Nature Hub

  From Mongabay Magazine By  Farhana Parvin   Edited by - Amal Udawatta Bangladesh has seen the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this year, a conservationist group says. The olive ridley’s main nesting ground is different islands of the country’s southeastern district, Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal. The key reasons behind the success are extensive conservation action across beaches and an awareness program among local people. Conservationists say they believe success might decline if the current pace of tourism and related infrastructure development is not checked, as they appear to disturb ecosystems. This year, Bangladesh has seen its highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs, thanks to extensive conservation actions, including building awareness among local people and the vigilance of local conservation groups to ensure favorable conditions for the species. Nature Conservation Management (NACOM)  found 12,425 eggs in five turtle hatcheries — Pachar Island, Shilkali Is

  From - BBC World News Edited by Amal Udawatta By Kevin Gepford 20th February 2024 An army of reptilian bulldozers is helping a Galápagos island make an ecological comeback. E Española's burgeoning tortoise population – made up of the children and grandchildren of Diego, one of the archipelago's most beloved tortoise residents – is helping to restore the island's lost ecosystem. Before the arrival of humans, Española had as many as 8,000 resident tortoises. However, in the 1800s,  pirates and whalers nearly stripped Española  and neighbouring islands of their tortoises for their meat. These sailors also left behind goats, which went wild, multiplied, and devoured native vegetation. By the 1970s much of the pristine habitat was wrecked. Española was down to its last 14 tortoises; 12 females, and two males. These were brought back to the  Darwin Research Station's  breeding programme on Santa Cruz between 1964 and 1974, and were later joined by Diego who was  discovered

 From -  MONGABAY By   Malaka  Rodrigo   Edited by  - Amal Udawatta Recent research on Sri Lanka’s mushrooms has resulted in the discovery of two species previously unknown to science — Termitomyces srilankensis and Candolleomyces ruhunensis — and the discovery of Crepidotus striatus, a mushroom previously thought endemic to China. A tropical island in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is known for its rich diversity of fungi and mushrooms, but there was little research until now, making the group one of the least-studied organisms in the country. As deforestation, habitat degradation and climate change threaten mushroom species, researchers urge the establishment of a national fungarium to preserve fungi specimens. Edible wild mushrooms have been a part of Sri Lankans’ diets for centuries, but present generations have lost traditional knowledge about identifying non-poisonous mushrooms and instead rely on commercially cultivated mushrooms. COLOMBO — In Lewis Carroll’s popular children’s boo

    From - NPR Magazine,     By - Nathan Root,     Edited by - Amal Udawatta, A study published in the journal  Nature  found that the status of amphibians globally is "deteriorating rapidly," earning them the unenviable title of being the planet's most threatened class of vertebrates. Here, an endangered Agalychnis annae, commonly known as a Blue-Sided Leaf Frog, is seen at National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica, INBio, in Heredia, Costa Rica. Kent Gilbert/AP When JJ Apodaca was starting graduate school for biology in 2004, a first-of-its-kind study had just been released assessing the status of the world's least understood vertebrates. The first Global Amphibian Assessment, which looked at more than 5,700 species of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and other amphibians became "pretty much the guiding light of my career," said Apodaca, who now heads the nonprofit group Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy. Nineteen years later, a  second global assessme