Thesubstances which have adverse effects on living organisms and environment, asknown as toxic substances.  A toxicsubstance has the ability to cause systemic damage to living organism. Toxic substancesare resent in air, soil, water and in other living things. They can enterinside body in many ways, like; - through ingestion- by eating or drinking,through inhalation- by breathing, through contact with the skin- by absorption,through injection- from syringe or from other poisonous insect or snake bite.

Toxic substancesare mainly of three categories. Chemical, biological and physical. Chemical toxicsubstances include (a) inorganic substances like lead, mercury, asbestos, hydrofluoricacid, chlorine (gas) and (b) organic substances like methyl alcohol, medicineand poison from living things.

The dosageor concentration of the toxic substances is very important. Or properfunctioning of organism, many substances may be essential at low doses, butthat particular substance can be dangerous at higher doses. For example,manganese is so important for an pregnant woman, that a deficiency of manganeseduring pregnancy reduce growth and can cause mortality of the offspring, whereas workers exposed to high levels of manganese (manganese mines) sufferingbrain damage that causes memory impairment, disorientation and acute anxiety.

   
Ten thousand years ago,their habitat ranged from the Mediterannean to the wilds of India.They now cling precariously to theirmodern habitat,an impossibly small domain Gir National Park.A rough census at the time of independence shows about 250 lions,the 2010 census quotes 411.This may sound like good news but this large number is ironically the main cause for concern.It may be odd to think of the Asiatic lion as endangered,but the truth is that Gir is way overpopulated and needs quite a few of its lions relocated urgently.Ignorance and false pride from the state goverment's part can have disastrous consequences as the sanctuary is proving to small for the big cats.With the shortage of territory to command,lions are fast moving out of the sanctuary.Some of them have even taken to the beach!.To survive the lions have to put up with factors such as acute inbreeding given that the 400 plus population has been said to have been derived from around a dozen individuals.
 

A broader look to know what inbreeding actually means-

Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents,which can increase the chances of the offspring being affected by rrecessice traits.This generally leads to a decreased fitness of the population,which is called inbreeding depression
 
Results of inbreeding-
1.Increase in genetic disorders
2.lower birth rate
3.slower growth rate
4.Reduced fertility
5.Higher infant mortality rate
6.Loss of immune system
7.Small adult size

O'Brien,a renowned genecsist suggested that "If you do a DNA fingerprint,Asiatic lions look like identical twins because they descended from as few as a dozen individuals that was all left at the turn of the century".This makes them specially vulnerable to diseases.As it is perpetuating the species is a difficult task as the big cats have to copulate no less than 500 times to produce a litter.The most serious threat is the fear of the outbreak of a disease that could wipe out the entire population,bringing into account the fact that this has already happened once before.In 1994 canine distemper killed more than a third of Africa's serengeti lions.Lets pray our lions dont meet the same fate.

Hopes of a secure future in the Reintroduction Project Plan-

The Asiatic lion Rentroduction project plan aims to establish a second independent population of Asiatic lions at the Kuno Wildlfie santuary in the state of Madhya Pradesh,in an effort to save the lions of Gir which are living under the threat of natural disasters and epidemics.Wildlife Institute of India researchers confirmed that Palpur-Kuno WLS is the most promising location to re-establish a free ranging population and certified it ready to receive its first batch of translocated lions.Kuno WLS was selected as the reintroduction site because it is in the former range of the lions before they were hunted to near extinction.Twenty four villages which lived inside the remote core area set aside for the reintroduction of lions have been moved out with adequate compensation and promise of better facilities and provisions given to each family.However,it was still a controversial case of species preservation  via dislocation of human population.

The most shocking thing so far is that,the Chief minister of Gujrat,Narendra Modi has strictly opposed relocation plans arguing that lions were the main tourist attraction of the state saying that the lions are 'Gujrat's pride'.Perhaps he does not want Gujrat to lose its Status as the only state home to Asiatic lions.It is unclear whether there is any political agenda behind it,but so far the goverment's constant refusal has only underlined its ignorance.Modi continues to put ona resistance despite our Uninion environment and forest minister,Jairam Ramesh pressuring Gujrat to part with some of its lions with Madhya Pradesh,he has also expressed concern over the fear of inbreeding and a potential epedemic.So lets just keep our fingers crossed and hope that whatever being done is done with the lions best interests in mind.

The other less damaging but nevertheless serious threats to the lions-

1.Poisoning by farmers as an act of revenge for killing livestock
2.Natural or man made calamities such as floods,forest fires and epedemics(Drought does not count as a threat as the construction of 4 new dams and 300 water points makes sure problems related to water insuffiency for the animals do not arise.
3.Wells dug by the farmers for irrigations act as trap,leading to lions drowning
4.Farmers on the periphery of the Gir forest use crude and electrical fences which are powered from high volatage electricity deom the overhead power lines.This is primarily done to protect their crop from nilgais but are also responsibly for many lion deaths.
5.Habitat decline due to overgrazing.

Pollutants (or materials) in the environment are broadly of two types- a. biodegradable ones and b. Non- biodegradable ones. Biodegradables are subjected to microbial decomposition and thus with no or minimum persistence time in environment, and accordingly follow the regular cyclic material flow. While non-biodegradables are not decomposed by microbes. They have thus long persistent in environment, and are introduced in the biotic organisms along with nutrients food-stuff. They are neither metabolized nor excreted, but retained in unaltered state in higher concentration in organisms of higher trophic levels in the food-chain of an ecosystem. Thus they lead to irreversible disease and death of the organisms and misbalancing the ecosystem.

The process where the stable and persistent non-biodegradable pollutants (matters/ chemicals) are accumulated in tissues of biological organisms in a concentration that is much higher than its environmental concentration, which usually causes irreversible disease and death of organisms, ultimately lead to ecological imbalance is known as biomagnification.

