Arathi Menon

1 week ago | hindi.mongabay.com | Arathi Menon

भारत में हाल ही में किए गए हाथियों के जीनोम अध्ययन ने उनकी आबादी, विविधता और इतिहास पर नई रोशनी डाली है। अध्ययन में देश में हाथियों की पांच अलग-अलग आनुवंशिक आबादी की पहचान की गई है, जिनकी विविधता का इतिहास 70,000 साल पुराना है। शोधकर्ताओं का कहना है कि इस अध्ययन के निष्कर्षों का उपयोग जनसंख्या अनुमान और मानव-हाथी संघर्षों को कम करने जैसे कई क्षेत्रों में किया जा सकता है। एशियाई हाथी देश में सबसे ज्यादा अध्ययन की जाने वाली प्रजातियों में से एक हैं। फिर भी, हर नया अध्ययन हाथियों की रहस्यमय...

1 week ago | scroll.in | Arathi Menon

With a Supreme Court order halting tree felling that has stalled the Telangana government plans to auction disputed forest land adjoining the University of Hyderabad, the state is now considering an ecopark in the area, even as citizen protests continue. The Kancha Gachibowli Forest or KGF, an open natural ecosystem with a mix of dry deciduous and wet deciduous forests, savannah, scrubland, rocky outcrops and more, is one of the few lung spaces remaining around Hyderabad city.

2 weeks ago | india.mongabay.com | Arathi Menon

The Telangana government moots an eco-park in place of the University of Hyderabad, in response to growing protests against the auctioning of the Kancha Gachibowli Forest. As Hyderabad’s urban sprawl accelerates, the city’s shrinking forest areas cause concern for environmentally-conscious citizens. The ongoing protests by students and faculty prompted intervention from the Supreme Court to halt the government’s attempt to take over the forest patch.

2 weeks ago | india.mongabay.com | Arathi Menon

A new study shows a decline in dragonfly and damselfly species diversity in and around Pune city. Rapid land-use change in the region and water pollution are found to be some of the reasons for this decline. A previous study from the region has shown damselflies to be more sensitive to local water quality than dragonflies. See All Key Ideas One doesn’t normally associate terms such as “armageddon” or “apocalypse” with tiny creatures like insects.

1 month ago | india.mongabay.com | Arathi Menon

The Insect Biosystematics and Conservation Lab in Bengaluru houses a huge collection of insects from ants and dung beetles to grasshoppers and parasitic wasps. The lab focuses on insect biosystematics, conservation biology, and studies on edible insects with a key focus on awareness building and education. Better conservation strategies including protecting natural green patches in urban areas are crucial in long-term survival of insect populations and their diversity.