World Wildlife Day, Sunday, 3 March 2019, celebrates life below water.It aims to raise awareness on the diversity of marine life and the dependence on humans on the oceans for food, livelihood and recreation.Take a look at some of our past stories on life below water with which we hope you’ll be inspired to think of how you can take action to help reduce threats to marine species. The ocean has sustained human civilisation for a long time. A source of food, livelihood and recreation, the waters that surround India hold thriving biodiversity – a lot of which still remains unexplored. However, with all that we take from the ocean, are we doing enough to give back? According to the UN, “As much as 40 percent of the ocean is now heavily affected by the most significant and direct threat of overexploitation of marine species as well as other threats such as pollution, loss of coastal habitats and climate change.” These threats have a strong impact on the lives and livelihoods of our coastal communities. About 14 percent of India’s population lives in the coastal districts of the country. This year, World Wildlife Day, a day designated by the United Nations, celebrates the theme “Life below water: for people and planet”. This day, the first one to focus on life below water, is an opportunity to spread awareness about the diversity of marine life, the services that the marine ecosystem offers to us humans and actions we need to take to ensure that we protect this resource for the coming generations. At Mongabay-India, we’ve been extensively covering stories about the marine environment and conservation efforts below water. What underwater sounds tell us about marine life An Indian Ocean humpback dolphin. Photo by Shaunak Modi. Bioacoustic research combines the study of sound and biology and is increasingly being used to understand marine mammals. Such research along the western coast of India and in stretches of the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers, are paving the way for more indepth study of marine life. They show sea life on the sea shore Zoanthid (Zoanthus sansibaricus). Photo by Abhishek Jamalabad. In two years of its existence, a citizen-led collective ‘Marine Life of Mumbai’ has recorded more than 300 species on Mumbai’s shores and is introducing Mumbaikars to these wild neighbours – one social media post and one shore walk at a time. An ancient species on the brink of extinction A large bow-mouthed guitar fish landed in the Mangalore port. Photo by Shishir Rao. Globally, entire populations of sharks and their relatives, rays and skates, are being overfished to the brink of extinction. Over 50 percent of sharks and their relatives in the Arabian Sea are threatened, finds a new study. The coasts need science-based policy action The sea swallows the protective wall along the coast in many locations in Kerala. Photo by S. Gopikrishna Warrier/Mongabay. Even as research is still unravelling many of the mysteries of the coastal and marine environment, they will face further environmental stress with climate change. Only a science-based policy action can help conserve this sensitive ecosystem. Managing marine life strandings while national protocol is awaited The Marine Wildlife Stranding Network, Ocean Watch – Goa, is a private-public partnership, where the state forest department joined hands with a private company to train lifeguards on marine strandings. Photo by Supriya Vohra. While marine mammals are protected under India’s wildlife act, there is no standard protocol yet to deal with marine animal stranding, which are reported across India’s coast regularly. Conservationists, authorities and local communities are working together through informal networks at regional levels, but there is a need for effective data collection and proper training of those on the field to handle strandings. Microbe-based monitoring to conserve Sundarbans Fishing in Sundarbans delta in West Bengal. Photo by Kartik Chandramouli/Mongabay. They may be microscopic in size, but bacterioplankton steer major carbon cycling and food webs in aquatic ecosystems. Researchers are looking at changes in microbial community structure and stability in the Sundarbans estuaries to track changes in freshwater flow that could have implications for sustainability of fisheries. Banner image: An Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) rising above the surface. Photo by Sarang Naik.