Causes- Usually stable and non-biodegradable pollutants are lipophilic in nature, means they have the attraction towards lipid. For this lipophilic character, they are partitioned from surrounding water into the lipid or adipose tissues of organisms. Examples are DDT, PCBs (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls), salts of heavy metals (mercury, lead, cadmium etc.) and so on.

Tulip Das.

Bacteria and other micro organisms are responsible for decomposing organic waste. When organic matterials like dead plants, leaves, manure, sewage or food waste are present in water supply, bacteria started to break them. By that time, much of the available Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) is consumed by bacteria from other aquatic organisms of the oxygen they need to live.

Biological Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) is one of the most common measures of the oxygen used by micro organisms to decompose the waste. If  there  is a large amount of organic waste is present in the water supply, there will also be a lot of bacteria present which decompose the waste. In this case, the demand for oxygen will be high. As a result, Biological Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) level will be high.

A high B.O.D. value indicates pollution, i.e; water containing higher level of organic wastes that consumed the Dissolved oxygen (D.O.)  and is thus unsafe for human consumption.

Tulip Das

1.                Ceylon Birdwing                                Troides darsius
2.                 Ceylon Forester                               Lethe dynaste
3.                 Ceylon Palmfly                                 Elymnias singala
4.                 Ceylon Tiger                                    Parantica taprobana
5.                 Tree Nymph                                    Idea iosonia
6.                 Ceylon Rose                                    Pachliopta jophon
7.                 Blue Oakleaf                                    Kallima philarchus
8.                 Ceylon Treebrown                            Lethe daretis
9.                 Gladeye Bushbrown                          Nissanga patnia patnia
10.                 Jewel Four-ring                               Ypthima singala
11.                 Ormiston's Oakblue                           Arhopala ormistoni
12.                 Clouded silverline                            Spindasis nubilus
13.                 Ceylon Indigo Royal                         Tajuria arida
14.                 Woodhouse's 4-line blue                   Nacaduba ollyetti
15.                 Pale Ceylon 6-line blue                     Nacaduba sinhala
16.                 Ceylon Cerulean                             Jamides soruscans
17.                 Ceylon Hedge Blue                          Udara lanka
18.                 Decorated Ace                               Halpe dacorata
19.                 Rare Ace                                       Halpe(? homolea)egena....2 more....

               (See these Images : Gehan de Silva Wijerathne on facebook)    By:M.K.Randima.

Living system controls its activity through enzymes. Enzymes are biological catalysts. They increase or decrease the rate of chemical reaction in the cell, but enzymes remain unchanged after the reaction. Most cellular reaction occurs about a million time faster with the help of the enzymes rather than in the absence of it. Enzymes work on which chemical substances are known as substrate. Enzyme works on substrate to form an enzyme-substrate complex. After reaction, this complex split and produce the Product and enzyme get released. In the end of the reaction, enzyme remains unchanged and paired with another substrate. A small amunt of enzyme can work on a huge amount of substrate.

The term, enzyme was first used by Kuhne(1878). Buchner (1897) first collected enzymes from Yeast cell.

The general properties of enzymes are

1.      All enzymes are globular protein and catalyst.

2.      Their presence do not affect on characteristic and type of the Product.

3.      Enzyme reactions are bi-directional.

4.      Enzymes are selective for their substrate.

5.      Enzyme’s activity can be influenced by other molecules. Inhibitors are the molecule that decreases enzyme’s activity. Activators are molecule that increases the activity.

6.      Enzyme works in definite pH, temperature and concentration.

7.      The protein parts of the enzymes are apoenzyme, and non-protein part is known as co-factors.

International Union of Biochemistry (IUB) and Enzyme Commissiob (EC) classify and name the various enzymes. Generally, -ase is added with the name of the substrate to form the name of an enzyme, eg; the enzymes function on arginine and urea are respectively known as arginase and urease.

Tulip Das

The ‘Beej Bachao Andolan’ [BBA], begun in the late 1980s, is twenty five year old, led by farmer and social activist Vijay Jardhari. The Andolan started in the village Jardhargaon of district Tehri, Uttaranchal, famous for its unique movement to save the traditional seeds of the hills.

The ‘Beej Bachao Andolan’ [Save the Seed Movement or BBA] is not only a crusade to conserve traditional seeds but also to promote agriculture and local tradition.

A farmer and social activist, Vijay Jardhari realized that modern agriculture was destroying traditional farming. Crop yields of the high-yielding varieties in the modern agriculture were actually low; soil fertility was declining leading to an increasing dependence on toxic chemicals. Along with other activities of chipco movement, Jardhari formed the BBA to promote traditional agriculture and crop varieties.

In the valley of Ramasirain, Uttarkashi district, Farmers were growing a distinctive variety of red rice called chardhan. The rice was nutritious and suited to local requirements and conditions. Farmers also grew indigenous varieties like thapchini, jhumkiya, rikhwa and lal basmati. Agriculture here was untouched by modern practices and good yields were obtained without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. What the farmers here were doing was avoiding monoculture in a method called baranaja [12 grains] that involves the multicropping of a no. Of cereals and legumes. This diversification is security against drought and crop failure. Different crops are harvested at different times of the year and ensure year-round supply of food. This also maintain soil fertility replenishes nitrogen.

Today BBA has about 150 varieties of paddy from which 100 different varieties can still be grown. BBA has also collected 170 varieties of rajma. Effective pest control is accomplished by using the leaves of the walnut and neem, and the application of the ash and cow’s urine. The use of traditional farming methods and seeds has resulted higher yields, improved health of humans and increased conservation of soil fertility and agro-biodiversity.