February 2020 Environment

Sakshi Education

World’s first in vitro cheetah cubs born at Ohio zoo
Two cheetah cubs have been born through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer to a surrogate mother for the first time, Ohio zoo officials announced on 24 February, 2020

The male and female cubs were born to 3-year-old Izzy at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on 26 February, 2020.

The biological mother of the cubs is 6-year-old Kibibi who has never reproduced and is too old to easily become pregnant naturally.
Annual census reported reduced number of dolphins at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary
The January 2020 census reported that the number of dolphins at Odisha's Gahirmatha marine sanctuary has nearly reduced to half over a year.

This has pushed down the state's overall count. The census was released on 24 February 2020.

Census Highlights:
The January 2020 census spotted only 62 of the marine mammals at Gahirmatha, which is located within Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district.

Odisha's state's total dolphin count reduced to 233, down from 259 in 2019.

Dolphin, the sea mammal, was included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. It is included in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and in Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species.

It has been listed as endangered on the International Union in the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.
Scientist discover first-ever animal that does not need oxygen to breathe
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered a unique organism that doesn't need to breathe. Henneguya salminicola, the tiny parasite, is the first known multicellular animal that can survive without oxygen. It lives in an anaerobic environment.

The parasite lives in salmon tissue and evolved so that it doesn't need oxygen to produce energy. The researchers made the discovery accidentally while sequencing the Henneguya genome.

Henneguya salminicola:
H. salminicola is a relative of jellyfish and corals. It lives within the muscle tissue of salmon. It is relatively harmless.

It causes diseases like milky flesh or tapioca, which is named for the white fluid-filled cysts it causes in the fish. The parasite lacks mitochondrial genes.

Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. It captures oxygen to make energy through aerobic respiration.

Researchers are still trying to find how exactly the parasite produces energy. It is suspected that the parasite may be drawing energy from the surrounding fish cells, or it may have a different type of respiration such as oxygen-free breathing, which typically characterizes anaerobic non-animal organisms.
NTPC, CPCB to set up 25 CAAQMS in States and UTs
NTPC Limited has agreed to help the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to set up 25 Continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) across six States and three Union Territories (UTs) in India.

Agreement:
As per the agreement, NTPC will provide financial support of Rs.80 crore for the installation of CAAQMS in the States and Union Territories.

The six states are Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Patna in Bihar, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Allahabad all in Uttar Pradesh, Pimpri-Chinchwad in Maharashtra and Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

The 3 UTs where the CAAQMS will be installed are Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Silvassa in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman in Daman & Diu.

The data collected from the respective stations will be used for the evaluation of the air quality index for these cities.
Locust-hit Pak may consider importing insecticides from India: Report
Reeling under a major locust attack, Pakistan may allow a one-time exemption to import insecticides from India despite the trade ban which was imposed after New Delhi revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last, according to a report on 17th February, 2020.

Importing insecticides from India will be discussed during the Pakistan federal Cabinet's meeting on 18 February, 2020, the Dawn News reported.

Pakistan is facing its worst locust attack in decades, after insects destroyed crops on a large scale in Punjab province, the country's main region for agricultural production.

The meeting, which was attended by federal ministers and senior officials of the four provinces, also approved a National Action Plan that requires a sum of Rs 7.3 billion to overcome the crisis.

The Pakistan government considering the import of insecticides from India comes seven months after Islamabad on August 9 decided to suspend all trade ties with India following New Delhi's decision to abrogate Article 370 on August 5, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan also expelled the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
Gujarat: Women’s role in GIBs’ conservation highlighted
As India is struggling to save the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) from extinction, women have come out as a significant part of a conservation effort in Kutch of Gujarat to develop grassland in the region, which is the habitat of the bird.

Habitat degradation is one of the major reasons of the plummeting number of the GIB. Gujarat currently has six GIB individuals.

Women’s role in the conservation effort was highlighted at a side event of the ongoing United Nations 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) at Mahatma Mandir here. GIB is the mascot of the convention, which India is hosting for the first time.

The population of GIB in India was 1,260 in 1969 and it has become a critically endangered species with total population of just around 150. The region is also habitat of two other endangered bird species, Lesser Florican and MacQueen’s Bustard.

Loss of grassland is the main reason for the near loss of GIB
Animal Culture Linked to Conservation for the first time at UN Wildlife Conference in India
Animal culture, the learning of non-human species through socially transmitted behaviours, is being linked to conservation action for the first time.

