Category Science

What are the few successful programmes taken up in the country for the conservation of birds-both residents and migrants?

The Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra was in the news recently for setting up a ‘food centre’ with carrion to revive vulture population. Such measures are important because birds are integral to a healthy and balanced ecosystem. Let’s look at a few successful programmes taken up in the country for the conservation of birds-both residents and migrants.

Amur falcon

Even as our country battled the horrific second wave of the pandemic in April 2021, Tamenglong, a town in Manipur, found a reason for excitement tracking two radio-tagged migratory Amur falcons (named Chiulon and Irang) flying over the Arabian Sea. Amur falcons cover 20,000 km between their wintering grounds in Africa and breeding grounds in China. And, thanks to the radio-tagging of two of those birds back in 2019. people were tracking this historic journey and hoping for the birds to reach their town safely later. However, about a decade earlier, the story in neighbouring Nagaland was completely different. For years, lakhs of these raptors have stopped in India’s northeastern regions such as Nagaland during their long migration. But what was a stopover for rest and recuperation turned into a death trap for them-in 2012, more than one lakh birds were said to have been hunted for meat. Following this decimation, the Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust swung into action-went door-to-door talking with villagers and engaged with village about the need to protect the birds. And those earnest efforts paid off. The killings stopped in what is seen as one of the most telling changes in people’s attitude towards wildlife conservation. Recently, there have been reports of increasing Amur falcon numbers not just in Nagaland, but also in neighbouring States such as Assam. Meghalaya, and of course, Manipur where people waited with bated breaths for the return of raptors named Chiulon and Irang.

Great Indian bustard

Recently, four female great Indian bustards at the Desert National Park (DNP) in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, made headlines for laying two eggs each. Critically endangered, these bustards are known for laying only one egg at a time. Turns out this time was different because, thanks to excessive rains in the region, the grass in which the birds laid their eggs was abundant. In addition, the moisture and humidity led to an increase in insect population, which made for the birds hearty meals.

Experts believe one of the other reasons for the two-egg clutch is also the conservation efforts. The first major initiative for saving the species came about in 2013 with the Rajasthan government setting up Project Great Indian Bustard at DNP, which included increased protection for the birds and less human presence in the region. Further, a breeding centre for the birds was set up at DNP in 2019.

Endemic to India, great Indian bustards were once seen across several States. Due to hunting, habitat loss, and accidents caused by windmills and overhead lines, their numbers kept dwindling. With only about 150 birds remaining today, two egg clutches and conservation initiatives hold promise for the bird’s future.

Vultures

In October 2020, when eight critically endangered, captive-bred, white-rumped vultures were released into the wild in Haryana, it was a first for our country. The release was the result of a two-decade conservation programme that saw the setting up of four vulture conservation breeding centres – one each in Haryana, West Bengal, Assam, and Madhya Pradesh. The centres were set up by the Bombay Natural History Society (a wildlife research organisation), in association with the Government of India. State Forest Departments, and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Launched to conserve three species of vultures-oriental white-backed vulture (also known as white-rumped vulture), long-billed vulture, and slender billed vulture- these centres have together reared hundreds of these birds. Since 2020, many more birds have been released into the wild.

It is believed that “India was home to 40 million vultures in the 1980s”. Their number plunged by over 97% in the 1990s, largely due to the drug diclofenac used to treat cattle-whose carcass vultures mainly fed on. With a ban on diclofenac in place and the setting up of these breeding centres (along with creating Vulture Safe Zones in several parts of the country), there’s much hope for these birds today.

VISIONARY PERSPECTIVE PLAN (2020-2030)

  • In 2020, the government came out with a 10-year plan “for conservation of avian diversity, their ecosystems, habitats & landscapes in the country”.
  • It aims to initiate steps for the protection of migratory birds, conservation of wetlands, and focus on birds in urban areas.
  • It also plans to undertake detailed ecological studies of rare, endangered, and threatened bird species of India and their habitats and to develop and implement conservation measures and Species Recovery Plans.

Picture Credit : Google 

What is the ELIZA effect?

Eliza was one of the first computer programs that could convincingly prompt a response from humans, similar to what happens in a normal conversation

It is a tendency to ascribe human behaviour to non-human beings. For example, we have talking animal characters in fables who act, behave and talk like humans. This is called anthropomorphism. In computer science, a similar tendency is called the ELIZA effect.

The effect is named after ELIZA, a chatbot (computer program that conducts conversations) developed by Joseph Weizenbaum in 1966. Weizenbaum had intended to prove the shallow nature of interactions between man and machine. But that did not stop people, including Weizenbaum’s personal assistant from believing that ELIZA could think and feel like a human.

Following is an excerpt from a transcript of a conversation between ELIZA and a young woman:

ELIZA: I am sorry to hear you are depressed.

Woman: It’s true. I am unhappy.

