Balugaon is a NAC (Notified Area Council) located just next to Chilika. In a coastal town like Balugaon, the fisherman and their children have lived for generations and are dependent on the lake for their livelihood i.e. the fish catches. But what they are not aware is that sustainable fishery depends on many other microscopic…
Author: Gurdeep Rastogi
Foldscope workshop at RCM College, Khallikote,Odisha.
On 1st of March 2019, Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority, Balugaon Odisha arranged an orientation programme for a graduate students of RCM college. The programme was carried out to have an interaction with faculty and encourage the students to use Foldscope in their laboratory. We visited the Rama Chandra Mardharaj Science College,…
Foldscope orientation for Students of Srikishan Sarda College, Assam under twining program
The aspect of sharing knowledge and experience of using Foldscope was done with the visiting students of Srikishan Sarda College Hailakandi, Assam, 788151 , (http://www.sscollegehkd.ac.in/) on 14th February 2019 in Chilika, Odisha. A group of sixteen B.Sc. Zoology student guided by their Professor visited Wetland Research Training Centre, Balugaon Odisha as a part of their…
Foldscope orientation Programme in Banambar Academy, Bhimpur, Odisha
On 13th of February 2019, the outreach programme for school children was held in Banambar Academy, Bhimpur on the theme “Outreach programme on seagrass biodiversity of Chilika under Foldscope”. The active participants were the Principal, teachers and 200 young brains of standard 8th and 9th. A talk on Chilika, a Ramsar site of India was…
Foldscope outreach programme at Godavarish Vidyapith, Banpur Odisha
The Foldscope team of Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority, Balugaon in their pursuit for raising awareness about the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources of Chilika Lagoon visited Godavarish Vidyapita, Banpur, on 13th February 2019. This school was located about 15 Km away from Chilika in a small coastal village Banpur…
High-resolution foldscopy of an associated diatom, Biddulphia sp.
Chilika Lagoon is a highly productive ecosystem. Its shallow depth supports a high diversity of benthic organisms, planktonic community and aquatic macrophytes. Diatoms are a dominant group found in Chilika lagoon. Diatoms are single-celled photosynthetic algae, abundant in aquatic environment. It is a primary producer of the aquatic environment and they are the primary food…
Foldscope outreach program at Sarkari Prathmik Vidalaya, Barkul, ODISHA
In coastal villages the fisherman and their children have lived for generations and are dependent on the lake for their livelihood i.e. the fish catches. But what they are not aware is that sustainable fishery depends on many other microscopic lives that are not visible to them. Educating fisherman and their next-generation about Chilika and how its…
Foldscope outreach program at Jugal Charan Girls High School, Balugaon, Odisha
Balugaon, a small coastal village located on the periphery of Chilika Lagoon supports fisherman population of around 1500. The fishermen and their children who live right next to the Chilika Lagoon never got a chance to see the microscopic world that also reside in Chilika. Fisherman, the resource user and their children must be better…
Rhodophyta under Foldscope with Twinning North-East Partner
Polysiphonia is a red alga that are usually well branched and are attached by rhizoids or haptera to a rocky surface or other algae. The thallus (tissue) consists of fine branched filaments each with a central axial filament supporting pericentral cells. At the jetty not only Polysiphonia was found to be entwined with the other…
Student orientation programme in Chilika Sarkari Upra Vidyalaya, Injanpur.
On 21ST January 2019, Foldscope Team of Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority, Balugaon, visited Chilika Sarkari Upra Vidyalaya, Injanpur, Odisha to educate the students of 6th to 8th standard on Seagrass biodiversity of Chilika and use of Foldscope. Around 70 students of school took an active participation in the interactive programme to know about…
Sensitizing the fishermen and onboard foldscopy of pigmented Amphipod.
Chilika a brackish water coastal lagoon is well known for its rich fishery resources. The lagoon is a life line for the economic and nutritional security to 0.2 million fishermen who are dependent on this renewable bio resource. The rich fishery resource of Chilika eventually depends on many small animals that directly or indirectly play…
Foldscope orientation programme at Balugaon High School, Balugaon, Chilika,Odisha.
On 7th January 2019, Foldscope Team of Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority visited Balugaon High School, Balugaon, Odisha to educate the students of 9th standard on Seagrass biodiversity of Chilika and use of Foldscope. Around 150 students and teachers of school took an active participation in the interactive programme to know about…
Sharing knowledge and experiences of foldscopy with DN Government College, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh under twining visit.
The aspect of sharing knowledge and experince of using Foldscope was done with our NE Partner from DN Government College Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh on 27th December 2018 in Chilika, Odisha. A group of six student guided by their Professor and PI of Foldscope Project visited Wetland Research Training Centre, Balugaon Odisha. For on board demonstration…
HIGH-RESOLUTION FOLDSCOPY OF A BIOLOGICAL MICROMACHINE: VORTICELLA
Our foldscope team was onboard for sampling from Chilika Lagoon along with 6 students and PI of foldscope project from Department of Zoology, D.N. Government College Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh on 27th Dec 2018. It was a fabulous bright sunny day and we were sure that in our pursuit for capturing the live biological machines in…
STUDENTS ORIENTATION PROGRAMME IN CHILIKA GOVERNMENT HIGH SCHOOL, BADKUL, ODISHA ON 19TH DECEMBER 2018.
