Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, and the University of Southampton, UK have tried to understand the effects of changes in land use and land cover on regional temperatures in Odisha, which frequently experiences heatwave, cyclones, droughts and floods.
Researchers from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Aarhus University, Denmark, ICPO ‘Biologists for Nature Conservation’, Russia and the University of Washington, USA, have reported the effect of urbanisation on the diversity of birds.
In a recent study published in the journal General and Comparative Endocrinology, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have described how urbanisation is shaping the social behaviour and strategies of lizards. The researchers conducted their studies on the South Indian rock agama (Psammophilus dorsalis), a common resident of rocky hills in South India.
![Photo : The Netravati River by Arjuncm3 [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons](https://researchmatters.in/sites/default/files/styles/large_front_800x320/public/main_17.jpg?itok=eV91-WDU "Photo : The Netravati River by Arjuncm3 [CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons")
Urbanisation and agricultural intensification alter rainwater draining and soil movement, says a study from IIT Bombay.
Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai are studying the strange phenomenon known as urban heat islands, which leads to a sharp temperature difference between urban and metropolitan areas and the surrounding rural areas, due to human activities. The study also proposes measures to reduce the dire effects of the phenomenon.
Study from IIT Bombay explores whether the problem of affordable housing in urban India is resolved through Satellite town near metropolises.
Bangalore of the yesteryears was a city of gardens; cool, pleasant and green. In addition to the 2000+ species of trees -- some natural and some specifically planted -- individual gardens in small households contributed to the large biodiversity here. The undulating terrain of the city allowed formation of lakes -- natural and manmade – that were interconnected. As the ‘Garden City’ transformed into the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, the city’s rapid, uncontrolled growth turned this biodiversity haven to a concrete jungle.
Our lifestyles influence our behaviour in a big way -- or so we think. But did you know our activities have a major influence on other creatures living around us? In an interesting study, scientists have uncovered how urbanization has influenced the courtship behaviour among south Indian rock agamas and their escape strategies. The study found that these agamas use change of colour of their body as communication signal during courtship and aggression and human activities and urbanization have a great influence in the everyday lives of these lizards.
