Frog researcher surveys over 3,000 amphibians in Western Ghats for fungus
In short
- Keerthi Krutha surveyed 49 protected areas and 19 other landscapes over several years.
- She documented more than 3,000 amphibians, sampling skin for a fungus that has devastated frogs elsewhere.
- Her work helps scientists track where the fungus has reached in the Western Ghats and how to keep checking.
Why the Good News Desk likes this one
The fungus has devastated frog populations in other parts of the world, and the source asks whether it is spreading through India's forests. Keerthi's regular sampling records where it has reached and sets up ongoing checks. The source does not report the full findings, so the copy keeps to the scale of the survey.
From The Better India
Whenever Keerthi Krutha's mother, T V Champakalatha, asked her to come home for festivals, she often received an answer that said everything about her daughter's love for the wilderness. "Amma, I am already home. The forest is my home," Keerthi would tell her. For the 36-year-old Chennai-born wildlife researcher, the forests of the Western Ghats had become part of everyday life. After sunset, when frogs began calling from streams and insects filled the air with their sounds, she would set out with a torch, sampling kits and notebooks. Her task was to find the frogs, collect samples from...
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For kids
Keerthi is a wildlife scientist who looks for frogs in forests at night. She checks their skin so she can see if a fungus is making them sick. Her careful work helps people keep frogs safe. Why do you think frogs are good helpers for telling us how healthy a forest is?
