Rhythm of Nature

Migratory Birds Being Haunted. . .

2012-02-20T15:10:00.000+05:30

Migratory birds are the real travellers in our Earth. They travel thousands of kilometres over the oceans and continents. In terms of the distance covered, Arctic Tern is the longest traveller. The most interesting feature of all migratory birds is that their journey is precisely scheduled, and never go wrong in their way. But how they attain this wonderful ability? This is still a subject under study, and many controversial opinions exist among the scientists. Some believe that the birds make use of the position of Sun and stars, Earth’s magnetism, climate and so on. Anyway, migratory bird are really a reference for weather and climate. The Director of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Global Climate Change Program, Hans Verolme once said, “birds have long been used as indicators of environmental change.”

Flock of Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) - Kerala

But the results of recent surveys conducted on migratory birds are worrying. The Travancore Natural History Society and the Kottayam Nature Society jointly conducted a bird survey in Ashtamudi and Sasthamkotta lakes in Kollam district, Kerala. The results revealed that there is a considerable drop in the number of migratory birds coming to these lakes. The affected ones include cormorants, Brahminy kites, black kites and so on. See the report came on ‘The Hindu’ website.

The reason is probably the pollution of the water bodies, by dumping poultry wastes. Ashtamudi lake is the biggest freshwater lake in Kerala. Both the lakes, Ashtamudi and Sasthamkotta are considered as Ramsar sites by the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar sites are wetlands of international importance. Wetlands are important habitats for a wide variety of species and unfortunately, these are being destructed alarmingly. There are 25 such Ramsar sites in India. The list of Ramsar sites in India is given in Wikipedia. Ramsar Convention is a treaty that was signed in 1971 at Ramsar in Iran. You can also visit the Ramsar website.

Flock of Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) - Kerala

The birds are affected not only by the destruction of habitats and by pollution alone. Here is another example that I read . . . Rann of Kutch in Gujarat district is a major location where Flamingos are spotted every year. Its marshy lands are good breeding sites for Flamingos. But last year, around 139 poor Flamingos were killed. See. . . how incidents are occurring. . . ! ! ! This happened by hitting the overhead electric cables, when they made their flight during night, as they couldn’t notice the cables. These cables were set up recently to lit the nearby villages. Electricity is necessary and could not be spared. As a solution, the authorities are thinking of laying underground cables instead of overhead, to avoid such tragedies in future.

The misfortunes that are haunting these birds in different forms is alarming and something has to be done seriously to save them, otherwise we will have to hear news about more numbers being added to the extinct list. . .

Evening Splendour

2012-02-15T23:45:00.001+05:30

The evening sky and its fascinating colors are always a soothing experience for us. There will not be anyone who had not experienced the pleasure of watching its magnificence and beauty.
Here I am giving some of the photos that I took.

One More to the Biodiversity of Andamans

2012-02-12T17:48:00.000+05:30

Now,one more golden feather has been added to the rich bio diversity of Andaman andNicobar islands. A new earthworm species is discovered near Port Blair, capitalof Andaman and Nicobar.

Andamanand Nicobar islands, one of the seven union territories of India, situated inBay of Bengal, to the south – east of Indian mainland, is really blessed withwide varieties of flora and fauna. About 2200 varieties of plants have beendiscovered so far and a variety of fauna too. Most of these cannot be seen inthe Indian mainland.

Moniligaster ivaniosi - A sketch

Thenew species was identified by a group of researchers from Thirvananthapuram.The team consisted of Jaya Manazhy and Aja Manazhy, senior research scholars,Zoology Department, Mar Ivanios College, guided by K. Vijayakumaran Nair.Thesamples were collected by Oommen V Oommen, scientist from CSIR Emeritus, andAssistant Professor K. Ramachandran. The earthworm is named after the collegeas Moniligaster ivaniosi. The researches were published in the Canadianjournal, Megadrilogica.

Areport about this came in ‘The Hindu’ daily on January 11, 2012. Click the linkgiven below to read the report from ‘The Hindu’ website.

