On Conservation Issues till Arpit our moderator for the day, joined us...............

Susan Hi friends, today our chat topic is "Marine Biology"

Susan Hello Udayan

udayan Hi Susan, I am glad to be here...

udayan BTW I am a first timer

Susan Good. Pl. introduce yourself . We are early. Have to wait for Arpit.

udayan Well I am Udayan Patil, aged 30, from Nagpur.

udayan I am a wildlife lover...and been into a conservation for last 10 yr..

Susan Nagpur does not have any sea at all.

Susan Wow that is a long time.

udayan ya I know...its right in the center...but then general curiosity got me here

Susan Tell us what exactly have you been doing in conservation?

udayan well conservation has been a hobby...not full time into it ( Unfortunately )

Susan Since I am also a zero as far as Marine bio is concerned , let us talk about conservation in the meantime

udayan well been working with some friends on water conservation activity at Bor national park...

Susan Bor N.P?

udayan we constructed a few earthen dam in the core area....basically for ground water recharging and it acts as a water hole also

udayan Bor is about 65 Km from Nagpur...a small place.....about 65 sq km...

Susan Sounds very interesting.

Susan Is there a river running thro it?

udayan Bor is about 60 Km from nagpur.....with tiger population of 4 ( Dept claims it to be 6 )..

udayan decent prey base...of spotted, sambar and blue bull

Susan Bor must be having a corridor with a larger Park?

udayan ya a river runs thru...and its checked with a dam called Bordharan

udayan well ya...it was a part of Tadoba to Pench sometime back...maybe 50-60 yrs back

udayan and from what I have observed...the corridor is now broken into small fragments....of about 60-100 sq km each

Susan and each one is a N.P?

udayan the sad part is that...this particular area is under pressure.....

udayan animals are leaving park and coming into neighboring villages...

udayan No..one bor is a NP...rest are PAs

udayan actually Bor is not a NP...its a Sanctuary

Susan I just spoke with Arpit. He is reaching in five min. Is in a traffic jam.

udayan :) ok Susan

Are there any tiger attacks?

udayan well fortunately none till now.....but wont be long....

udayan I have stopped tiger outside the park area a lot of time...

udayan and the whole area around is a sugarcane belt.....so I fear the worst

Susan You mean you have seen it outside the area?

udayan sorry...I meant spotted....

Susan Hope there are no elephants

Susan Sugar cane fields are their favourite

udayan ya....a lot of time....and invariable in the summer....its outside the park...sitting next to the watered fields

udayan well...no eles around

Susan So , your making waterholes inside makes eminent sense

udayan but it wont be long before the tiger attacks some domestic cattle...and falls prey to the angry villagers...

udayan ya..that was the primary reason to make that........well inside the park...

Susan Why don't to send us a story on Bor Sanctuary and the work you are doing with a couple of pics?

udayan we also planning for a reservoir kinda water body....

Susan We will publish it in the ezine.

udayan well ya I can do that....but somehow I dont want to publicize it.....unless I get some rewarding result from it..

On Marine Biology.............

Arpit hello friends

udayan Hi Arpit...

Arpit Hi Susan and Udyan

Arpit Sorry for being late

Arpit i got stuck in traffic

udayan thats alright mate...NP..

Arpit So what's you are discussing

udayan nothing much....just some talk...waiting for you to come in

Arpit so today's chat topic is Marine Biology

udayan yup

Arpit so where to start

Susan Is it biology relating to marine animals?

Arpit Yes

Arpit Marine biology is the study of plants and animals that live in oceans, coastal waters, and saltwater wetlands.

Arpit this is a kind of book definition

udayan basically...marine ??? nothing to do with fresh water aquatic life ??

Susan it is seen as an applied science, I think

Arpit But the practical is to study about the function, structure, and life processes of living things in these habitats

Arpit yes udayan it's related to saline water only

udayan ok..

Arpit so it includes sea, coastal wetland, etc

Arpit as every eco system is complex in nature, marine ecosystem is also much complex

Arpit yes susan it's applied science

udayan since I dont know anything about it....lemme ask you a lame question....is the marine wildlife in india, in the same pathetic condition as the wildlife on the mainland ??

Arpit yes

udayan or is there a better hope for it ?

Arpit Marine wildlife is in the same conditions as in mainland

Arpit due to heavy industries being developed in coastal areas

Arpit across the nation

Arpit In my point of view marine wildlife has very large area for impact

Arpit eg. in '98, el-nino southern cycle

Arpit our reef got damaged

udayan reason being ??

Arpit oil spill in remote area can damage a reef or eco system situated far away from the spill area

Amit Sad thing is, there is some awareness about mainland but none about marine

Arpit as marine biology also has impacts due to sea currents, winds, temperature etc.

Arpit yes amit you are perfectly right

Arpit normally as you might have experienced people are very less aware of the wildlife surrounding them

Arpit and awareness of marine wildlife is a far away dream

Susan What can the common man do to help the marine creatures live in harmony with us?

Arpit As we do not realize the importance of sea at a macro or micro level

 Arpit I think as a common man First thing to do is we should stop getting the sewage water going in to sea rather than sewage treatment plants

Amit I was reading about a sea walk in Goa. Such places can create awareness

Arpit we should manage the sea's resources sustain ably, that we should take strong measures to avoid destruction of habitats, species depletion, pollution, and other threats faced by the ocean that often goes unnoticed because the scars are not as evident as they are on land.

