Hundreds of cranes die in Indian village due to suspected pesticide contamination

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In a bizarre incident believed to be caused by pesticide poisoning, hundreds of cranes have been spotted dead at a village in the Indian state of Punjab. The Pakki Tibbi village in the Muktsar district of Punjab has raised many eyebrows with scores of has found falling dead for mysterious reason.

Dead cranes at the Pakki Tibbi village in Punjab, India

The water logged areas in the village have turned out to be a favorite place for the birds at least for the last three years. According to villagers, the cranes had made colonies on the Kikar trees in the area but have been showing high rates of mortality recently. Eyewitness accounts claim that even mature birds fall down unconsciously from the branches on which they perch and die afterwards.

The wild life officials who visited the spots were not able to find out the exact cause of the mysterious death of the birds. However, water contamination is suspected as the cause of death. On condition of anonymity, a wildlife official said that authorities suspect that the water logged area near the crane colonies have been poisoned due to high levels of pesticide presence.

They have taken samples from the dead cranes and have taken some of them for a postmortem to give a detailed report on the cause of death. 

Intentional poisoning or bio indication?

Since reports indicate that the villagers were not in favor of the bird colonies due to the foul smell, a chance of intended poisoning cannot be completely over ruled.

However, certain environmental groups are considering the death of the cranes as a bio-indication of the unhealthy environment in the village. According to reports, the incidence of cancer is highest among the villagers and the death of cranes points towards unhealthy elements in the environment, possibly in the water which has caused illness in the village and death to the birds.

The postmortem reports are expected to solve the mystery of the bird deaths.

Update: 
September 4, 2012 11.21 am

According to an official report from the Punjab wildlife department, the postmortem of the dead cranes at the Pakki Tibbi village has revealed that starvation and overcrowding has killed the birds. Hundreds of birds used to perch on four tress and the overcrowding resulted in fighting for food, says the report.  The report  points out that worm infestation also caused the death of the birds  since worms werer recovered from the stomach of many dead cranes.

A senior wildlife official has ruled out the rumour that there were migratory birds among the dead cranes. According to him, the worm infestation has reduced the immunity of the birds leading to their death.

However, environmentalists and experts have cried foul on the findings of the report.  According to experts cranes usually move on to find new places to make colonies if they face acute food shortage. "The report is an attempt to cover up the pollution of the water body by local industries", said a green activist in an online comment.

Shifting phytoplankton diversity at Sunderbans is an early sign of climate change

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Researchers in India has found a low abundance of a temperature sensitive phytoplankton Ceratium symmetricum at the estuaries and offshore of Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve. The change, which is triggered by the rise in the temperature of the surface water can be an early sign of climate change affecting the mangrove ecosystem of Sunderbans, says the study.

Ceratium symmetricum
Photo Courtsey: JOTT

Phytoplankton are minute photosynthetic aquatic organism floating on the water surface as a green discoloration of the water surface. Being primary producers, they are the foundation of a marine food web by offering food to fishes and other aquatic organisms.

The study which is the first one to examine the phytoplankton diversity in the Indian side of the Sunderbans, has assessed the presence of genus Ceratium Schrank in connection with physicochemical parameters such as Sea Surface Temperature (SST) in the estuaries of the Hooghly and Ichamati-Raymongal Rivers on the western parts of the Sunderbans.

Phytoplankton as bio-indicators

Phytoplanktons are known for their bio-indicator capabilities since any slight change in water temperature or the environment make big difference in their abundance. Members of Ceratium genus are especially known for their sensitivity towards temperature.

The research team has identified 5 species of phytoplankton from the genus - Ceratium trichoceros, Ceratium symmetricum, Ceratium fusus, Ceratium tripos and Ceratium furca- from the water samples. Among them, Ceratium symmetricum was not reported from the area earlier and was found in low abundance. According to earlier studies, low abundance of certain Ceratium species in the surface water during warm period is a sign of change.

To find out a possible cause for it, the researchers have studied the fluctuation pattern of the Sea Surface Temperature with the help of satellite imagery form 2003 to 2009. The data showed that the winter SST has been showing a rising trend in the area, possibly due to climate change.

  

Future Impact

 The lower abundance of Ceratium symmetricum and the rising trend in the winter SST are indicators of climate change affecting Sunderbans, says the study which is published in the latest issue of Journal of Threatened Taxa. It also points out that a further rise in the SST in the area may wipe the Ceratium symmetricum away from the Indian part of the Sunderbans, making it the first organism to take the toll of the climate change and the resulting temperature rise.

Anirban Akhand, Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Pranabes Sanyal and Sugata Hazra from the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Sourav Maity, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Indrani Das, Department of Botany, Midnapore College took part in the study.

Do you think Climate Change is a hoax? Have your say here. 

Why dragon flies are important to Human beings?

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Buddha once said that human has more to study from butterflies than from text books. Same is the case with dragonflies, as far as ecologists are concerned. But why? Wonder why do the elite human race with well-developed brains at his command to survive natural challenges care such a weak creature?

Dragonfly resting on a leaf

The first reason is that they are just like us, living creatures. Let them live. But if you insist on getting benefits, there are many.

Best bio-indicators

Recent researches say that dragonflies, just like butterflies, are prominent indicators of ecosystem health. Any change in the ecosystem will first make a visible mark on dragonflies, be it the climate change or a chemical war.

For instance, some districts in the South Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala report large scale health issues among the people due to the areal spray of Endosulfan, a pesticide which is banned in many European countries. The adverse effect of the pesticide was not studied before starting its use. It grabbed media attention only when a doctor practicing in one of the villages noticed large number of cancerous abnormalities among his patients, years later.

But, the sign was visible very early, but nobody had the eyes to see it.

The area recorded an abnormal fall in the population of damsel flies and butterflies. They were the first creatures wiped out by the pesticide reaction. If an ecologist or nature lover detected the change and raised the alarm, they would have been able to avert many of the deaths (thousands of them, which still continue) in the area.

Any such changes to the ecosystem first reflect on these weak creatures. In South Africa, it was found that the species diversity of dragonflies directly relates to human disturbance and resulting degradation of an ecosystem. The dragonflies in the undisturbed areas were rare or endemic to that region while those found at the disturbed riparian patches were common or general in nature.

Biological Pest Control Agents

Damsel flies also offer important ecological services

 

Dragonfly larvae are known predators of larvae of mosquitoes and black flies which are vectors of fatal diseases. The adult dragonflies devour mosquitoes and similar blood sucking flies which carry diseases.

It has made them effective bio control agents against mosquitoes and insect vectors of some diseases. Granite Ghost (Bradinopyga geminate), a container breeding dragonfly is widely used in Thailand as a biological controller of Aedes mosquito which spreads dengue fever. Its use in the urban areas was proved effective in preventing dengue outbreak and spread.

Similarly, dragonflies help the farmers in pest control too.

Do you know anymore reasons? Share it with us here.