A recent study has found that air pollution exposure could impair foetal growth, with a potential to cause neurological defects. The study, from the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, sheds light on the molecular pathways through which pollution disrupts early child development, and reinforces existing evidence of the wide-ranging health impacts of air pollution.

Exposure to PM2.5 particles are known to cause respiratory disease, worsen hypertension and diabetes, and exacerbate cardiovascular illnesses. Emerging evidence has suggested that prolonged exposure to air pollution can cause low birthweight, stillbirth, and preterm births. The AIIMS study, however, demonstrates how air pollution disrupts cellular activity to curb healthy foetal development.

“The missing link we presented in this research was how air pollution causes the reduction in a protein that’s very important for foetal development,” explained Dr. Subhradip Karmakar, an author of the study and a professor of biochemistry at AIIMS.

In pregnant mothers, inhaling ultrafine, PM2.5 and PM10 particles can cause oxidative stress which triggers an inflammatory response that activates cytokines – proteins which act on immune threats. This surge in inflammatory response can pass through the placenta, as do ultrafine particles and environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, which cause a reduction in the IGFBP3 protein, a critical regulator of cell growth, in foetuses. “This isn’t the only significant protein for foetal development. There might be other significant proteins that are also affected,” said Karmakar.

The study observed this mechanism in pregnant rats exposed to air pollution, and tracked postnatal neurodevelopment in pups. According to the study, rat pups exposed to air pollution experienced “persistent postnatal deficits in motor coordination, cognitive processing, and emotional regulation, consistent with neurobehavioral disruption and sex-specific vulnerability induced by in utero particulate exposure.”

The observations in the experiment were correlated with pregnancy outcomes among women from highly exposed climates. Delivery data from hospitals in New Delhi, where women were exposed to higher ambient PM2.5 levels, were associated with more low-birth-weight babies and more preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication, compared to women from lower-exposure settings in Deoghar, Jharkhand.

“The next phase of this study is to track the IGFBP3 protein as a biomarker in human pregnancies, which would give us greater insight into how air pollution causes developmental defects,” said Karmakar.

Banner image: A November 2017 photo of a woman carrying an infant outside a shop selling air purifiers at a market place in New Delhi. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri, File)

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.

Over the last few years, dholes are slowly returning to several landscapes from which they had virtually disappeared — most recently in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha. The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is one of India’s most adaptable apex predators — and one of its least known. Also called the Asiatic wild dog, this social canid is recognised by its reddish-brown coat, bushy black-tipped tail, and distinctive high-pitched whistles. Living in packs of two to 24 individuals, it hunts cooperatively, taking down prey such as sambar, chital, and gaur, all several times its own size.

Once found in the alpine, temperate, tropical, and subtropical forests across Asia, the dhole, or Asiatic wild dog, has now disappeared from much of its former range. Currently, it is confined to central and eastern Asia, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

In India, key populations are found in the Western Ghats, Central India and Northeast India, with smaller populations in the Eastern Ghats and the Western Himalayas of Uttarakhand.

With only an estimated 4,500-10,500 individuals remaining worldwide, the species is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is also a Schedule II species in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which prohibits hunting or trade.

As a predator that requires connected, healthy forested areas, the dhole faces significant pressure from fragmented and shrinking forests, prey depletion, conflict with humans and livestock, and the risk of disease transmission from domestic dogs.

In a story that Mongabay-India published in 2019, Arjun Srivathsa, Wildlife Conservation Society-India and the University of Florida, said, “Dholes are among the most threatened yet under-studied species in India and across the world. They are apex predators with fascinating social lives, and quite unique in that they are among the very few carnivores that are both forest-dependent and group-living.”

Read more about dholes in our stories on habitat suitability study across Asia, how agroforests support dhole populations in the Western Ghats, and the use of genetic methods to estimate population sizes.

Banner image: The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is one of India’s most adaptable apex predators. Image by David V. Raju via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Early last week, eight Asiatic lions, including cubs, died from a potential infection by the Babesia parasite, while 17 others thought to be exposed are being treated by the state forest and veterinary departments. The disease spreads through infected tick bites and causes weakness, anaemia, and lethargy. The deaths occurred within a 10-kilometre radius of the affected areas in Gir Somnath and Amreli districts in Gujarat.

