Today we celebrate the World Environment Day, to raise awareness about the importance of a clean, green and healthy environment for human well-being, and to encourage everyone for taking positive action in addressing challenging environmental issues. Celebrated each year on 5th June, the Day marks the opening of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972.

Today we celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity, to recognise the pivotal
role of biodiversity to life on earth and human well-being. On this day in 1992, the text of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted. To mark this, 22nd May has been
proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Day for Biological Diversity, to increase
awareness about the importance of and threats to biodiversity.

Hanuman langurs are a species complex

The adaptable garden plant Lantana camara has been spreading across India and edging out native species for two hundred years now, despite all efforts to control its growth. Scientists suggest that we could more effectively manage the plant by focusing our attention on riverside habitats.

A recently published research work of Manjari Jain, a former PhD student of Prof. Rohini Balakrishnan and now a faculty at IISER Mohali, has been covered in Indiabioscience. A quote from the article:

Male crickets court their females through song. But in the wild, several species of crickets call together in a cacophonic chorus. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science used a series of experiments that combined rigorous fieldwork and elaborate modeling to find out how the male’s song reaches its mate through the apparent din.

The research work of Joyshree Chanam, a PhD student working with Prof. Renee M Borges, on ant-plant interactions has been covered by the New Scientist magazine.

Deccan Herald, a reputed English daily published from Bangalore, has an article on the inauguration of online database that Prof. Sankara Rao of CES has developed. The inauguration of web database took place on 30th Jan at the Faculty Hall of IISc, by N Sivasailam, Principal secretary, Forest, Environment and Ecology Department. The event was preside over by Prof. Balaram, Director, IISc. Article in Deccan Herald: IISc develops portal on plant species

Sandhya Sekar writes in Nature India blog about a recent research work of PhD student Karpagam Challaiah.

Karpagam Challaiah is working with Prof. Raman Sukumar on the ecology and evolution of asian elephants. The above article in Nature India blog, titled " A tusk-less future for the Asian elephant " is about Karpagam's recently published paper in Animal Behavior.

Congratulations, Karpagam!