First distributional report of Filinia camasecla Myers, 1938 (Rotifera: Eurotatoria: Monogononta) from peninsular India

This work reports the first distributional record of Filinia camasecla Myers, 1938 in south India from the Cochin backwaters on the northern stretch of Lake Vembanad. Earlier, the distribution of this species has been known from Oriental (South East-Asia) and Neotropical biogeographical realms. Though it comes under the oriental endemics no previous records of this species were available from this area or other parts of Vembanad backwaters. The occurrence of F. camasecla in this additional geographic region highlights the range extension of the species

കണ്ടൽവനങ്ങൾ നീർപക്ഷികളുടെ താവളം

കണ്ടൽവനങ്ങൾ നീർപക്ഷികളുടെ താവള

Record of the Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus breeding in the Lakshadweep Islands, Indian Ocean

The Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus has a widespread distribution in the Afrotropical and Indo-Malayan region (Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2001). It is a resident of the Indian mainland and Sri Lanka and has been sighted in the small atoll islands of Lakshadweep off the south-western coast of India (Ali & Ripley 1987). Its first record from Lakshadweep goes back to the latter half of the nineteenth century when Hume (1876) procured specimens from the islands of Amini and Kadamat. He categorized them as regular visitors and dismissed any chances of breedin

കേരളത്തിലെ തീരദേശ പക്ഷികൾ

കേരളത്തിലെ തീരദേശ പക്ഷിക

Differential exploitation of a single dominant prey species by migratory shorebirds – a preliminary observation from the vulnerable sandy beaches of the southwest coast of India

Observations on the food resources of migratory shore birds in selected sandy shores of Kerala on the southwest coast of India revealed that their main prey resource is a single species of sand crab (mole crab), Emerita holthuisi Sankolli, 1965, the major crustacean resource in the narrow stretches of sandy shores of central Kerala. Three sandy beaches flanking tidal estuaries, abundant in shore crabs, were selected as the representative sites to study in detail the feeding of shorebirds on the sand crabs. We observed the presence of mole crabs for a year and noted that they are found almost year round on these shores. The shore birds were found to exploit them during their wintering months from October to February. The variations in adaptations of 8 species of predatory shore birds in preying on E. holthuisi were also noted. The same predator-prey relationship was observed in similar small stretches of sandy shores in other parts of central Kerala also

‘Pakshi Pitti’: a robust haven for pelagic birds in the Indian Ocean

India, a land of distinct climatic and geographic zones, supports a remarkable diversity of avian fauna within both its mainland and its seas. There are over 1200 species of birds recorded in India, with the majority occurring in the mainland (Praveen et al., 2016). Surrounded by extensive marine zones on its three sides, territorial waters and marginal seas around India form seamless habitats for a significant number of marine avian species. Seventy species of marine birds are observed in the region (BirdLife International 2015). These include predominantly open oceanic species like frigate birds, tropicbirds, shearwaters and petrels which are winter visitors or vagrants, but birds like gulls and terns are more commonly found along the coastal waters of India

भारत के समुद्री पक्षी - एक अवलोकन

समुदी पक्षी कशेरुकियों का सबसे सफल ग्रुप है और विकास के समय इन् हें विविध प्रकार का अनुकूलन प्राप्त हुए, जिन से जल, भूमि और वायु में जीवित रहने की सुविधा मिली। वैश्विक तौर पर समुद्री पर्यावरण के स्वास्थ्य के विश्व सनीय संकेतक के रूप में पहचाने जाते हैं। इनमें से कई अपने जीवन का एक बड़ा हिस्सा विशष रूप से उच्च महासागरों में बि ताते हैं, जबकि उनके प्रजनन के लिए दूरस्थ महासागरीय द्वीपों का लाभ उठाते हैं। कुछ पक्षी तटीय समुद्र में पाए जाते हैं और कि सी भी समय खुले समुद्र की ओर जाने का साहस नहीं करते हैं

Coral Biology & Diversity

The tropical latitudes of the oceans can be called the deserts of the ocean due to their similarity with terrestrial deserts, which are barren and relatively sterile places. The reason for this phenomenon is that the surface waters of the tropical oceans are so warm and thus they tend to float on top of the colder water underneath, inhibiting nutrient upwelling from the deep which brings nutrients to the ocean surface. However, coral reefs are a brilliant exception to the general scarcity of life in tropical oceans; they are known as the oases of ocean deserts

അഴിമുഖം ജൈവവൈവിധ്യ ഇടനാഴി

അഴിമുഖം ജൈവവൈവിധ്യ ഇടനാഴ