Almost Famous species: the wild side of 2020 from forest to backyard
Stretching from the Nicobar Islands very close to the equator to the Western Himalaya in the north, India covers about 30 degrees of latitude, with a long coastline on its…
Articles by Sandhya Sekar
Program Manager, Mongabay-India. Sandhya lives in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. She has been a freelance science writer since 2013, writing regularly for Indian and international news portals including the BBC, New Scientist, Science Now and The Scientist. She started as an intern with Mongabay in 2013 and began her current role as Program Manager of Monagabay-India in October 2017.
[Interview] Turning to science to find innovative solutions: plant biologist E. V. Soniya
For E. V. Soniya, a scientist with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, science, and especially molecular biology, has been a lifelong passion. Her expertise in the basic…
Natural history notes from nature’s frontlines in India, for 2019
The 500 plus stories we carried in 2019 had two overarching themes – the national elections and the string of extreme weather events that left India reeling. Amidst discussions of…
What is seagrass?
What is seagrass? Seagrasses are marine flowering plants, found on all continents except Antarctica. They have roots, stems and leaves and produce flowers and fruits. They are closely related to…
Female seagrass flowers uncoil to reach pollen in undersea saga
For the underwater-dwelling tape grass Enhalus acoroides, pollination is an adventure where female flowers have their work cut out. The pinkish-green male flowers produce plenty of pollen, encased in long…
A ‘mysterious’ new frog species with hidden spots and an insect-like call
It was after a heavy spell of rain during the 2015 monsoon that Sonali Garg walked out to a spot she had been visiting regularly, and unsuccessfully, for more than…
All creatures great and small: Best of Almost Famous species 2018
The year 2019 is here, and with it there is a general feeling of excitement, which we all feel when something is "new". Before the feeling gets old, let's take…
(Commentary) Workplace well-being within ecology and conservation academic circles in India
It is 226 and counting. That is the number of respondents to a survey about workplace well-being and harassment in environment and conservation academic circles. The survey was circulated during…
A blood-red, snake-like burrowing fish from Meghalaya
A blood-red, snake-like creature with an elongated body and sightless black spots for eyes, was spotted burrowing into the moist soil of a rainforest in Meghalaya. Amphibian biologist Rachunliu G.…
[Photo-feature] Meet the new species of dragon lizards from the Western Ghats
The Western Ghats have revealed two new genera of dragon lizards from the family Agamidae -- Monilesauras and Microauris. Using a combination of extensive field surveys, detailed taxonomic analyses and genetic…
