Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
The spotted deer population is declining rapidly in the Konark-Balukhand Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha. The sanctuary is located in Puri district, Odisha and was declared on 23 April 1984. It covers a sandy coastal tract between Puri and Konark, planted with casuarina and cashew trees. Spotted deer is the most common deer species in Indian forests. It is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Notes:
A new fish species named Pseudorhombus bahudaensis was recently discovered by researchers from the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre of the Zoological Survey of India. It was found in the Bahuda estuary located in Odisha. This species belongs to the flounder fish group under the order Pleuronectiformes. It closely resembles Pseudorhombus arsius, also known as the Gangetic largetooth flounder. They usually live in inshore waters up to 50 metres deep and can move between saltwater and freshwater environments.

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The Union Government has restored and conserved about 22,560 hectares of mangroves in the last two years under the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) scheme. MISHTI aims to increase mangrove cover along coastlines and salt pan lands. It was launched in 2023 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. The initiative followed India’s joining of the Mangrove Alliance for Climate at COP27 (Conference of Parties 27) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) in 2022. It focuses mainly on the Sundarbans delta, Hooghly Estuary, and other coastal regions.

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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.

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Recently, Cyclone Montha made landfall along the Bay of Bengal coast. The name “Montha” means a fragrant flower in the Thai language. It is a tropical cyclone, a rapidly rotating storm formed over tropical oceans around a low-pressure system. Such storms are called Hurricanes in the Atlantic, Typhoons in the Western Pacific and South China Sea, and Willy-willies in Western Australia.

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The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change recently launched the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change at COP30. The initiative was first announced at the G20 Leaders Summit 2024 as a multilateral effort among countries and global organisations. It aims to fund research and actions that promote truthful and reliable information on climate issues. A Global Fund for Information Integrity on Climate Change has also been launched. The Declaration states that climate misinformation has become a climate crisis. It defines climate misinformation as false or misleading content about climate change, its causes, impacts, or solutions

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Cuban scientists are working to restore Cuba’s Zapata Swamp to save the Cuban gar from extinction. The Cuban gar (Atractosteus tristoechus), also called manjuarí, belongs to the Lepisosteidae family. Gars are an ancient fish family, existing for about 100 million years. It is a tropical freshwater species that can also live in brackish water. The IUCN conservation status of the Cuban gar is Critically Endangered.

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A nest of the Rock Eagle Owl led the Telangana Forest Department to stop quarrying for over one month to protect the species. It is also called the Indian eagle-owl or Bengal eagle-owl. It is a large horned owl found in hilly scrub forests and rocky areas. The bird is brown-grey with a white throat patch and black stripes. It is mainly found in South Asian countries like India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its status is Least Concern under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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A tigress will be airlifted from Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) to Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR), Rajasthan, marking the state’s first inter-state tiger translocation. Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR) is located in Bundi district, Rajasthan. It acts as a wildlife corridor between Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and Mukundara Hills Tiger Reserve. Mez River, a tributary of Chambal River, flows through the reserve.

Notes:
A first-of-its-kind study in eastern India tracked a bar-headed goose using a GSM–GPS transmitter, revealing its migration route and flight pattern. The bar-headed goose is a migratory bird known as one of the highest-flying birds in the world. It can fly at altitudes of up to 25,000 feet while crossing the Himalayas, surviving extremely low oxygen levels and freezing temperatures. The species is native to Central Asia, where it breeds, and is found across India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Japan, and nearby regions. In India, its distribution extends from the northeastern region to southern parts of the country. It prefers high-altitude lakes during breeding and freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams during wintering.