Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Careers
  • More..
    • Horoscope
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Opinion
    • COVID-19
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Careers
  • More..
    • Horoscope
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Opinion
    • COVID-19
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
No Result
View All Result
OrissaPOST - Odisha Latest news, English Daily -
No Result
View All Result

Wildlife warrior

Updated: April 10th, 2018, 17:41 IST
in Feature, State
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Linkedin

Rashmi Rekha Das, OP

Siddhartha Pati, founder of the Association for Biodiversity Conservation and Research, has pioneered Horseshoe crab research in India

Also Read

Dhiraj Prasad Sahu I-T raids

Dhiraj Prasad Sahu I-T raids: Cash counting continues on fifth day

16 hours ago
Crime in Odisha

Odisha: Man surrenders before police with severed head of wife

18 hours ago

For much of human history, the phenomenal life beneath the ocean’s surface was a distant, unattainable world. Thanks to many curious and courageous individuals, however, marine science has grown into a vast and exciting field. While there are many who have contributed to save marine life, Siddhartha Pati stands out as an exceptional pioneer. Siddhartha, the founder of the Association for Biodiversity Conservation and Research (ABCR) has pioneered Horseshoe crab research in India. Recently, he was among three from Asia selected to receive the Future Conservationist Award given by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP) in UK. The annual award supports the work of early career conservationists for over 25 years. CLP is a partnership that includes the Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna & Flora International, Bird Life International, and Conservation International. In an interview, Siddhartha expresses his concern about the dwindling number of Horseshoe crabs in Orissa, and on the Chandipur beach in particular.

Hailing from Balasore, Siddhartha grew up in a village near the Subarnarekha river known for its biodiversity. That is where he developed a passion for wildlife conservation. Siddhartha, who works as a research scholar in the department of bioscience and biotechnology at the Fakir Mohan University is also the investigator in a project for the conservation of the horseshoe crab supported by the Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). His expertise lies in the area of restoration ecology and wildlife management, biodiversity conservation, and environmental ethics. Siddhartha has worked with WWF-India and the Malkolak Institute of Marine Studies, Goa, where he was able to combine his passion for history and hiking with his commitment to protect India’s wildlife.
Siddhartha says, “Apart from many prized species of flora and fauna, Orissa also has a living fossil to boast of. The Horseshoe crab, which is widely found along the coast of Chandipur, existed long before the arrival of dinosaurs. Two decades ago, Horseshoe crabs were found in large numbers along the coastal belt, but now the species is confined to specific pockets like Eakakula beach, Balarampur, the Chandipur beaches of Balasore district and Hukitola areas of Kendrapada district.”
He elaborates on the Horseshoe crab. “The Horseshoe crab is an amazing creature and considered to be the oldest living fossil in the world. It has descended from mud dwelling primitive arthropods, named trilobites, which lived in the Precambrian seas, nearly 600 million years ago. After 150 million years or so, the Horseshoe crab evolved into its present shape. While so many animals, including dinosaurs and many other latecomers to the Mesozoic era, are completely extinct, it is a wonder how the humble Horseshoe crab has survived for such a long period. It seems that this animal can overcome all kinds of adverse situations in its estuarine and coastal shallow habitat. It can also tolerate wide ranges of temperature, salinity, desiccation and submergence.”
Siddhartha explains how Horseshoe crabs are beneficial for human beings. “These crabs are prized for their blue blood, as it finds wide application in bio-medical sciences. The crab is in high demand worldwide for its therapeutic value. Its blood is used in making drugs for illnesses like mental exhaustion and gastroenteritis. Its blood cells can be extracted and crushed to provide a lysate – a chemical uniquely sensitive to bacterial toxins – that can be used to check for microbial contamination. However, most people here are unaware of these facts,” says the researcher. That apart, it is suspected that such crabs are being smuggled from the Bay of Bengal through Thailand and Malaysia.
Siddhartha adds: “Fishermen in India are ignorant of the commercial importance of the species and they generally throw Horseshoe crabs back into the sea when they are caught in the net while fishing. Additionally, the degradation of the crabs’ breeding grounds due to natural and anthropogenic activities has also resulted in mass depletion of the crab population along the coast. I would like to call for effective measures to protect these valuable breeding beaches along the coast. My project aims at implementing conservation measures to mitigate impacts on horseshoe crab populations along the coast and also focuses on raising conservation awareness among local stakeholders.”
Siddhartha, whose articles on Horseshoe crabs have been published in magazines like Science Reporter, Science Horizon, and Zoo Print Magazine, is also the recipient of many awards from organisations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, India, Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, UAE and Rufford Foundation, USA. That apart, he has also received the Biju Patnaik Award for Wildlife Conservation from the state government.

Share79TweetSendShare
Suggest A Correction

Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox.

OrissaPOST epaper Sunday POST OrissaPOST epaper

Click Here: Plastic Free Odisha

#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratyasharani Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akriti Negi

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Jhili Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Spinoj Pattnaik

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tapaswini Mallick

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Geetanjali Patro

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Kamana Singh

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Faiza Firdous

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Manas Samanta

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Chinmay Kumar Routray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aman Kumar Barisal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adweeti Bhattacharya

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Swarit Praharaj

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Mrutyunjaya Behera

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Shreyanshu Bal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anasuya Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

D Rama Rao

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archana Parida

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Saishree Satyarupa

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarfraz Ahmad

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sipra Mishra

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anshuman Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anup Mahapatra

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sibarama Khotei

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ankita Balabantray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akshaya Kumar Dash

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Rajashree Manasa Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adrita Bhattacharya

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Surya Sidhant Rath

December 12, 2019

Archives

Editorial

Blind to Condition

AAKAR PATEL
December 10, 2023

Last week, I wrote about South Asia remaining poor compared to nations in Asia, which have done something different from...

Read more

ED’s Future Actions

December 9, 2023

The recent empanelling of IRS officer Rahul Navin as the interim chief of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and conferring upon...

Read more

Bungling Spies

Representational image (Via christianitytoday.com)
December 6, 2023

It appears to be a season of Indian spies getting nabbed or identified for messing up with their espionage work...

Read more

Opposition In Peril

December 5, 2023

The Congress’ disastrous performance in the just concluded Assembly elections to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan presents an uphill task...

Read more
  • Home
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Feature
  • Sports
  • Sci-Tech
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
Developed By Ratna Technology

© 2020 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

  • News in Odia
  • Orissa POST Epaper
  • Video
  • Home
  • Metro
  • State
  • National
  • International
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Horoscope
  • Careers
  • Feature
  • Today’s Pic
  • Opinion
  • Sci-Tech
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

© 2020 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST