Nature / Environment – Page 4 – Global Records India

** New plant species of the genus Ophiorrhiza spotted in State

Researchers have come across a new plant species of the genus Ophiorrhiza, a group of plants valued for their medicinal uses, in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats region.

Researchers spotted the new species from the Adichilthotty colony, near Malakkapara, in Thrissur district during a plant exploration trip. It has been named Ophiorrhiza sasidharaniana after Prof. A. Sasidharan, former Botany Department head of the University College, Thiruvananthapuram.

The journal Annales Botanici Fennici, brought out by the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board, has published a paper on the discovery by researchers from the University of Kerala and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Palode.

Kerala / th

** Money spider, ant-mimicking spider discovered at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

Discovery by researchers of Christ College, Irinjalakuda

Money spiders, commonly found in European meadows, have been reported for the first time in the country from the Muthanga range of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. The species is called so as it is “believed to bring luck” to the person who comes in contact with it.

Researchers of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, have discovered the spider that belongs to the family of dwarf spiders ( Linyphiidae) under the genus Prosoponoides. It has been given the name Prosoponoides biflectogynus.

“Only six species of spiders belonging to this genus have been identified from across the world so far. It is the first report of this genus from India and hence no extensive studies have been conducted on this species of spiders in the country,” said Dr. Sudhikumar A.V., Head, Department of Zoology, Christ College.

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GLOBAL RECORDS: INDIA RECORDS: India-born Scientist & Conservation Biologist Kamal Bawa Elected to US National Academy of Sciences

Conservation biologist Kamal Bawa has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Kamal Bawa is president of the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) as well as an elected fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the American Philosophical Society.

“The election is a reaffirmation of our important work on the ecology, conservation, and management of tropical forests that are declining all over the world but are critical to humanity’s well-being,” said Dr. Bawa.

A few years ago, Dr. Bawa brought together scientists from India’s leading institutions to develop the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing under the banner of the Biodiversity Collaborative.

The effort was supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and is currently funded by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

** The Indian leg of the Great Backyard Bird Count records an impressive 1,017 species

Hobby birders and students collaborated with naturalists from across the country at the 10th edition of biggest four-day bird-o-thon and documented over 1000 bird species

A pair of bright yellow eyes stared right back at Angeline Mano, a 23-year-old birder, as she zoomed in with her binoculars. Angeline was at Stanley Reservoir in Salem, one of the largest fishing reservoirs in South India, documenting birds for the recently-concluded, annual Global Backyard Bird Count (GBCC). The bulky bird with a finely streaked breast, was a brown fish owl, perched on a branch just 10 metres away.

The India leg of the four-day event, coordinated by Bird Count India, allowed participants to count birds for as little as 15 minutes from a particular location. They upload their sightings online, on eBird (www.ebird.org/india), the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science platform.

** Thiruvananthapuram scientist generates electricity from tapioca leaves

Tapioca is in vogue in Kerala. First, the government created a buzz with its idea to make spirits from tapioca. Now, a scientist based in Thiruvananthapuram has developed a technique to produce electricity from its leaves. The concept of clean energy from cassava leaves — ‘Cassa Dipah’ — was a by-product of the biopesticide manufacturing process, said Dr C A Jayaprakas, principal scientist at the ICAR- Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) here.

The CTCRI has been engaged in biopesticide production from tapioca leaves for several years. With patented technology, the centre has developed three brands of biopesticides — ‘Nanma’, ‘Menma’ and ‘Shreya’.

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** VVCE students design low-cost cooling solution to keep fruits and vegetables fresh

The model requires the vendors to charge it once in a day at home

A low-cost cooling solution harnessing solar power to help vegetable vendors in keeping the perishable produce fresh has been designed by four students of Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering in Mysuru.

H.V.Naveen, Shubham Sain, S.Supreeth and Vivek Chandrashekar who took up the project are students of Mechanical Engineering branch and are in the sixth semester. The project addresses one of the major problems that vegetable vendors face every day: that of keeping the vegetables fresh when they are out in the market selling it under the scorching sun.

The students have designed the cart in such a way that the refrigeration of the cart can be maintained in a temperature range between 0 degree C and 10 degree C. Generally, a temperature in the range of 5 degree C to 10 degree C is required to keep the vegetables fresh. But the students have gone a step ahead and have extended the utility of the cart to help those selling diary products as well.

** Know Your City: How World War II pushed IMD’s headquarters from Pune to Delhi

The commencement of World War II in 1939 boosted meteorological operations, particularly those required for aviation services, and necessitated the closer presence of weather experts for aviation in Delhi.

Had the Second World War not broken out in 1939, Pune would probably have continued to be the headquarters of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for a longer period. In fact, it was only about a decade before the war – on April 1, 1928 – that Pune became the IMD’s headquarters.

As many as 74 meteorological observatories had been operational in British India, including some of the world’s oldest ones located in the then cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.

As meteorology developed in the country, the secretary of the state of India, after consulting several meteorologists in England , decided to appoint an Imperial Reporter tasked with supervising meteorological activities across India.

ie/first

** Humidity hurdle for NIT in world’s wettest place

NIT Meghalaya insiders are not sure if dehumidifiers, a tad extra in the construction budget, can save its laboratory equipment in the long run

Excessive rain in the wettest place on earth is expected to peg one of India’s youngest technological institutes back by ₹1-crore.

But the “extra expenditure” on dehumidifiers is the least of the worries for the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Meghalaya coming up on 306.6 acres at Sohra – Cherrapunji to the world beyond – at an estimated cost of ₹429.70-crore.

The heads of the institute, functioning from its temporary campus in Meghalaya capital Shillong since 2012, are not sure if the dehumidifiers can save its laboratory equipment in the long run.

The permanent complex, under construction for almost a decade, is about 55 km south of Shillong and 20 km north of India’s border with Bangladesh.

th/first

** Sri Lanka hands over three wind farm projects to India

Sri Lanka has decided to hand over to India the development of three wind farms that was originally awarded to a Chinese firm. The decision was announced on Tuesday, after a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed in the presence MEA S Jaishankar in Colombo.

The USD 12 million project, to be built on three small islands (Nainativu, Analaitivu and Delft) in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, was awarded to a Chinese firm in 2019, with funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB). India had been protesting against the project citing its proximity to its coast. Due to various reasons the work didn’t commence and the project had to be shelved.

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** Permanent Body constituted to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks

The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a “permanent” coordination committee that includes the Ministry of Railways and the Environment Ministry to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks , Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, said in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

Mr. Yadav said that 19 elephants were killed across the country on railway tracks in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and 12 in 2020-21. Several steps were taken to reduce the number of elephants deaths, the minister noted.