More than a fifth of the world's migrating species are at risk of going extinct as a result of climate change and human encroachment, according to this report by the United Nations. Migratory species globally are facing critical challenges, with nearly half in decline and over 20 per cent threatened …
How easy is it to predict the potential of a plant to become invasive in a new habitat? When an alien species, be it a pest or a weed gets into another habitat, there is generally a time lag before it becomes invasive. Its introduction, as such is sudden and …
What are the modes of successful invasiveness? There have been some studies on recruitment of pollinators by lantana. When lantana invades as an invasive species into a native ecosystemit proliferates and increases its density and biomass. Consequently, there is a chance that it usurps the native pollinators from the native …
function alien2() { var popurl="image/20040229/30-illus.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=475,height=450,scrollbars=yes") } "A successful invasion is a rare event,' says Suresh Babu, a researcher at the School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi. An accepted thumbrule is that only one in 10 introduced species become naturalised, and only one in 10 among the latter actually …
70 years ago, a species called the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) turned up at the Christmas Islands off Australia, perhaps stuck to a piece of timber. For a long time, it remained dormant. Then in the mid 1990s, its population began to explode. Yellow crazy ants began to form …
In recent decades, wild boar numbers have increased worldwide. Wild boar can adapt to a wide range of habitats and foods and have the highest reproductive rate among ungulates. Therefore, wild boar can have a very substantial environmental impact and affect many ecosystem components. This paper summarises studies of the …
Land-use changes are transforming land-cover at an accelerating pace. These changes in terrestrial ecosystems also affect essential parts of our natural capital
It is the earth's final frontier. Antarctica, a gigantic mass of ocean-encased rocky islands south of the Antarctic Circle, is the earth's southern-most continent. There is no place colder or drier. Stark but majestic, uncompromisingly bleak but alluring, 98 per cent of the continent's 14 million kilometres (km) is sheathed …
On a hot June day in 1981 S Z Qasim, then environment secretary, reached out to answer a telephone. The caller was Indira Gandhi, the prime minister. The conversation was brief and to the point. "Can India reach Antarctica?' asked the prime minister. Qasim, who had only an academic knowledge …
A 1996 expert group report on the Indian Antarctic programme says: "The programme has so far been working in complete isolation with no substantial element of international cooperation. While actual attempts are being made by various countries through the aegis of SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) to join hands …
Desolate, cold, inhospitable, relegated to the backyards of exploration and knowledge. Antarctica did not emerge from this unfortunate fate till less than 100 years ago, before which, whalers and seafarers were its only visitors. Cartographers barely acknowledged its presence (or chose to ignore it altogether). And the first explorations, which …
Recently, researcher P P Dhyani carried out a successful revival of part of a religious forest that existed at Badrinath. He undertook to rehabilitate the badrivan (sacred grove) around the holy shrine of Badrinath Dham by planting saplings of tree species that originally grew there. These include Bhojpatra (Betula utilis), …
an unprecedented study may force certain countries to do some soul searching. Contrary to what a few policy makers advocate, the study reveals that high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (co2) can retard plant growth. The three-year study, conducted at the Stanford University, California, usa, is raising questions about a …
German scientists have recently discovered microorganisms deep under the sea that may help fight global warming. During their two-year research, scientists from Germany-based Hamburg University, the Alfred Wegener Institute and Max Planck Society researched on reef-forming microorganisms in the Black Sea at depths where no oxygen or light is present. …
Birds are one of the most valuable bioindicators and biomonitors in an ecosystem. The population levels of birds, their breeding practices and habit changes are being studied in a number of countries across the world. While a number of these studies are aimed at the conservation of birds, a substantial …
Emil Salim, chair of the global preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (wssd) and former Indonesian environment minister has urged India's Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to lead the delegation of the developing world in Johannesburg. He has, meanwhile, exhorted countries not to bow to the internal …
Between July 1997 and November 1997, forest fires on islands in Indonesia created smoke that spread over seven nations and was responsible for a plane crash in Sumatra and an oil vessel collision in the strait of Malacca due to low visibility. If there is a forest, there will be …
Biotech Sense China is heeding biotech warnings. It plans to introduce a law to regulate the use of biotechnology in agricultural production. This proposed law is intended to protect people's health and environment. It would ensure regular inspection of biotechnology methods to reduce harm on the ecosystem. The administration is …
