New research reveals that a unique Indian skink species arrived on the subcontinent by rafting across the ocean from Southeast Asia millions of years ago, a journey made possible by fluctuating sea levels.

Ecology

Bengaluru

Every year, since 2010, the 29th of July is celebrated as the International Tiger Day to raise awareness about tiger conservation. India is home to over half of the world's tigers. New tiger populations are still being discovered, with one as recent as last year, in the Eastern Himalayas at altitudes of 3,630 metres. In 2010, India reportedly had 1,706 tigers, and this number increased to 2,226 in 2014. Isn't a 30% increase in population in just four years remarkable?

Bengaluru

Researchers from Gubbi Labs, Bengaluru and ATREE, Bengaluru, have archived the regeneration of forests across an eleven year timespan in the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu.

Kerala

Researchers use a data-driven approach to identify bat species that could be carriers of the Nipah virus in Kerala.

Bengaluru

The monsoon is here; humming with the pouring rain are the croaks of frogs, for it is the season of love for most of them. But not for Micryletta aishani, the newest of the frogs discovered from the state of Assam. Unlike most frogs that breed during the monsoon, this elusive frog breeds before the onset of monsoon and then goes into hiding for the rest of the year. The discovery is the result of six years of extensive fieldwork in the northeastern states of India by a team of researchers from the University of Delhi, Wildlife Institute of India, Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the University of Texas at Arlington, USA. 

Pune

Researchers from Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, Savitribai Phule Pune University, MES College of Arts, Commerce and Science, Bengaluru and the Centre for medicinal Plants Research, Kerala have described a new species of pipewort from the Western Ghats. They have named the new species Eriocaulon karaavalense, after the Kannada work karaavali (ಕರಾವಳಿ), which translates to ‘the coast’.

Bengaluru

Researchers from China, USA and UK, shed light on the formation and evolution of the Asia-Africa-Australia monsoon and arid regions. They also looked at the factors that controlled them during the Cenozoic Era.

Indore

Study shows that more than half of river catchments are struggling to get back in shape due to human activities and climate change.

Mumbai

Study explores how farmers spend on pesticides in cotton farms based on land size, irrigation and tenancy.

Patiala

Researchers from the University of Guelph, Punjabi University, Patiala and the Natural History Museum of Denmark have found some fascinating facts about the termite-eating behaviour of some rhiniid species.

Kolkata

Researchers at IISER Kolkata study the behaviour of free-ranging dogs in India to understand their food preferences.

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