Arpit Humans are terrestrial animals, and our capacity to see and understand the importance and vulnerability of life in the sea has trailed our growing ability to harm it

Susan Well said, Arpit-That is a quote

Arpit yes susan

Susan Tell us what are the Govt agencies involved in protecting marine life?

Arpit i think it was said by Dr. Hoyee in 1990 or 95 speech on ICRS

udayan but arpit...for all practical reasons....do you think that a common man really damages the marine life....is it this man.....who does the harmful damage....or it the man as a industrialist....who does the real damage..

Arpit As a govt. body directly involved in conservation and protection in marine life

Arpit is Forest Dept.

Arpit udayan your question is a bit tricky one to answer

Arpit But as you are aware in some important areas forest people are not at all interested in marine wildlife or they are not educated enough or aware about marine wildlife

Amit I think Udayan is absolutely right

udayan well sorry about that...but what I wanted to know was.....like you suggested that..we should see to it that the sewage should not be dumped in the sea...and rather it should go to the sewage treatment plant...

Arpit Udyan if you see that any man is causing a bit or more damage to nature

Arpit it could be industrialist or a common man

udayan well practically speaking...I can't help it at my level.....I mean I let the sewage go in the sewage line that the govt provides me as a basic civic amenity...

Arpit yes you are right

udayan I really don’t know....and can't control...as to where the basic sewage is being dumped......

Arpit but in many coastal cities which are developing and doesn't have proper town planning, they keep their sewage dump in the ocean

udayan like in mumbai...all the sewage I presume in dumped in the open sea....and I really don’t think...that a common man in mumbai...can really do something about it.....unless he protests against the BMC

Arpit yes

Arpit yes if we can protest against building a bridge on the creek

Arpit we should protest to properly use sewage treatment plants

udayan so as a basic singular human....can I do something ????

Arpit But apart from this kind of domestic waste there are other pollution sources also

udayan ok...and is there something i can do to educate people about it ??

 Arpit definitely

Arpit you can start with some kind of show like, shell collections, pictures and slide shows etc

udayan ya right...and its not just about in seas...I know that industrial waste is being dumped in rivers also......so whatever I learn from you today...I can apply the same on local level also

Susan Tell us what are the Govt agencies involved in protecting marine life? Susan Tell us what are the Govt agencies involved in protecting marine life? Susan Sorry about the triple

Arpit runoff, industrial waste etc

Arpit first is forest dept as I said earlier

Susan Arpit, why don’t you use yahoo group Indianwildlifeclub to write about marine issues specifically?

Arpit then some of the research organization like NIO, etc

Arpit I do post on indian wildlifeclub on some issues

Arpit i had also mailed you the picture of whale shark and write up that you had asked for

Susan There are many bird watcher groups but hardly any on marine- Besides, looking at marine life as part of wildlife will get more attention

Arpit yes

Arpit there are some international groups dealing specifically on marine biology

Arpit But as a wildlifer or naturalist most of the people are not much aware who are living away from the shore lines

Susan Arpit, I do not seem to have got it. Can you resend the pic and mail? My hotmail had problems for five days May be you sent it then.

Arpit ok I will send it by Monday

Arpit The Marine Ecosystem is a complex and interwoven ecosystem with each biotic and abiotic factor influencing every other component directly or indirectly

Arpit udyan pesticide and fertilizers are also source of pollution in sea

Arpit as they all get into the sea by monsoon runoff

Amit But people who grew away from seas are curious and are happy to learn. I come from a hilly state. Most people in my state have not seen sea

Arpit so marine biology depends on many physical as well as biological units

Arpit yes amit that’s human nature

udayan ya that sure is...and I have tried educating the people of the front lately...I have discouraged people from using them. I myself am doing organic farming...and with encouraging result...people around my area have stopped using it

Arpit Congrats and keep it up

udayan discouraging use of pesticides, chemical insecticides...and PLASTIC.....

Arpit as in sea you might have seen

Arpit there are diverse habitats ranging from coral reefs, muddy shore, rocky shore, sandy beaches

Susan yes, Udayan every person can make a difference. I have an organic kitchen garden. a drop in the ocean I guess

Arpit all this habitat are interconnected

Arpit most of them have inputs and outputs connected to other habitats and ecosystems

Arpit Habitat destruction is the main problem for marine conservation

Arpit they are destroyed by destructive fishing activities, coastal development, pollution, dredging ship channels

Susan Arpit, this topic is real huge. can we have a related topic next month too? may be a more specific area like wetlands?

Arpit yes we can have

udayan That would be really great..... Arpit but I think susan we should first start a series on marine wildlife

Arpit and conservation

Susan Suggest the topic -Udayan, Amit you too can suggest a topic

udayan I think it could be something to do with closer areas first.....like "In and around Sea Coast"....maybe something which a common man can relate to

Arpit udayan I think you referred to Coastal Wildlife

udayan a baby step to what a common man can do..and would see near him...something which even he can observe

Susan That sounds good-Coastal Wildlife

Arpit so it can include general wildlife, birds, and marine wildlife

Susan wetland Birds could be another?

Arpit yes

udayan and susan....if you can please confirm the date before hand...I will try and ask my friends in mumbai to join in...

Susan The date is always 18th and time also is same every month.

Susan Arpit you can moderate both these topics?

Arpit yes

udayan great...so I will ask them to log on too......

Susan Thanks a lot. Thank you to all of you and shall we call it a day.

Arpit yes definitely

Susan See you again next month same day same time.

Arpit ok susan