About Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR):

• It is located in Kerala.
• It is set high at Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the Western Ghats, adjacent to the border with Tamil Nadu.
• It surrounds the Periyar Lake, which was created in 1895 by building a dam across the Periyar River.
• Rivers: Two major rivers, namely Periyar and Pamba, drain the area.
• Dams: Mullaperiyar Dam is located within the PTR.
• Tribes: It is home to many tribal communities, including the Mannans and the Palians.
• Vegetation: It mainly comprises tropical evergreen forests, semi- evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests, transitional fringe evergreen forests, grasslands, and eucalyptus plantations.
• Flora: It includes Banyan, Sacred Fig, Teak, Royal Poinciana, Kino, Sandalwood, Rosewood, Mangoes, Bamboos, Jacarandas, Jamun, Tamarind, Gloriosa lily, and many more.
• Fauna:
  • Several species of mammals are found here like Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Sambar, Barking Deer, Indian Wild Dog, Mouse Deer, Wild Pig, Indian giant squirrel, Jungle cat, sloth bear, Nilgiri Tahr, ETC.
  • The major four species of primates are also found at Periyar – the rare lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, Gee’s Golden Langur, Common Langur, and Bonnet Macaque.
  • It is also being considered as the habitat of the elusive Nilgiri Tahr.

About Greater Sand Plover:

• It is a small wader in the plover family of birds.
• Scientific Name: Charadrius leschenaultii
• Habitat and Distribution:
  • Found from Turkey to Jordon, Central Asia, Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China, wintering along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, southern China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Australasia.
  • It breeds in high-elevation areas, where it favors arid, open habitats, sometimes near water.
  • Winters on coastal mudflats and estuaries.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Least Concern

About Intron:

• In some genes, not all of the DNA sequence is used to make protein.
• Introns are noncoding sections of an RNA transcript, or the DNA encoding it, that are spliced out before the RNA molecule is translated into a protein.
• The sections of DNA (or RNA) that code for proteins are called exons.
• Following transcription, new, immature strands of messenger RNA, called pre-mRNA, may contain both introns and exons.
• The pre-mRNA molecule thus goes through a modification process in the nucleus called splicing during which the noncoding introns are cut out and only the coding exons remain.
• Splicing produces a mature messenger RNA molecule that is then translated into a protein.
• Introns are also referred to as intervening sequences.
• The length of introns differs among species and genes in the same species; mammals and flowering plants have multiple introns and are longer than exons.
• Introns may contain sequences that regulate how genes are expressed or transcribed and how mRNA is processed.

About Elaphropoda Triangulata and Habropoda Adi:

• They are two new species of solitary bees.
• They were discovered in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Elaphropoda triangulata is named after the triangle-shaped markings on its abdomen.
• Habropoda adi is named after the Adi indigenous community of Arunachal Pradesh, which inhabits the region where the bees were collected.
• They belong to the bee subfamily Anthophorinae, which consists largely of ground-nesting solitary bees.
  • Solitary bees are important pollinators that help maintain healthy ecosystems and support agriculture.
  • Unlike honeybees, they do not live in colonies and usually nest alone.  
• These bees were collected using Malaise traps, a passive sampling method that captures flying insects over extended periods and is particularly effective in detecting elusive or low-density species that conventional netting often misses.

About Krishna River:

• The Krishna River, also known as Krishnaveni, is a river of south-central India.
• It is India’s fourth-largest river by water inflows and basin area after the Ganga, Godavari, and Brahmaputra.
• Course:
  • The river rises in western Maharashtra state in the Western Ghats range near the town of Mahabaleshwar, not far from the coast of the Arabian Sea.
  • It passes through the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh and meets the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast.
• The Krishna River Basin extends over an area of about 258,948 sq.km., which is nearly 8 percent of the total geographical area of the country.
• It is bounded by the Balaghat range on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and the east, and by the Western Ghats on the west.
• The principal tributaries joining Krishna are the Ghataprabha, the Malaprabha, the Bhima, the Tungabhadra, and the Musi.
• The Krishna River and its tributaries create many beautiful waterfalls, such as:
  • Gokak Falls
  • Kalhati Falls
  • Theertham Falls
  • Manikyadhara Falls
  • Hampi Waterfall (formed by the Tungabhadra River)
  • Magod Falls (in the Yellapur taluk of North Canara district)
• The major dams on the Krishna are the Lal Bahadur Shastri Dam (also known as Almatti Dam), the Nagarjuna Sagar, the Srisailam Dam, the Dhom Dam, the Narayanpur Dam, and the Jurala Dam.
• Historically, the Krishna River has been the lifeline for ancient kingdoms such as the Satavahanas and the Vijayanagara Empire.