The Hindu : New earthworm species discovered in Port Blair

WWF - A Great Move Towards Environment Protection

2012-02-02T23:27:00.002+05:30

Photo by : Abhinav R

The history of World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) actually begins with another organization, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). IUCN came up in 1948 with the aim of environment protection, and its members were mainly scientists. But due to financial crisis, its existence became so difficult that its members itself thought of another professional organization. Thus, on September 11, 1961, WWF get registered as an organization. The masterminds behind the foundation of WWF were Peter Scott, Max Nicolson and Julian Huxley. And Peter Scott was selected as its first chairman. From there onwards he became the pulse of the organization’s activities. Now WWF’s activities are spread across more than 130 nations and also have more than 30 lakhs of members.

The official logo of WWF is a Giant Panda. The organization got this idea from Chi – Chi, a Giant Panda that came to the London Zoo. Since it was a rare species and was endangered, they decided it as their logo. The famous logo was designed by Peter Scott, from the sketches of Chi –Chi drawn by Jerald Watterson.

The activities of WWF are wide ranging. It had launched a project named ‘Operation Tiger’ for the protection of tigers in Indian forests. WWF also undertook many projects for protecting rhinoceros, blue whale, pandas, and various other activities for saving rainforests, wetlands etc.

Visit the website of WWF

Join the move:

WWF - Act Now - Be the Voice for Those Who Have No Voice

Get Free Wallpapers and E - Cards from WWF website

Action Against Unauthorized Land Excavation - A Local News

2012-01-29T21:16:00.000+05:30

Here I am giving a local news from Kerala, that I read from a Malayalam daily.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that that the Government will take immediate steps to stop unauthorized land excavations. He also added that strict actions will be taken against those officers from revenue and police departments, who support such unauthorized activities. The Minister was replying on a complaint put forward by the Congress Constituency Committee, which demanded banning the destructive land excavations and the reckless driving of trucks carrying the excavated soil. The complaint demanded banning these activities in the 12 panchayats of Kaduthuruthy constituency and Kallara panchayat. The complaint was given under the leadership Kaduthuruthy and Uzhavoor Block Committees.

Land excavation: Only an illustration

These activities which destroy the environmental balance were very much popular in the regions like Peruva, Arunoottimangalam, Matathipparambu, Njeezhoor, Kappunthala, Vilayamkotu, Muttuchira, Arunashery, Thiruvampadi, Kooveli etc…

Impacts of land excavation

Because of the unregulated land excavations, even giant hills are getting vanished within days. This also results in the under-ground water level to fall rapidly. Moreover, it also helps soil erosion as land become deserted and trees are also uprooted in the process. It also badly affects the natural water springs. Thus it may finally leads to drought in the area. It seriously affects farming, as the fertility of soil also decreases.

Conclusion

Anyway, it is a good move from the side of the authorities, and more actions should be taken against any activities that distract environmental balance, such as dumping wastes here- and –there, plastic burning etc. . .

Snake With Horns !

2012-01-19T22:29:00.003+05:30

Have you heard about a snake with horns? Then such a new snake species - probably the second one - has been discovered in a remote place in Tanzania, Eastern Africa.

Its horns are just above the eyes. The snake is about 2.1 feet long, and its body is black and yellow in colour. It is named after the daughter of Tim Davenport, as Atheris matildae or Matilda’s horned viper, reported by Discovery News. Tim Davenport is the Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania. And he is one among the researchers who discovered the snake.

The newly discovered snake resembles Atheris ceratophora or Usambara bush viper, which is believed to be the only horned snake discovered before. But Atheris matildae is larger in size and has some other small differences compared to Atheris ceratophora. The researchers who discovered the snake gave their findings in a journal named Zootaxa on December 6, 2011. They believe that the snake’s horns might be protecting their eyes or might be performing various other functions.

Anyway, it is nice to hear that a new species has been discovered, because in this era we are mostly hearing about extinction of species…

Are Dams Dangerous to Seas?