There is evidence that whales, dolphins, elephants and primates acquire some of their knowledge and skills through social learning. In addition to individual learning, some animals may learn socially from adults or peers about various behaviours, including optimal migration routes.

To consider conservation measures for the Eastern Tropical Pacific Sperm Whale and the nut-cracking Chimpanzee two such proposals will be presented to delegates at the ongoing 13th Conference of Parties meeting to the Convention of Migratory Species at Gandhinagar (CMS COP 13).

The concerted action for the Sperm Whale recognizes the complex social structure within four subspecies. They differ little from each other in their nuclear DNA, but their vocalizations vary considerably, indicating that these can only be acquired through social interaction and learning. Collecting data through acoustic and photographic records can help conservationists fully understand the social structure of all subspecies. The proposed conservation measures call for research and transboundary information exchange to close knowledge gaps.

The initiative for the nut-cracking Chimpanzees highlights the species’ unique technological culture. The species can crack open different types of nut by using stones and pieces of wood as a hammer and anvil.

Human activities that disrupt the social fabric of culturally developed species can have severe impacts. Once a species has vanished from an area, critical knowledge can be also be lost. For example, the Southern Right Whales’ knowledge of migration routes around New Zealand's coastline was lost to the species as a result of commercial whaling in the 1800s. Nowadays, a handful of whales have again started to calve around New Zealand.

Recent evidence of genetic mixing among these whales suggests that the species may recolonize forgotten migration destinations once the population recovers from the impact of whaling.

Protecting cultural knowledge among peers and across generations may be vital for the survival and successful reproduction of certain species. Supporting individuals that act as ‘repositories’ of social knowledge such as elephant matriarchs, or groups of knowledgeable elders, may be just as important as conserving critical habitat. Understanding how Sperm Whales pass on valuable information to their offspring or why some groups of Chimpanzees have a culture of cracking nutritious nuts with stone tools while others do not, can be key to evaluating conservation challenges for such species.

The Convention on the Conservation on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has been spearheading efforts to use scientific knowledge on animal culture, to better protect endangered wildlife. Scientific research has made significant progress in animal culture. However, it is necessary to develop findings and recommendations that show how this complex issue can be further considered in conservation efforts under CMS.
India Moves to Include Elephant and Bustard in Global Conservation
India will be moving to include the Asian Elephant and the Great Indian Bustard in the list of species that merit heightened conservation measures. The list will be debated at the 13th cop and cop of the convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (CMS) an environment treaty under UNEP.

The elephant phases risk in particularly in Bangladesh and Nepal

Adding elephant and great Indian bustard in the list would coax neighbouring India.
PM Narendra Modi visit to Hubli, Karnataka
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Hubli, Karnataka on 10 February, 2020. At Gabbur, Hubli he unveiled several development projects.

He unveiled a plaque to mark the laying of foundation Dharwad and Indian Institute of Information Technology – Dharwad.

City Gas Distribution Project at Dharwad was dedicated to the nation on this occasion.

To ensure Energy Security, 1.5 MMT Mangalore Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility and 2.5 MMT Padur SPR facility of ISPRL were also dedicated to the nation.

The Doubling of 18 km long Chikjajur-Mayakonda Section was dedicated to the nation. Chikjajur-Mayakonda Section is a part of Hubli – Chikjajur Doubling project and is located on Bengaluru – Hubballi route of South Western Railway.
Earth just had hottest January since records began, data shows
Last month (January, 2020) was the hottest January on record over the world’s land and ocean surfaces, with average temperatures exceeding anything in the 141 years of data held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The record temperatures in January follow an exceptionally warm 2019, which has been ranked as the second hottest year for the planet’s surface since reliable measurements started. The past five years and the past decade are the hottest in 150 years of record-keeping, an indication of the gathering pace of the climate crisis.

According to NOAA, the average global land and ocean surface temperature last month was 2.5F (or 1.14C) above the 20th-century average. This measurement marginally surpassed the previous January record, set in 2016.

The Antarctic has begun February with several temperature spikes. The southern polar continent broke 20C (68F) for the first time in its history on 9 February, following another previous high of 18.3C just three days previously.

The world’s governments agreed in 2015 to keep the global temperature increase to well below 2C, compared with the pre-industrial era, in order to stave off disastrous flooding, food insecurity, heat waves and mass displacement of people.