Environment Quiz: Ecology & Environment Nov 17,2020

Conserving the animals and plants in their natural habitats is known as in-situ conservation. The established natural habitats are:
•National parks
•Sanctuaries
•Biosphere reserves and
•Reserved forests
•Protected forests
Source: Shankar

Species judged as threatened are listed by various agencies as well as by some private organizations. The most cited of these lists is the Red Data Book.
•It is a loose-leaf volume of information on the status of many kinds of species.
•This volume is continually updated and is issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) located in Morges, Switzerland.
•“Red” of course is symbolic of danger that the species both plants and animals presently experience throughout the globe.
•The Red Data Book was first issued in 1966 by the IUCN’s Special Survival Commission as a guide for formulation, preservation and management of species listed.
Source: IUCN

Bryophytes: The plant body is differentiated into a small stem and simple leaves, but true roots are absent.
•They usually grow in moist places. E.g. Liverworts, mosses.
•They are the second largest group of green plants in India distributed largely in Eastern Himalaya, North-eastern India, Western Himalaya and the Western Ghats.
•Mosses constitute the major component of Indian bryo-flora followed by liverworts and hornworts.
Source: Shankar

Tropical rain forest region: Extensive grass lands interspersed with densely forested gorges of evergreen vegetation known as shoals occur in the Nilgiris (an offshoot of Western ghats).
•Sholas also occur in Aanaimalai and Palani hills.
•The rain forests of the Western Ghats have dense and lofty trees with much species diversity.
•Mosses, ferns, epiphytes, orchids, lianas and vines, herbs, shrubs make diverse habitat.
•Ebony trees predominate in these forests. A variety of tropical orchids are found.
•Stratification in rain forests is very distinct three horizontal layers are distinguished.
Source: Shankar

: Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972 consists of 6 schedule lists, which give varying degrees of protection.
•Poaching, smuggling and illegal trade of animals listed Schedule 1 to schedule 4 are prohibited.
•Animals listed in schedule 5 are called “vermin” which can be hunted.
•Cultivation, Collection, extraction, trade, etc. of Plants and its derivatives listed in schedule 6 are prohibited.
Source: Envis

Satkosia spreads along the magnificent gorge over the mighty river Mahanadi in Odisha.
•Established in 1976 as a wildlife sanctuary, Satkosia is a paradise of immense scenic charm.
•It is one of the best ecosystems in the country, representing a diverse floral and faunal extravaganza.
The name Satkosia originates from two words; sat meaning seven and kos meaning two miles, indicating the length of the gorge as 14 miles or 22 km.
•The area was declared as Satkosia Tiger Reserve in 2007, comprising two adjoining wildlife sanctuaries; the Satkosia Gorge sanctuary and Baisipalli sanctuary. The Reserve is spread over 4 districts like; Angul, Cuttack, Nayagarh and Boudh.
The forests of Panna National Park (Tiger Reserve) along with Ken Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining territorial divisions form a significant part of the catchment area of the 406 km (252 mi) Ken River which runs northeast for about 72 km (45 mi) through the park.
Source: The Hindu

Kaziranga is a vast stretch of tall elephant grass, marshland and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests crisscrossed by four main rivers — Brahmaputra, Diphlu, Mora Diphlu and Mora Dhansiri and has numerous small water bodies.
Source: The Hindu

: The Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly, confirmed avian botulism — a neuro-muscular illness caused by a toxin which is produced by a bacterial strain — as the reason for mass mortality of birds, including migratory species from Northern Asia, at Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan.
•The laboratory tests conducted on the samples of carcasses collected from the lake confirmed the disease infecting the birds, the probability of which was earlier stated by veterinarians in the State.
•The illness, caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum, affected the nervous system of birds, leading to flaccid paralysis in their legs and wings and neck touching the ground.
•More than 18,000 carcasses of birds have been removed from the lake and its catchment area so far, raising concern among environmentalists and ornithologists.
•The scientists at IVRI found the samples infested with maggots of third stage with a clear indication that the avian mortality had occurred over a period of time.
Source: The Hindu

Asiatic lions are found in protected areas and agro-pastoral landscape of Saurashtra, covering nine districts in Gujarat.
•Its current estimated population is 674. India has recorded a 29% increase in its population in the past five years — from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020.
•Asiatic Lions are listed as ‘Endangered’ under the IUCN Red List. Asiatic Lions are protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
Source: The Hindu