Environment & Biodiversity Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Project GIB (Great Indian Bustard) has successfully hatched three chicks of the Great Indian Bustard, increasing the captive conservation population to 94 birds. The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is a ground-dwelling bird found in grasslands, scrublands, and semi-arid regions. It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. The species is now mainly confined to Rajasthan, with small populations in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. Desert National Park in Jaisalmer and Barmer is one of its most important habitats.

Notes:
Researchers from Kerala recently identified a new bryophyte plant named Indocolea devendrae. The species was discovered in the forests of northern Kerala. It has been named in honour of Devendra Kumar Singh, a noted expert in non-flowering plants. A unique feature of this plant is that it grows on the mushroom Phellinus fastuosus found on tree trunks. Indocolea is an entirely new genus discovered in India. Bryophytes are simple, non-flowering plants that usually grow in moist environments.

Notes:
During his visit to Seychelles, the Prime Minister visited the Seychelles National Botanical Garden and fed Aldabra giant tortoises. The Aldabra giant tortoise is the second-largest land tortoise in the world, after the Galápagos giant tortoise. It is endemic to the Aldabra Atoll in Seychelles. It inhabits scrub forests, mangrove swamps, coastal dunes, beaches, and grasslands (platins). Its grazing creates a unique grassland habitat known as “tortoise turf.”

Notes:
The Southern Birdwing has been recorded for the first time in Telangana, in the Kollapur Range of the Amrabad Tiger Reserve. The Southern Birdwing (Troides minos), also known as the Sahyadri Birdwing, is a large butterfly endemic to South India, mainly the Western Ghats. It is India’s second-largest butterfly. It is the State Butterfly of Karnataka. It inhabits evergreen forests, mixed deciduous forests, dry scrublands, and agricultural fields.

Notes:
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the PaleoIndia Portal. It is a digital platform developed jointly by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, using Geological Survey of India (GSI) geological maps. The portal documents fossil fauna from all 28 States and 8 Union Territories. It contains information on fossils of mammals, reptiles, birds, fishes, amphibians, molluscs, arthropods, foraminifera, echinoderms, and ichnofossils.

Notes:
The Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica) is spreading rapidly in Tirunavaya panchayat, Kerala, including school campuses. It is considered one of the world’s worst invasive species. It is native to East Africa but has spread globally through the pet trade, food use, and accidental introduction. It thrives in warm, humid tropical climates. It is found in agricultural fields, wetlands, forests, scrublands, coastal areas, and urban regions.

Notes:
Researchers discovered a new freshwater shrimp species, Caridina sharmai, in the Gomti River near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. This is the first recorded species of its kind from the Lucknow region. It is identified by its unique tail structure and brush-like hairs on its front legs, which help it feed on algae. In the wild, it is dark brown or black with yellowish-grey stripes, but in aquariums it gradually becomes almost transparent.

Notes:
Tigidia singhal is a new species of trapdoor spider recently discovered in India. It was discovered in the semi-arid grasslands of the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra. The discovery increases the number of Tigidia species in India to eight. The genus Tigidia is found only in India, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Earlier, Tigidia species were known only from the tropical evergreen and deciduous forests of the Western and Eastern Ghats. Tigidia singhal is the first species of this genus recorded from a semi-arid open natural ecosystem.

Notes:
Recently, the Bhogdoi River overflowed due to heavy monsoon rains, causing floods in Jorhat district, Assam. The Bhogdoi River is a key south-bank tributary of the Brahmaputra River. It originates in the Naga Hills, flows directly through the Jorhat district of Assam, and joins the Dhansiri River before discharging into the Brahmaputra. Jorhat, one of the districts heavily affected by seasonal floods, lies on the banks of this river.

Notes:
The Supreme Court directed a 10-km mining buffer zone around all Wetland Conservation Reserves in India. The order extends the buffer first applied to the Asan Conservation Reserve in Uttarakhand to similar protected wetlands across the country. Asan Conservation Reserve is the first Ramsar Site of Uttarakhand. It covers 444.4 hectares in Dehradun, at the confluence of the Asan and Yamuna rivers. The reserve lies on the Central Asian Flyway, an important route for migratory birds. It supports 330 bird species, including several globally threatened species.