2012-01-13T16:35:00.003+05:30

From historic times on wards, dams had helped humans a lot. There are evidences of dams across rivers built by Indians and Egyptians even 6000 years ago. Most of these were for irrigation and agricultural purposes. And now, in this modern era, these gigantic structures are not used for irrigation and agriculture alone, these are mainly used for hydro electric power generation.

But now a question arises. Are dams posing a threat to the sea life? Yes, the answer is absolutely yes. Let us see how it is so.

Dams are actually obstacles arose in the path of rivers. These structures block the natural flow of the river. Thus the rivers become unable to freely attain its destination – sea. Never think that the seas will run out of water due to this. But studies show that this can make seas life-less. It will affect the healthy existence of the aquatic eco-system to a great extent.

A few years back, Hamburg university in Germany made detailed study on this topic.As dams partially stop the rivers and raise the water level, the essential salts and minerals are also blocked and get settled down in the reservoir bed. And the aquatic organisms, which live by consuming the minerals and organic materials coming from the rivers, are the poor victims.

To support their observations, the scientists of Hamburg University made a study in the river Danube – the second largest in Europe, which flows through ten countries – Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, and finally reaches the Black Sea. The results they got were startling. They found that many aquatic species in the Black Sea became extinct after the arrival of the dam in the Danube in 1970. Moreover, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous reaching the sea decreases considerably. And the quantity of silicate settled in the reservoir is something more than 120 lakh tonne! If there was no such dam, all these silicates should have reached the Black Sea. There are some controversies existing against these observations. Let it be there.

Anyway, it is sure that all these dams – whether it be across Danube, Nile, or it be Idukki dam or Bhakra Nangal dam – will significantly affect the life of seas and oceans.

Don’t think that the aquatic lives are the only victims. Humans are also not spared. These gigantic structures that hold huge quantity of water are actually acting as a ‘water-bomb’. The people living in the downstream areas are actually scared. A few days ago, the dam across river Muriae in Brazil had burst and thousands became homeless.

Of course, dams are made for the convenience of human and helped us a lot. But we are also responsible to make sure that the activities that we call as ‘Developments’ are not causing ‘Destruction’ on the other side. Also, just remember that this Earth is not for humans alone. The Earth has so many other inhabitants.

Flowers. . .Flowers. . .

2012-01-06T15:19:00.001+05:30

Here are some of the flowers, that I have seen and photographed, from my household and nearby areas.

1. Rosy periwinkle:

Rose flower with five petals. Its botanical name is Catharanthus roseum. In Malayalam, it is known as ‘ushamalari’, ‘nithyakalyani’ etc.

2. Dwarf white orchid:

White flower with five petals. Its leaves have two tips. The leaves remain folded during night and open during day time. Botanical name is Bahinia acuminate. It is known as ‘mandaram’ in Malayalam.

3. White ginger lily:

White flower known for its extra-ordinary fragrance. The plant have long leaves. Botanical name is Hedychium coronarium. It is known as ‘kalyana saugandhikam’ in Malayalam.

4. Spurred butterfly pea:

Light violet flower. Its botanical name is Centrosema pubescens. Known as ‘kattupayar’ in Malayalam.

5. 'Touch–me–not' plant:

An important and interesting feature of this plant is that its leaves get folded if anything touches it. That it why it got the name ‘touch-me-not’. Its light rose colouredflower has spikes arising from all around. Its botanical name is Mimosa pudica. Known as ‘thottavati’ in Malayalam.

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'Green' Car On The Way

2011-12-20T11:06:00.001+05:30

All of us know that air pollution, which is responsible for the dangerous climatic changes, is the major problem faced today, and automobiles running on fossil fuels being the main culprits, as its exhausts contain large amount of pollutants. So it is high time to give up these fossil fuel vehicles. Electric cars, which are completely pollution free, is a solution for this. Technology in this area is also fast developing. Hopefully, many automobile manufacturers are taking interest to produce electric cars commercially. Nissan Leaf is a good example.

