Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Recently, Pulicat Lake fishermen demanded a long-term solution as siltation threatens their livelihoods. Pulicat Lake is a large coastal shallow, brackish water lagoon along the Bay of Bengal. It is India’s second largest brackish water lagoon after Chilika, spanning Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The lagoon is separated from the Bay of Bengal by Sriharikota Island. It is fed by Aarani River in the south and Kalangi River from the northwest; Buckingham Canal passes through it. Pulicat Lake was designated a Ramsar site in 2002 for wetland conservation.

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Around 100 wild boars were found dead in Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary in March, likely due to toxic waste contamination in Nangal Lake. Nangal Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the foothills of the Shivalik Hills, Rupnagar district, Punjab. The sanctuary covers 116 hectares and is part of the Nangal Wetland on the Sutlej River. It lies within a man-made reservoir built under the Bhakra-Nangal Project.

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Researchers recently discovered a new fungus species named Bridgeoporus kanadii in the forests of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. It has exceptionally large fruiting bodies, some measuring over three meters in radius, strong enough to hold a person’s weight. The species is named after Indian mycologist Kanad Das for his work on Indian macrofungi. The only other known species, Bridgeoporus nobilissimus, found in North America, has fruiting bodies up to 1.5 meters, making B. kanadii nearly twice as large. It grows mainly on dead fir trees and helps in forest regeneration by decomposing dead wood. It is inedible and has no direct economic value.

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The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) as “Critically Depleted” in its first-ever Green Status assessment. Survival depends on restoring undammed river stretches across South Asia, especially India, and supporting wild breeding. The Chambal river, spanning Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, is the last stronghold with several thousand individuals; other populations in northern India and Nepal are small and isolated. Only 0.5% of young gharials reach adulthood, making protection of nesting habitats critical for recovery.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister recently launched the ‘Gomti Rejuvenation Mission’ to ensure uninterrupted flow of the river. The mission aims to intercept 95% of urban sewage entering the river. Gomti River is a tributary of the Ganges (Ganga) River, flowing entirely through Uttar Pradesh. It is also known as Gumti or Gomati. The river originates from Gomat Taal, also called Fulhaar Jheel, in Pilibhit District, Uttar Pradesh. It drains the area between the Ramganga and Sharda Rivers. Gomti flows southwards through Lucknow, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Faizabad, and Jaunpur districts. It ultimately joins the River Ganga.

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Researchers from the Thackeray Wildlife Foundation recently discovered a new species of snail named Lagocheilus hayaomiyazakii, also called the Tilari hairy snail. It was found in the evergreen Tilari forest of Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The snail lives in leafy thickets and rocky areas of the Western Ghats. It is named after Hayao Miyazaki, the famous Japanese filmmaker and Studio Ghibli co-founder known for depicting harmony with nature. Its habitat is highly limited and threatened by wildfires and deforestation, making it vulnerable to extinction.

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Six new species of dragonflies and damselflies were recently discovered in Silent Valley National Park during an odonate survey. The park is located in the southwest corner of the Nilgiris, Kerala. It is one of India’s last undisturbed tropical rainforests and a core part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is nourished by the Kunthipuzha River and is called “silent” due to the absence of cicadas. The forest hosts four vegetation types, over 1000 flowering plant species, and rare medicinal plants.

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The Supreme Court directed the Jharkhand government to give an undertaking to notify a new wildlife sanctuary in Saranda. Saranda Forest is the largest Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in Asia, located in Jharkhand. Sal is a moist deciduous tree. Saranda means “the land of seven hundred hills”. Nearly 80% of the local population belongs to Ho, Munda, Oraon, and other primitive tribes. The notification aims to protect biodiversity and support tribal livelihoods.

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A rare bird White-cheeked Partridge (Arborophila atrogularis) was recently rescued near Dehing Patkai National Park in Assam. It belongs to the Phasianidae family, which includes pheasants and partridges. It inhabits dense undergrowth of evergreen forests, along with scrub, bamboo, and grassland areas. In India, it is found below 750 meters altitude, and up to 1,220 meters in Southeast Asia. It is found mainly in Northeast India. Its IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) status is Near Threatened.

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Recently, paleontologists in China discovered a new species of the coelacanth genus Whiteia from two fossilized specimens. The Coelacanth is a prehistoric, lobe-finned fish belonging to the order Coelacanthiformes. It was believed extinct for 66 million years until rediscovered alive in 1938 off the coast of South Africa. It is known as a “living fossil.” Coelacanth fossils date back to the Devonian period, around 420 million years ago. Once, about 90 species existed globally in both marine and freshwater habitats. Today, only two living species exist — the West Indian Ocean coelacanth and the Indonesian coelacanth.