On 19TH December 2018, Foldscope Team of Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority visited Chilika Government High School, Badkul, Odisha to educate the students of 9th to 10th standard on Seagrass biodiversity of Chilika and use of Foldscope. Around 150 students and teachers of school took an active participation in the interactive programme…
FOLDSCOPY OF AN ISOPOD
Isopods are one of the most diverse crustaceans in terms of shape, size and habitats. They dwell in awide variety of habitats ranging from pelagic (free-swimming) to interstial spaces of sand grains and are often abundant in seagrass meadows. Some of them also live as parasites on other animals either temporarily or permanently. Half of…
Foldscopy of sponge spicules
Sponges are radially symmetrical metazoans which belong to the phylum Porifera. They are sedentary,a fairly rigid, perforated bag, whose inner surface is lined with flagellated cells called choanocytes. On the outside surface they are lined with spicules.These spicules maybe calcareous or siliceous spicules, or they maybe fibbers composed of a collagenous protein called spongin. The…
A DAY WITH THE INVENTOR AND HIS INVENTION.
Foldscope has given a new dimension to the field of frugal science. The paper microscope has not only given easy access to the microscopic world to common people but also has redefined the concept of doing science and understanding it. We were fortunate that inventor of the foldscope, Prof. Manu Prakash and his colleague Dr….
High-resolution foldscopy of an unidentified benthic organism.
Chilika lake is a unique assemblage of marine, fresh and brackish water ecosystem, with amazing floral and faunal diversity. The diversity is under the exploration and every sampling is an excitement to learn new and more about the prevailing organism and its ecosystem. Chilika harbours a good number of seagrass species which makes the lagoon…
Foldscopy of a live female copepod
Outer channel of Chilika, is dominant with the marine organisms. During this month sampling we collected some zooplankton samples from the channel and observed the collected organism under foldscope. The video captures the organism which is a matured female copepod. This is the video of matured female copepod which is seen to carry eggsacs dangling…
SENSITIZING THE FISHERMEN Of CHILIKA ABOUT BENTHIC COMMUNITIES USING FOLDSCOPE
Chilika due to its brackish salinity and shallow nature supports dense beds of seagrasses that are often dominated by Halophila species. Seagrass beds are vital due to their role in providing the sheltering and feeding ground for many birds and fishes. The benthic community of seagrass beds is extremely diverse and many annelids living in…
Capturing the Amphipod through foldscopy and sensitization of coastal fishermen.
Chilika a brackish water coastal lagoon is well known for its rich fishery resources. The lagoon is a life line for the economic and nutritional security to 0.2 million fishermen who are dependent on this renewable bio resource. The rich fishery resource of Chilika eventually depends on many small animals that directly or indirectly play…
Foldscopy of Damselfly nymph from macrophyte dominated area of Chilika lagoon
Chilika Lagoon supports dense growth of submerged and emergent aquatic plant (macrophyte). These aquatic plants are also sheltering niches to a variety of flies and insects that feeds and rests on these macrophytes. During sampling from Northern part of the Chilika, where luxurious growth of freshwater aquatic weeds such as Eichhornia, Potamogeton and Vallisneria is…
High resolution Foldscopy of Mysis, the opossum shrimps
Chilika Lagoon a brackish water lagoon supports many species of plankton. During sampling from southern sector of the lagoon, which also harbours a rich diversity of seagrass and many planktonic species, zooplankton samples were collected. Mysis is a zooplankton primarily marine in nature, belonging to the order Mysida of the malacostracan superorder of Peracarida. Also…
Foldscopy of filter feeding action of a veliger larva.
Many benthic organism start its early life stage as a planktonic larvae. A veliger is the planktonic larva of many kinds of sea snails and freshwater snails, as well as most bivalve molluscs (clams) and tusk shells. These larvae happen to be free living and are often carried from one place to other through the water currents. They complete…
Polychaete larva feeding on organic aggregates.
Chilika is a highly productive lagoon where water contains plenty of suspended organic matter of both extrinsic and intrinsic origin. We collected water from the shore of Chilika where large amount of organic material mostly of plant origin were decomposing. Polychaetes refer such habitats where plenty of such organic matter is available and are known…
OUTREACH PROGRAMME ON FOLDSCOPE IN KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA, GOPALPUR MILITARY STATION (ODISHA)
On 2nd November 2018, Foldscope Team of Wetland Research and Training Centre, Chilika Development Authority visited Kendriya Vidyalaya, Gopalpur Military Station, Odisha to educate the students of 9th to 12th standard on Seagrass biodiversity of Chilika and use of Foldscope. The students and teachers of KV took an active participation in the interactive programme to…
Foldscopy of a fish juvenile
Seagrass meadows are well recognized for acting as a nursery ground for many commercially important fish species. Nalabana, a bird sanctuary within the Chilika Lagoon supports dense seagrass meadows that act as sheltering ground for many important fish and crab species. A survey on seagrass meadows was carried out during which some fish juveniles were…
Touching young minds of Chilikarani English Medium School
On 31st October 2018, foldscope team of Wetland Research and Training Centre got a chance to interact with the school children of Chilikarani English Medium School located at Balugaon on the theme “Outreach programme on seagrass biodiversity of Chilika under Foldscope”. The enthusiast participants were the 9th and 10th class students and their teachers who…
Ultra-high imaging of benthic oligochaeta (Annelida) from seagrass medows.
Seagrass meadow support diverse flora and fauna and offer several ecosystems services such as nutrient cycling and foraging and breeding ground for many fishes and crabs. Chilika Lagoon support a rich diversity of seagrasses and their meadows are vital in sustaining the lagoon fishery resources. Nalabana protected sanctuary inside Chilika lagoon is rich in seagrass…