El Nino effect: Mass death of marine species in Odisha
-
17/06/2016
-
Pioneer (Bhubaneswar)
EI Nino refers to warming of the eastern tropical Pacific, whichdisrupts the local climate and has a wider effect on general weatherpatterns. The opposite of this term is La-Nina. The La Nina implies tocooling of the eastern tropical Pacific, occurring in certain years.
“La Nina” also casts larger effects on local climate and on generalweather patterns.Both EI Nino and La Nina prevail in an interval of every 10 years.
There are various natural symptoms when EI Nano prevails in thegeneral climate of eastern tropical Pacific regions where India comeswithin its ambit. The death of large scale Jelly fish and Blue buttonfish including other planktonic plants and animals in Odisha coast maybe the clear indications of the activities of EI Nino in the easterntropical Pacific regions. Similarly, the death of several mammals likeDolphins and Whales, including Olive Ridley sea- turtles, is clearevidence of unsuitable climatic weather pattern of Indian Ocean. Theclimatic changes suggest that this year is the year of EI Nino and theyear of climatic hazards.
A very pretty senior retired forest officer was recently telling thewriter that about 12 years back while he was inspecting the coastalforests of Puri-Konark sea coast with other officials, he came acrosslarge scale casualties of calves of Dolphin. The reasons were notinvestigated into for then there was hardly any scope. Many studiesunder maritime sector are included in the Berhampur University thesedays; so the scope for investigation of large scale casualties ofJelly fish, Blue button Jelly fish, Dolphins, whales, Olive Ridleyturtles can be investigated for the safety of the marine biology. TheBlue button jelly fish is similar with Blue-bottle Jelly fish. Theyare not true Jelly fish but they are colonies of chondrophores.
The Blue button Jelly fish or Blue Bottle Jelly fish live by floatingon the surface of the sea. Such species are found in Atlantic,Australia and Indo-pacific regions. The Blue button Jelly fish consists of two main parts. The float part is golden brown and looksround and also is a flat body having one inch wide. The second part is‘Hydroid Colony’ which looks bright blue turquoise to yellow incolour. The hydroid is the tentacles, which make them look like jellyfish. There are a number of branchlets in a strand each of which endsin knobs of stinging cells called nematocysts. The blue button stingis not powerful but may cause irritation, when it comes in contactwith human skin. The life history of each marine creature should bestudied well, when the planktonic drifted creature like Blue buttonfish forms the primary link of the food chain of the marine ecosystems with other similar species sustaining the food web. There are avariety of Jelly fish in the marine ecological systems. The sea-wasp’sscientific name is “Chironex flecker” and it is known as Box Jelly fish or Box fish. This is one of the most poisonous sea creatures likethe stone fish. The stone fish, is a venomous tropical marine fishthat resembles a piece of rock on the sea bed. The other members ofmarine food-web is “star fish” or ‘sea stars”, which is scientificallyknown as echinoderms belonging to class Asteroidea. The masscasualties of Jelly fish and Blue button fish also invite the massdeath of star fish, when the ecological environ of the marine systemsrun unsustainably. The star fish is also profusely available in our Bay of Bengal and in Indian Ocean in general.
The peculiarity of Blue button Jelly fish are it feeds on dead or living organisms, normally eats fish eggs, small fish, larvae or zooplankton. The Blue button fish release both eggs and sperms into thewater for the eggs to be fertilized by the sperms. They develop intolarvae that subsequently metamorphose in to individual polyps. A Bluebutton colony forms when one polyp divides itself to form new types ofpolyps which become specialized for different functions.
The Blue button Jelly fish plays an important role in food web. Theyare prey of several organisms. The Blue-button fish feeds on bothliving and dead organisms. The Blue button has a single mouth located beneath the float, which is used for both intake of foods and expulsion of waste. The Blue button is also known as stinger Blue bottle fish. This species is also found drifting near the surface of the bay water of lagoons, and estuaries, and also found moving with the winds currents and tides of the ocean. They often come ashore in bad weather. Its body physiology is quite surprising. Its rounded hard float is almost flat with stringing of Hydroid surrounding. They feed on zoo plankton. There are other types of Jelly fish like “Lion’s mane
Jelly fish”, which is scientifically known as Cyanea capillata. TheLion’s Mane Jelly fish is the largest Jelly fish in the world.Similarly, another fish known as Butterfly fish is also noticed in theoceanic food web. Unless the food webs of nature are not allowed to work properly by man, the scientific management of oceanic ecosystemis not possible. This invites various ecological hazards like massdeath of oceanic creatures.
There are some species of fish, which live in the ocean at a depth of over 1,000 metres; where sunlight does not reach; and is completelydark. But many of the fish species have their own “search- lights” tocollect their food. In marine biology, there is a fish calledporcupine fish, which blows its body up like a balloon to spine out the sticks to protect it from its predators. Besides the above creatures, there are small other animals in the surface of the ocean,who sustain the food chain activities of marine biosphere. Suchanimals are sword fish, thorn back-ray fish, codfish, hatchet fish, giant squid, Gulpereels, prawns, anglerfish. There are about 14, 000 different kinds of fish in the oceans other than land. The specimen of each one should be preserved with details of their biological behaviours for academic purposes.
From very outside the live resources of an ocean or sea cannot beknown or assessed, but when we make an in depth study of our vastwater planet the real picture come to us. Not only animals, but alsoin-numerable plants are seen with in the marine ecological systems.
Ranging from tiny animal to the biggest animal like Blue whale arenoticed and present within the oceanic biosphere. The world’s biggestanimal is the Blue whale. Some of the common species as we see in ourday to day lives are stated, because these species are generallycaught in the fishing nets and fishing boats and mechanized trawlers.
In every moment, man destroys the vast oceanic resources without anyreason. Such animals include: Dolphin, penguins, whales, porpoises, shark, Jelly fish, turtles, sea weeds, flying fish, gulls, swordfish, mullet, shoal of anchovies, octopus, mackerel, coral, cuttlefish, hatchet fish, angler fish, luminous shrimps and so on and so forth.
Our destructive way of lives greatly damages the eco system in theland mass and also in vast water bodies of this planet. This planet isnot alone for man. There are organisms which give distinctive colourto water body of the ocean. For example, in the Red Sea, millions oftiny red plants of Algae grow in the water during summer. This ecological name given to Red Sea attracts the tourists. The action of nature is quite amazing. Altogether different types of lives are seenin tide pools than deep sea and in surface water or even in the oceanfloor and shallow estuarine lands. Several water pools are created in the uneven lands of tidal areas where the temperature of the pool water is controlled by the splashing effect of tides. The temperature of this region is always maintained up to 21 degree centigrade. The suitable vegetations and animals create different eco-system within this regime. Now human made EI Nino is more fatal than nature made.