When and from where did black pepper come to India?
A new study has, for the first time, thrown light on when and from where black pepper (Piper nigrum) had come to India. The species arrived into India from Southeast…
Indian research network on horseshoe crab takes wing as the living fossil battles threats
In a mangrove clump in Balasore in coastal Odisha, a youth gingerly snips away at the tangles of a fishing net around an upturned crab-like struggling creature, as it desperately…
Insects are disappearing in India, and we don’t even have data
When was the last time an insect fell in your soup? Or down your collar under a bright street lamp? Insects rarely land on window panes on a rainy night…
The invisible victims of drought-hit Kutch
Nature does not discriminate. In the drought-hit Kutch, all living beings — man, animal, plants — are struggling to cope with its merciless onslaught. A large population of this semi-arid…
As fall armyworm invades northeast India, scientists scratch the surface of a tree-killing beetle
As India battles invasion of the cereal-eating moth, fall armyworm (FAW), which is now chomping its way into northeastern states, scientists have turned their attention to another incursion, from the…
[Commentary] Biodiversity heritage sites could turn out to be a lifeline for India’s conservation efforts
There are many varied spaces -- sacred groves, industrial complexes, national level institutes, village commons, universities, defence lands, temple premises, urban parks -- that have one thread in common. They…
[Book Review] Exploring alternate governance models for sacred natural sites
John Studley is forthright in his approach to governance models and is obviously frustrated with the anthropocentric approach to the variants propagated by conservation organisations. In his book, Indigenous Sacred…
Gollum surfaces in India: Scientists document the first underground snakehead fish
The first snakehead fish with an underground lifestyle was hiding in the aquifers of Kerala until a chance encounter, social media and the historic floods of Kerala in 2018 thrust…
Creatures from Mumbai’s shore and their housing stories
For a city that is fixated with its housing, real estate opportunities and acquiring homes with a view, finding a space to call your own in Mumbai carries its own…
Marine plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980, says biodiversity report
Around one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within decades and more than ever before in human history, according to a recent report. The unsustainable…