About Sulphur Dioxide:

• It is an inorganic compound, a heavy, colorless, gas.
• It is produced in huge quantities in intermediate steps of sulfuric acid manufacture.
• Properties of Sulphur Dioxide:
  • It is a colorless gas with a pungent odor.
  • It is a liquid when under pressure, and it dissolves in water very easily.
• Applications: It is used to manufacture chemicals, in paper pulping, in metal and food processing.
• Impacts of Sulphur Dioxide: It is harmful for human health, environment and climate.
• Sources of Sulphur Dioxide:
• Burning of Coal: Sulfur dioxide in the air comes mainly from activities such as the burning of coal and oil at power plants or from copper smelting.
• Industries: It is usually prepared industrially by the burning in air or oxygen of sulfur or such compounds of sulfur as iron pyrite or copper pyrite.
• Natural Occurrence: In nature, sulfur dioxide can be released to the air from volcanic eruptions.
• From Fossil Fuel burning: The largest source of SO2 in the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities.

About Valmiki Tiger Reserve:

• Location: It is located at the India-Nepal border in the northern part of the West Champaran District of Bihar.
• It forms the easternmost limit of the Himalayan Terai forests in India and is the only tiger reserve of Bihar.
• It comprises the Valmiki National Park and the Valmiki Wild Sanctuary.
  • Situated in the Gangetic Plains bio-geographic zone of the country, the forest has a combination of Bhabar and Terai tracts.
• Bordered by: It is surrounded by the Royal Chitwan National Park of Nepal in the north and the river Gandak on the western side.
• Rivers: The Rivers Gandak, Pandai, Manor, Harha, Masan, and Bhapsa flow through various parts of the reserve.
• Vegetation: The reserve boasts a variety of vegetation types, including tropical wet deciduous forests, grasslands, savannas, and riverine forests. 
• Flora: Sal trees dominate the forests, but the region also features species like teak, bamboo, semal, and khair.
• Fauna: Tiger, leopard, fishing cat, leopard cat, sambar, hog deer, spotted deer, black buck, gaur, sloth bear, langur, rhesus monkey, etc.

About Codex Alimentarius Commission:

• It is the international food standards-setting body.
• It was established jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1963.
• Objective: Protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.
• Headquarters: It has its headquarters in Rome.
• Membership:
  • Membership of the Commission is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO and WHO which are interested in international food standards.
  • Currently the CAC has 189 Codex Members made up of 188 Member Countries and 1 Member Organization (The European Union). 
  • India became a member of CAC in 1964.
• Governance: The CAC consists of the following main organizational elements: Commission; Executive Committee; Codex Secretariat and Codex subsidiary bodies.
• The Commission meets in regular session once a year, alternating between Geneva and Rome.
• Funding: The programme of work of the Commission is funded through the regular budgets of WHO and FAO, with all work subject to approval of the two governing bodies of the parent organisations.

About Indian Grey Hornbill:

• The Indian gray hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) is a tropical bird that can be found on the Indian subcontinent.
• It is commonly sighted in pairs.
• These birds are known to be arboreal ,e. spend most of their time on tall trees, but may descend for food and to collect mud pellets for nesting. 
• Habitat: Occurs in deciduous forests, open woodlands and thorn forest as well as rural cultivation and urban gardens and parks.
• Distribution: Indian subcontinent; found from north-east Pakistan and south Nepal east to north-west Bangladesh and south throughout most of India except in Assam.
• Behaviour: They have various social activities, including bill-grappling and aerial jousting. Indian grey hornbills are quite noisy producing squealing calls.
• Diet: The food is mainly fruits, particularly figs.
• Ecological Role: They play an essential role in the ecosystem as prime dispersers of seeds, helping regenerate forests by transporting seeds of fruit-bearing trees across large areas.
• Conservation status:
  • IUCN: Least Concern.