On May 31, Gujarat’s Forest Minister, Arjun Modhwadia said, while speaking to the press, that no new lion deaths were reported after May 28 and that the 17 other lions were in isolation. So far, 500 lions have been dewormed and de-ticked to prevent further infection, the Minister said to the press. Blood samples of the affected lions are being tested at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre.

This isn’t the first outbreak in Gir. In 2018, a combination of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and Babesiosis — the disease resulting from an infection by the Babesia parasite — killed 11 lions. Babesia is a protozoan parasite that operates similar to Plasmodium parasite which causes malaria. The parasite enters the bloodstream and destroys red blood cells.

The Babesia parasite is prevalent in both wild ungulates and domesticated livestock, such as cows and buffalos. Despite being carriers, the infection doesn’t necessarily produce symptoms or mortality in carriers. Lion cubs, however, are especially at risk of mortality.

While officials have told the press that the situation is under control, the outbreak has renewed focus on the importance of diversifying the Asiatic lion’s habitat in India. The country’s entire population of lions resides in Gujarat.

According to the latest lion census by the Gujarat forest department, the state is home to 891 lions. The population rose by nearly 30% between 2020 and 2025, with a majority of lions found to be straying from the core protected area into mixed landscape habitats, where they interact with humans and livestock.

A concentrated population of lions in one place increases their exposure and vulnerability to disease, several experts have said. This risk can be mitigated by establishing smaller populations in other habitable regions. In 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the translocation of Asiatic lions to Kuno, in Madhya Pradesh, but this is yet to be done.

Mongabay-India made calls and sent texts to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Jaipal Singh requesting a status update on the infection, but did not receive a response.

Banner image: A lion cub in Gir. Image by Anushree Potdar via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

India has released its first ever report on the Nagoya Protocol earlier this year, a mechanism that tracks the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional knowledge and biological resources.

India submitted the report on February 27, to the Convention on Biological Diversity which governs the Nagoya Protocol where India has been a signatory since 1992. The Nagoya Protocol makes it mandatory for member states to create legal frameworks for access and benefit sharing (ABS) from biological resources, which are shared with provider countries and local communities after use. India’s ABS framework has been in place since 2014, and was revised in 2025.

Between 2017 and 2025, 12,830 approvals were granted under the ABS framework, the report says. The National Biodiversity Authority granted 5,913 approvals for activities such as research, bio survey and bio-utilisation, commercial utilisation, transfer of research results, intellectual property rights (IPR), and third party transfers. An additional 6,917 approvals were granted by state and union territory biodiversity boards for commercial utilisation by Indian entities.

Commercial users — like pharmaceutical companies and research establishments — are obligated to pay a share of revenue or turnover towards meeting ABS obligations. Through ABS, the National Biodiversity Authority collected a total of ₹216.31 crores, of which ₹139.69 crores were disbursed to benefit claimers.

The report also illustrates examples of ABS in India, calling itself “a global front-runner in turning the idea of Access and Benefit Sharing into practical reality.” For example, in Dapur a village in Maharashtra, microbes in the soil were found to have “significant probiotic potential” and were accessed by Advanced Enzyme Technologies Limited, a research company. A benefit sharing agreement was drawn, obligating Advanced Enzyme Technologies to pay a share of 0.5% of the annual gross ex-factory sale price for products sold which were derived from the use of bioresources. The agreement raised ₹71 lakhs in benefits. “This highlights that effective ABS implementation requires clear traceability of bioresources and a direct linkage between utilisation and benefit- sharing obligations,” the report says.

The report comes after India made significant changes to its ABS framework in 2025 to improve the ease of doing business. A part of these changes was to exclude companies earning a turnover of less than ₹5 crores from ABS obligations, and to exclude custodians of “codified traditional knowledge” from claiming benefits. Codified knowledge refers to knowledge documented in specific books listed under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

The national report also acknowledges challenges in compiling ABS data. “These include the need to strengthen digital systems for improved monitoring and data integration, to develop appropriate methodologies for valuation of biological resources and to enhance capacity at state and local levels,” the report points out.

Banner image: Tendu leaves being dried after harvest. Representative image by Subodhkiran via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The results of an extensive, systematic survey of dragonflies and damselflies across the Western Ghats shows the region as having high endemism with nearly 222 odonate species out of around 504 in India occurring there. About 95 species are endemic to the region.