Now there is another ray of hope. Imagine a car that runs solely by air stored in it. No need of petrol, diesel, electricity or any other energy sources. A company in Luxembourg has developed such a car. Researches are still continuing to produce it commercially. And Tata Motors acquired the right for the production of such cars in India.

This technology of air car is invented by the French scientist Guy Negre in 1991,and an institution named Motor Development International (MDI) was formed for it. But most of the car manufacturing companies are still doubtful about the technology and are not taking interest in it. Tata Motors is an exception.

Now, take a look at its working. The main component of the car is fibre tank in which air is stored under very high pressure. The air coming out of the tank in very high speed moves the piston of the engine. When the high pressure air comes out of the tank, it cools down. This cool air is used for the air conditioning system also. The cool air can again be heated up by making use of the atmospheric temperature, thus attaining maximum efficiency.

As there is no internal combustion, there is no air pollution also, making it a ‘green’ car. The car has a maximum speed of 110 kmph, and once filled with air, it can run up to 300 kilometres. Directly filling the tank with air takes 2 – 3 minutes. Otherwise plug the car on electricity, so that the compressor of the car can fill the tank in 3- 4 hours.

Until now, there is no official statement from Tata Motors about the production of air cars. But we can expect that these eco – friendly cars will rule the roads tomorrow.

Bamboo - An Extraordinary 'Tree'

2011-12-12T12:54:00.000+05:30

Natural resources form the basis of almost all developments made by human beings. But unfortunately, his greed forced him to over-exploit and destroy these valuable resources. In the rat race, man even forgot the importance of nature. Take the case of forests and trees itself. To meet his selfish requirements, man began cutting trees ruthlessly. All of us know how seriously it has affected our ecosystem and nature. Here comes the importance of Bamboos. This versatile plant has a major role to play. It can serve all the purposes of a tree and even more! Thus our trees can be saved. So bamboo can be considered as tomorrow’s ‘tree’.

Bamboo

Bamboos are found in almost all parts of the world except in Europe. However, it is seen in abundance in South East Asian Countries. As a whole, there are around 1250 different species of bamboos in about 75 categories. Bamboo is actually a type of grass. It comes under the family of Poaceae. The growth rate of bamboo is astonishing. It can even grow at the rate of four centimetres per hour. It gets matured in 3 to 4 years.

Bamboo is one of the most useful plants in the world. Since it grows very fast, it can be easily grown and utilized, comparing to other trees. So other trees can be saved from felling down and thus helps in avoiding deforestation. China is the leading nation in growing and making use of bamboos. They call bamboo as the ‘friend of human’. India, Japan, Vietnam etc are also just behind China in growing and using bamboo effectively.

The main use of bamboo is that it can serve as a building material. It is used for the construction of buildings and even for making long bridges. There is a521 metre long bridge in China, which is made entirely with bamboo. Bamboo can be transformed to a hi-tech building material with the help of modern processing techniques. It can be used in flooring, roofing, building walls etc. It can be used to reinforce concrete replacing steel and iron. Remember that iron mines are fast depleting. If properly treated, it can even replace concrete and will be 5 times stronger than the latter. Such buildings made of bamboos will be earth quake resistant also. The most significant thing to be noted is that it is highly eco- friendly. While other timber trees usually take 20 years, 30 years or even more to get matured, our bamboo will take only 3 or 4 years. That is why it is viewed as tomorrow’s ‘tree’, as mentioned earlier.

Bamboo shoot and bamboo grain are used as food in various parts of the world. Its leaves, roots and bark have high medicinal value. Bamboo has various other uses too . . . It is used in making musical instruments like flute, making furniture, handicrafts, small boats, paper making and so on, which is perhaps uncountable. Even the body of automobiles can be manufactured after proper processing.

So, Bamboo is an “All-Purpose, All-Round Gift” of nature, and we should become more aware of it. Its proper use will be a step towards environment protection also.

Hope that Bamboos help us to move in unison with the Nature.