The concept of High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs) is not very widely documented or known. General knowledge is never bad, so I went ahead and complied a list of questions that I think will give you a cursory knowledge of what these areas are and why they are […]
Ecosystems of the world provide a multitude of services to human society. Any benefit we derive from ecosystems comprise of these services. They are categorized under different names like provisioning services (photosynthesis, soil formation), supporting services (agriculture, timber and any other product that is natural derived), cultural services […]
Have you ever wondered why dogs and humans reproduce very differently? Why a dog litter is so big – often up to 7-8 pups – while humans rarely give birth to more than 1 child at a time? Well, there is a reason for it. This has to […]
When India was a newly formed country, just free from the clutches of the British Raj, decisions had to be made about what animals would be the symbol of our country. The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) was a strong contender for being claimed as the National Bird of […]
The populations of different species in an ecosystem is an important parameter of that ecosystem. It determines how long the ecosystem can survive, how stable it can remain in times of environmental stresses and how many different species it can support within it. If the population becomes too […]
Evolution, driven by “survival of the fittest”, allows the best, most suited organisms to survive in an environment. These organisms are “fit” and survive because of a behavioral or physical trait that makes them superior to other competing individuals or species. But what does being “fit” really mean? […]
I’m sure every child was once fascinated by the knowledge that the rings on a tree trunk can tell it’s age. The very fact that the age of a tree can be recorded this way used to be unreal, and to actually count the rings of a cut […]
Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks are two of the most common forms of conservation and protection of wildlife. In India, there are 103 National Parks (with a few proposed) and 537 wildlife sanctuaries (source), out of a total of 733 protected areas. While both serve the purpose of […]
As I write this, autumn has just passed us by. Every autumn, we see a spectacle of colors all around us. In most temperate regions, leaves change into many different colors. Then, they fall off. The only irritating thing about autumn is the fallen leaves. It can clog […]
(This is the third post in the “feedback loops” series) Ever used a bad eraser in your life? One that has been used so much that it’s become completely black? What happens when you erase something with that eraser? Instead of cleanly removing everything you have written on […]
