Category: Environment
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Why Fireflies use bioluminescence?
Fireflies are winged beetles with light-producing organs called photic organs located in the lower part of their abdomen Bioluminescence in fireflies serves several purposes – to attract mates, to lure prey and in larvae, the light serves as a warning to predators not to eat them because they contain distasteful toxic chemicals. Firefly light is…
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Why Comb Jellies use bioluminescence?
Comb Jellies are fascinating creatures that have special features- rows of ‘comb’ with hair-like structures called cilia, evenly spaced around their bodies. The organism uses these cilia like oars to swim in the water. Comb jellies are known for generating dramatic rainbows of colours along the comb-rows while swimming. But that’s not bioluminescence- it occurs…
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Why fungi use bioluminescence?
More than 70 species of mushrooms are bioluminescent. Some of them light up only at night. As the temperature drops when the sun sets, the fungi begin to glow. Scientists believe fungi such as mushrooms, glow in order to attract insects. Insects are drawn to the mushrooms, which crawl around them. They pick up the…
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Did you know some organisms emit light to communicate, to defend themselves against predators and to lure prey and to mate?
Sunlight does not penetrate 200 ft below the ocean’s surface, so the deep sea is essentially a cold, dark place. But if you dive underwater and go deep down, you may witness a blue-green glow here or a ghostly flicker there. And if you are lucky or a ghostly flicker there. And if you are…
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What is the current issue with sea urchins along the California coast?
California has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. On the one side, this U.S. State has been fighting a series of wildfires that have destroyed acres of forests and displaced thousands of people. On the other, it’s facing threat from the explosion of a marine species called the purple sea urchin. These…
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What’s the EIA draft 2020?
Seeking ti replace the 2006-version of the law, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change unveiled the draft to the public in March 2020, a day before the COVID-19 lockdown was put in the place. The new draft has drawn criticism from environmentalists and experts across the country. They allege that many provisions…
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What was recently found in the ocean?
Scientists discovered a new species of marine creature in the deepest trench on Earth. In a normal scenario, this would have called for celebration. But this situation isn’t normal. Because the researchers also identified plastic in its body. The amphipod is just two inches long and was caught at a depth of 20,000 feet in…
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Why are Locusts causing so much of international anguish?
Locusts are large insects. They are special grasshoppers. They have big hind legs used for jumping. All grasshoppers (except the long-horned, ones) belong to the Acridoidea family, and the most important Locusts are all in the family Acrididae. Locusts can change their habits and, behaviour when they occur in large numbers their numbers rise they…
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What are locusts and how do they pose a threat to food security?
The word “locust’ has been in the environment sections of all newspapers for some time. On some days, news about them appeared on the front page. Here are samples. [1] ‘The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said earlier this week that Somalia and Ethiopia were facing a Locust infestation that is destroying crops and…
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Should the cheetah make a comeback?
India was once home to tens of thousands of Asiatic cheetahs. But overhunting and habitat destruction pushed the animal to the brink. In 1947, Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya (now in Chhattisgarh) reportedly killed the last known Asiatic cheetah in India. In 1952, the cheetah was officially declared extinct in India. But with…