Conducted between 2021 and 2023, the study aimed to assess the diversity, distribution, endemism and conservation status of odonates across one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. The researchers surveyed 144 sites across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala, covering a wide range of freshwater habitats mostly during pre- and post-monsoon periods, when odonates are most active.

The survey documented 143 odonate species belonging to 71 genera and 11 families, including 76 dragonfly species and 67 damselfly species. This represents nearly 65% of all odonate species known from the Western Ghats and about 28% of India’s total odonate diversity.

One of the main findings of the study is the exceptionally high level of endemism in the Western Ghats. Kerala emerged as the most important region for endemic odonates, with 33 endemic species recorded from the state. Maharashtra recorded 12 endemic species, Karnataka six and Goa four, while none were recorded from the Gujarat survey sites.

In an interview to Mongabay-India, the lead author of the study Pankaj Korapade reveals that of the 500+ odonate species in India, which accounts for 8% of the world’s odonata fauna, roughly 200 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. “There are also evolutionary reasons for this endemism, with the Ghats remaining isolated even after the split from Gondwana to present-day India, thereby trapping a large number of fauna, especially odonates,” he explains.

Although Maharashtra recorded the highest overall number of species during the survey, the authors caution that this is partly because the state had much greater sampling effort. Maharashtra had 105 survey sites and 161 visits, whereas Kerala had only 14 sites and 20 visits. Despite this lower effort, Kerala still recorded extraordinarily high endemic richness, reinforcing its significance as a centre of odonate diversity.

The study also highlights growing threats to freshwater ecosystems in the Western Ghats. The authors identify habitat fragmentation, hydropower projects, roads and other linear infrastructure, tourism, pollution, land-use conversion, forest fires and climate change as major pressures affecting odonate habitats.

An important conservation-related finding is that many species remain poorly studied. Among the 143 species recorded, 100 were classified as species of least concern of extinction according to the IUCN, indicating widespread and abundant populations. However, 22 species were listed as data deficient with not enough information to assess risk and 16 species had not yet been evaluated by the IUCN. Two species — Phylloneura westermanni and Heliogomphus promelas — were categorised as near threatened, while Protosticta sanguinostigma and Cyclogomphus ypsilon were listed as vulnerable.

Overall, the paper establishes that the Western Ghats remain one of the world’s most important centres of odonate diversity and endemism. It notes that more intensive and long-term surveys are urgently needed to fill knowledge gaps, improve conservation assessments and prioritise freshwater habitats for protection in the Western Ghats.

Banner image: A long-legged marsh glider, a dragonfly species. Image courtesy of Chatur Ullu Lab.

Species File: Exploring India’s biodiversity, one species at a time.

This bird was once a contender to be India’s national bird. Considered among the heaviest flying birds in the world, the great Indian bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is endemic to India. It inhabits dry, arid, and semi-arid grasslands and adjacent agricultural lands.

Today, fewer than 150 remain in the wild — mostly in Rajasthan and Gujarat, with smaller groups in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the GIB is critically endangered. It receives the highest level of legal protection in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

As grasslands shrink to make way for renewable energy projects and mines, the GIB has no place to go. The large-bodied birds also tend to fly low, leading to fatal collisions with electricity lines and wind turbines. Slow breeding rates, occasional poaching for meat and stray dog attacks compound these threats.

A Bustard Recovery Programme was launched in 2016. There are now 73 birds in conservation breeding centres, with five new chicks born this season. The long-term goal is wild release, but survival remains uncertain in the absence of safe habitat.

In the Abdasa grasslands of Kutch, a rare milestone unfolded on March 26, 2026 — the birth of a great Indian bustard (GIB) chick, the first in Gujarat in over a decade. Transported for over 700 kilometres, the egg was brought from a GIB breeding centre in neighbouring Rajasthan. Though 50 forest guards maintained constant surveillance of the chick, it reportedly vanished three weeks later, marking a major setback to the conservation operation.

“The GIB does not get as much attention to be saved as, say, the tiger, and so awareness is very important — about the bird in itself as well as its habitat, the grassland ecosystem,” Govind Sagar Bharadwaj former Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife Division), Jodhpur, said in an earlier story published in Mongabay-India.

Read more about the GIB in our stories on conservation status, balancing renewable energy and GIB conservation, and community involvement.

Banner image: A great Indian bustard. Image by Saurabh Sawant via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).