispersers and habitat fragmentation like agriculture or roads can reduce their dispersal abilities (Cushman 2006). Agriculture can affect frog assemblages (Beja and Alcazar 2003) and roads can lead to mortality (Carr and Fahrig 2001) particularly during breeding seasons when frogs move across habitats for mating. Dispersal is an important factor that determines the persistence of populations. Low dispersal leads to depauperated genetic diversity due to inbreeding which could lead to lower fitness and viability of the populations (Waldman and Tocher 1998). For amphibians, such studies estimating genetic diversity and fitness are considered to be more useful for their conservation (Storfer et al., 2009)
A first compilation of harrier roost counts from India suggests population declines of wintering birds over 30 years
No full textThe Indian subcontinent is a major wintering area for many migrant birds from Central Asia and Russia and has experienced unprecedented landscape changes over the last two decades. The effects of these changes on the population of bird communities, especially on raptors, are unknown or poorly assessed.
Migrant harriers Circus spp. that require large open grassland, savannahs or sparse scrubland to roost and forage in their wintering quarters, have become
scarce in recent times. The species composition and abundance of harriers at historically documented roost sites, when monitored across years, can provide
valuable information on their demographic status since data from their possible breeding locations in Russia is not readily available. Here, we collate published
and unpublished information on various harrier roosts using predefined protocols to assess trends in the counts of harriers in protected and unprotected sites
across the Indian subcontinent. Harrier counts across all sites, both protected and unprotected, showed a declining trend over the period 1985–2015. Limited species-specific data from two sites show a significant decline in Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus but not in Pallid Harrier C. macrourus and Montagu’s Harrier C. pygargus. These may be early signs of population declines at a continental scale, and we urge the development of more robust systematic ways, along with the current method, to monitor harrier populations. There is a need for
improvement of international collaborations with researchers in the breeding areas to conduct studies on long range migrants and to set up a national conservation
plan to protects harriers and grasslands
Smoke in the woods
Full text linkGovernment policy documents are statements of goals, priorities and strategies. If old strategies have failed or
circumstances have changed, they should be revised. Given that our Forest Policy was last revised in 1988, changes are
perhaps overdue. The new draft Forest Policy 2018, however, ignores the lessons from this period and returns to the
state-managed forestry of the 1950s, but with a neoliberal twist
Mechanism of Resistance to Camptothecin, a Cytotoxic Plant Secondary Metabolite, by Lymantria sp. Larvae
No full textCamptothecin (CPT), a monoterpene indole alkaloid, is a potent inhibitor of eukaryotic topoisomerase I (Top 1). Because of this property, several derivatives of CPT are widely used as chemotherapeutic agents. The compound is produced by several plant species, including Nothapodytes nimmoniana (Family: Icacinaceae) presumably as a deterrent to insect pests. Here, we report, a
lepidopteran larva, Lymantria sp. of Lymantriidae family which feeds voraciously on the leaves of N. nimmoniana, without any adverse consequences. Larval body weight and molting period were unaffected despite captive feeding of the larva with CPT enriched leaves. Mass spectrometric analysis indicated that nearly 46% of the ingested CPT was excreted while the rest was sequestered predominantly in the exuviae and setae (~35%). Although most of the CPTwas in the parental form as found in the plant, traces of inactive, sulfated forms of CPT were recovered from the larva. Compared to that in plant, there were no critical mutations at the CPT binding domain of the insect’s Top 1. The gut pH of the larva was alkaline (pH 10.0). The alkaline gut environment converts CPT from its active, lactone form to inactive, carboxylate form. It is likely that such conversion might help the larva to reduce the overall burden of CPT in its gut. We discuss the results in the context of the mechanisms of resistance adapted by insects to plant toxins
Adapting to climate change in rapidly urbanizing river basins: insights from a multiple-concerns, multiple-stressors, and multi-level approach
No full textMuch of the research on climate change adaptation in rapidly urbanizing developing regions focuses primarily on adaptation or resilience as the goal, assumes that climate change is the major stressor, and focuses on the household or the city as the unit of analysis. In this article, we use findings from two rapidly urbanizing
sub-basins of the Cauvery River in southern India (the Arkavathy and Noyyal sub-basins) to argue for a broader analytic and policy framework that explicitly considers multiple normative concerns and stressors, and uses the entire watershed as the unit of analysis to address the climate–water interaction
Species richness and distribution of ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) alongan elevational gradient in the eaglenest wildlife sanctuary(Arunachal Pradesh, India)
No full textSome of the most basic questions in ecology are 'How are ecological communities assembled and maintained?' and 'Why are there more species in some communities than others?'. Elevational gradients offer interesting opportunities for answering these questions due to highly heterogeneous environmental conditions across small geographic extent. The magnitude of variation across elevations in climate as well as species communities, parallels that across latitudes, but lends itself more easily to studies using primary data. Therefore, elevation becomes a proxy variable for a large number of potential mechanisms driving ecological patterns. This makes understanding patterns in species communities across elevations an important objective in ecology
Deciphering forest change: Linking satellite-based forest cover change and community perceptions in a threatened landscape in India