ELIZA: Do you think coming here will help you not to be unhappy?

Woman: I need some help, that much seems certain.

ELIZA: What would it mean to you if you got some help?

Woman: Perhaps could learn to get along with my mother.

ELIZA: Tell me more about your family. The program primarily rephrased the human’s lines and repeated them in a seemingly intelligent manner, prompting an emotional response from the human, similar to what happens in a normal conversation.

While communicating with the machine, people tend to forget that it is simply following a computer program. For example, after you withdraw money from an ATM, the ATM displays the words ‘THANK YOU’ at the end of the session. A layman may think that the machine is actually expressing thanks when in reality it is only following a pre-programmed coded set of instructions without any emotions.

The ELIZA effect plays an important role in the development of artificial intelligence.

Picture credit : google 

How much impact does aviation have on climate change is it the most polluting form of travel?

The impact of flying on climate change has been well established. On average, the aviation industry generates about 1 billion tons of CO2 worldwide every year. This number is comparable to that of Japan, which is the world’s third largest economy.

Add to this the fact that global emissions from flights have been increasing at the rate of 2.5% every year. In fact, over the next 30 years, the aviation industry will likely produce more CO2 than that of its whole history!

Radical solutions required

Even though fossil fuels are increasingly being replaced by renewable energy sources in power generation and electric vehicles continue to grow into a bigger market, there hasn’t been enough done to address pollution from aircraft. In such a climate, the need is for bold, radical solutions. Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy have called for the same through a new commentary article that appeared in Nature in September.

The authors suggest that the two most commonly proposed solutions-carbon offsetting and cleaner fuels – are rather inadequate. While offsetting falls flat owing to poor accountability, cleaner fuels can’t yet be produced sustainably in large volume and low costs to replace all jet fuel. Additionally, these two solutions do not address the dimate impact of contrails-clouds produced by aircraft engine edhaust – that can trap heat radiating from the Earth’s surface.

Three steps

To address a warming planet, the authors suggest three steps for the industry as a whole. Firstly, they recommend the industry and various governments to work together to be more aware of the risks involved and the role that aviation plays in the dimate crisis.

Next up, they wish for collaborations between the most motivated governments and firms to take risks on new technologies, which could then inspire others to follow their lead. The authors only provide examples such as a partnership between the Norwegian government and businesses to create electric airplanes, but also lay out strategies of how collaborations could be used to ignite other advances.

Finally, they stress the importance of research, not just to better understand contrails and chemical interactions in the atmosphere, but also to provide solutions. They envision these solutions to not just be technological, but also economic and political, thereby providing for a greener future.

Picture Credit : Google 

Does owls have eyeballs?

Owls don’t have eyeballs. They have eye tubes or cylinders, rod-shaped eyes that do not move in their sockets as eyeballs do. Instead, owls have to move their bodies or heads in order to look around. Since moving their torsos would likely make noise that would alert their prey to their presence, owls have evolved to have necks that can spin up to 270° essentially silently.

But why favour neck-spinning over the seemingly simple eye ball-spinning method of looking around? Well, night vision requires large corneas that allow for light to be collected effectively even in the dark, which is why most nocturnal animals (like the slow loris or tarsier) have huge eyes. But owls have small skulls, so their big eyes couldn’t expand out. They instead developed into the rod shape of today’s owls. They aren’t alone though: some deep-sea fish (like the anglerfish) also have rod-shaped eyes for seeing in the dark.

Picture Credit : Google 

How do you see the posts you’ve liked on insta?

Instagram stores a history of all your liked posts, a handy feature that lets you look back at the photos and videos you liked over time. Open the Instagram app. Go to the profile tab and tap the three horizontal lines. Select Your Activity. Tap on Interactions > Likes. Now you can see the 300 most recent posts you liked ranked from newest to oldest. Use the Sort & Filter option to sort the posts based on author, start date and end date.

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Why do epaulette sharks walk on land?

Researchers at a Florida university say a species of shark with the ability to walk on land is evolving to survive warming seas and the climate crisis.

The epaulette shark, found on shallow reefs of Australia and New Guinea, can walk for upto 90 feet on dry land using its paddle-shaped fins, and survive hypoxia (deficiency of oxygen) for up to two hours. The 3 foot long sharks are able to slow and fast walk, as well as swim, giving them an exceptional ability to cross land to reach more favourable environments.

Tide pools and coral reef environments are subjected to warm temperatures when the tide is out. These sharks can move from tide pool to tide pool, allowing them to access new pools to forage for food or tide pools with better oxygenated water.

What sets epaulette sharks apart from other shark species with these abilities, is their tolerance of hypoxia for a prolonged period, and ability to not only survive being on land but walk distances up to 30 times its body length. This gives them better agility to evade predators, reach areas with more plentiful food and less competition for it.

Picture Credit : Google