No full textGlobal conservation efforts have traditionally focused on biodiversity hotspots and other priority landscapes. However, large areas outside priority sites have high conservation value and are referred to as neglected landscapes. The Eastern Ghats of India is an unexplored forest landscape of high conservation value with several endemic and threatened species reported, and is also home to many indigenous forest-dwelling communities. However, it remains a neglected area for conservation and only 3.53% of this landscape is protected. Here, we examine the effectiveness of protected areas in neglected landscapes in preventing forest degradation, and how community perceptions can be used to understand satellite-based landscape change analyses at the village level. This study was conducted in Papikonda National park (PNP) and its unprotected buffers in India’s Eastern Ghats. Forest degradation was higher in the buffer (32%) than inside PNP (12%) between 1991 and 2014. Communities
attributed shifting cultivation, plantations and overextraction of forest resources as being the major drivers of forest degradation. Community observations of change were not significantly correlated with spatial measures of change. Forest degradation was higher outside the PA at a landscape level and inside the PA at the village level, therefore the PA was effective in reducing degradation at the landscape level but not at the village level inside the PA. We further discuss the role of community observations in interpreting forest degradation in neglected forest landscapes
Authentication of Garcinia fruits and food supplements using DNA barcoding and NMR spectroscopy
Full text linkGarcinia L. (Clusiaceae) fruits are a rich source of (−)-hydroxycitric acid, and this has gained considerable attention as an anti-obesity agent and a popular weight loss food supplement. In this study, we assessed adulteration of morphologically similar samples of Garcinia using DNA barcoding, and used NMR to quantify the content of (−)-hydroxycitric acid and (−)-hydroxycitric acid lactone in raw herbal drugs and Garcinia food supplements. DNA barcoding revealed that mostly G. gummi-gutta (previously known as G. cambogia) and G. indica were traded in Indian herbal markets, and there was no adulteration. The content of (−)-hydroxycitric acid and (−)-hydroxycitric acid lactone in the two species varied from 1.7% to 16.3%, and 3.5% to 20.7% respectively. Analysis of ten Garcinia food supplements revealed a large variation in the content of (−)-hydroxycitric acid, from 29 mg (4.6%) to 289 mg (50.6%) content per capsule or tablet. Only one product contained quantifiable amounts of (−)-hydroxycitric
acid lactone. Furthermore the study demonstrates that DNA barcoding and NMR could be effectively used as a regulatory tool to authenticate Garcinia fruit rinds and food supplements
Vegetation Structure and Prioritizing Plants for Eco-Restoration of Degraded Wildlife Corridor in Dry Tropical Forest of South India
Full text linkWildlife corridors are critical to manage wildlife and maintain ecological processes. However, they are fragmented and degraded due to various anthropogenic activities.
Fragmentation in turn affects population viability of species by affecting their dispersal, re-colonization and genetic exchanges. But the process can be reversed through restoration and management of ‘functional corridors’. So far in the forestry sector, monoculture plantations are known to be the ideal reforestation/afforestation strategy to restore degraded landscape but experts argue that monoculture plantations have failed to recover former biological diversity. Therefore, for successful eco-restoration, first, the regional plant stock has to be identified and then suitable plant species have to be prioritized. The habitat enrichment through assisted vegetation method in the degraded wildlife
corridors can improve green cover and also bring back the original vegetation. The study was conducted in the Edeyarahalli-Doddasampige wildlife corridor area, which is
part of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India. The vegetation was enumerated through transect and quadrate method. The vegetation structure was
analyzed and ten suitable native plant species were prioritized for eco-restoration. The priority was given based on site condition and socio-ecological importance of the plants such as trees with timber value, non-timber forest products, nectar source for honey bees and also food source for elephants. At a time of unprecedented forest destruction, the interventions made through this line of research would not only improve the habitat
quality but also increase the functionality of wildlife corridors by providing safe passage for animals’ movement. In addition to this, convergence of local multistakeholders and their responsibility needs to be explored toward eco-restoration process
From lakes as urban commons to integrated lake-water governance:The case of Bengaluru's urban water bodies
No full textAcross rapidly urbanizing South Asia, erstwhile irrigation tanks or “lakes” are being swallowed into towns and cities and being given new meaning as providers of environmental amenities. The campaigns in Bengaluru city in southern India to protect and rejuvenate these lakes have managed to stave off the conversion and also privatization of these lakes, and led to participatory management of a few of them.
Most lakes, however, are still degraded. Why this is so and what institutional arrangements might improve
the chances of success in lake governance? Drawing upon a combination of secondary material, key informant interviews, and year-long participant observation in governmental efforts at stemming lake degradation in Bengaluru, we seek to deepen current understanding of the values associated with lakes, their bio-social nature, and the roles played by and interactions between key actors and agencies. We argue that a) the societal stakes in lakes extend beyond local users of the lake itself, whether traditional or modern, to users of water downstream and in other parts of Bengaluru; b) there are significant trade-offs between different uses and an inherent asymmetric and broader connectivity resulting from the flow of water and wastewater, and c) therefore the governance of these lakes not only needs participation of local citizens, but also coordination between and democratic control over several other agencies that are involved in managing water and wastewater and in allocating water or regulating its quality. We explore alternative institutional arrangements that might better address this need for an integrated urban lakewater governance