The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) is the centre of

Wildlife Institute of India The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous natural resource service institution established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of Indi ...

, located in Anaikatti,

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

(

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

), near the foothills of the

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Nilgiri Mountains of the Western Ghats in South India. It is the largest protected forest area in India, spreading across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It includes the protected ...

. It is a national centre for information, education and research in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

in India. According to SACON, its mission is "To help conserve India’s

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and its

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

use through research, education and peoples' participation, with birds at the centre stage".

Infrastructure

SACON's main campus is at Anaikatty, northwest of

, near the trijunction of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, Tamil Nadu and

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

at the foothills of the

. It offers multiple opportunities for long-term studies on various aspects of

avifauna Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

and the biological principles and phenomena involved in the maintenance of fragile

eco-system An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by organisms in interaction with their environment. The biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Ecosystems are controlled by external ...

s. Its of land is built up with around of buildings for housing offices, laboratory, library, common facilities and a student hostel. The unique round buildings of the campus were designed by

Laurie Baker Lawrence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker (2 March 1917 – 1 April 2007) was a British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and designs that maximized space, ventilation and light and mainta ...

(1917–2007), a world-renowned eco-friendly architect, and was dedicated on 11 February 2000. ;Laboratory The SACON laboratory is equipped with advanced scientific equipment to support their research and educational programmes. It is probably the best in the country for ecotoxicological studies of birds and wildlife and includes the following: : UV Spectrophotometer,

Perkin Elmer PerkinElmer, Inc., previously styled Perkin-Elmer, is an American global corporation that was founded in 1937 and originally focused on precision optics. Over the years it went into and out of several different businesses via acquisitions and di ...

Model Lambda 35 Hplc

: High Performance Liquid Chromatograph –

Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies, Inc. is an American global company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides instruments, software, services, and consumables for laboratories. Agilent was established in 1999 as a spin-off from Hewlett-Packar ...

Model 1100 series with Diode array detector and Fluorescence detector : Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) – Perkin Elmer, Model 3300 with 13 lamps for analysing metal residues : Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for analysing metal residues :: Mercury Hydride Generator for AAS, Perkin Elmer for analysing mercury and other hydride forming elements :: Microwave Digestion System, Milestone Model 1200 for digesting samples for analysis in the AAS Gaschromatograph

Gas Chromatograph Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substanc ...

Hewlett Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, Californi ...

Model 5890 Series II with three detectors, (Electron Capture Detector, Nitrogen Phosphorus Detector and Flame Photometric Detector) for analysing pesticide residues and organic pollutants. :

Dissolved Oxygen Oxygen saturation (symbol SO2) is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium at the given temperature. It can ...

Analyser :

Biochemical Oxygen Demand Biochemical oxygen demand (also known as BOD or biological oxygen demand) is an analytical parameter representing the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) consumed by aerobic bacteria growing on the organic material present in a water sample at a s ...

Incubator : Flame

Photometer A photometer is an instrument that measures the strength of electromagnetic radiation in the range from ultraviolet to infrared and including the visible spectrum. Most photometers convert light into an electric current using a photoresistor, ...

: Vertical

Laminar Flow Laminar flow () is the property of fluid particles in fluid dynamics to follow smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral m ...

Chamber : High volume air sampler for sampling suspended particulate matters, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and oxides of sulphur (SOx) :

Ultracentrifuge An ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as (approx. ). There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge. Both cla ...

: Ultra Deep Freezer (−800 C), New Brunkswick : Walk-in cold room ;Library The 2-story library building can accommodate around 50 people. Total holding of the library is 2813 Books, 2381 back volumes of periodicals, 75 Current periodicals (Indian 44; International 31), 2706 maps and 51 CD-ROMs of reference materials. Internet literature searching is available to the staff and students. The library facilities are available to students, scholars and scientists from other institutions. ;Computer facilities Each scientist is provided with a

laptop computer A laptop computer or notebook computer, also known as a laptop or notebook, is a small, portable personal computer (PC). Laptops typically have a Clamshell design, clamshell form factor (design), form factor with a flat-panel computer scree ...

and

Pentium Pentium is a series of x86 architecture-compatible microprocessors produced by Intel from 1993 to 2023. The Pentium (original), original Pentium was Intel's fifth generation processor, succeeding the i486; Pentium was Intel's flagship proce ...

PC. There is a general facility for students and visiting scientists. All are connected with a

broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...

local area network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, campus, or building, and has its network equipment and interconnects locally managed. LANs facilitate the distribution of da ...

Research

Research activities are coordinated by the Director Incharge and conducted by five research divisions, namely conservation ecology,

ecotoxicology Ecotoxicology is the study of the effects of toxic chemicals on biological organisms, especially at the population biology, population, biological community, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecotoxicology is a multidisciplinary field, ...

environmental impact assessment Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental impact, environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the te ...

landscape ecology Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems. This is done within a variety of landscape scales, development spatial patterns, and organizatio ...

and

restoration ecology Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from Conservation movement, conservation in that it attempts t ...

. Within the divisions there are research programmes in: Avian ecology and endangered bird conservation, Man and biodiversity conservation,

Wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

conservation, Environmental contamination and biodiversity, Environmental Impact Assessment, Modelling and simulation and Nature Education. The scientific staff includes three Senior Principal Scientists, four Senior Scientists, and one Nature Education Officer. During 2007-2008 SACON undertook 19 research projects: ;Conservation ecology: :Status and ecology of the

Andaman Crake The Andaman crake (''Rallina canningi'') is a bird species in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to the Andaman Islands of the eastern Indian Ocean. Taxonomy and systematics It was first described as the Andaman banded crake ''Euryzona canningi' ...

; : Mumbai trans-harbour sea link project: Study of Flamingos and migratory birds; :Inventory of the biodiversity of Attappady with GIS aid; :Ecology and conservation of the

Spot-billed Pelican The spot-billed pelican (''Pelecanus philippensis'') or gray pelican is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially larg ...

in Andhra Pradesh; :Identification and mapping of

Lesser Florican The lesser florican (''Sypheotides indicus''), also known as the likh or ''kharmore'', is the smallest in the bustard family and the only member of the genus ''Sypheotides''. It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent where it is found in tall gra ...

breeding sites to develop a fodder producing grassland network in western India; :In-situ & Ex-situ conservation of the

Edible-nest Swiftlet The edible-nest swiftlet (''Aerodramus fuciphagus''), also known as the white-nest swiftlet, is a small bird of the swift family which is found in Southeast Asia. Its opaque and whitish bird nest is made exclusively of solidified saliva and is t ...

(''Collocalia fuciphaga'') in the

Andaman & Nicobar Islands The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India comprising 572 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited. The islands are grouped into two main clusters: the northern Andaman Islands and the southern Nicobar Islands, separated by a ...

; :Strengthening community conservation efforts in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

– A programme to impart technical support on biodiversity conservation and livelihood options to communities, Phase 1: Phek, Tuensang, Kiphere, Longleng and Mon Districts; :Ecology of the endangered

Indian Rock Python The Indian python (''Python molurus'') is a large python species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is also known by the common names black-tailed python, Indian rock python, and Asian ...

(''Python molurus'') in

Keoladeo National Park Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to t ...

, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India; :A study on the Herpetofaunal communities of the Upper Vaigai Plateau, Western Ghats, India. ;Landscape ecology:
ENVIS Centre on Wetland Ecosystems
Multilevel and multiscalar analysis of wetland systems to evaluate balance in ecosystem services and sustainability concerns – Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary, a Ramsar site in Andhra Pradesh; :GIS for

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

Parliamentary constituency, Pollination and seed dispersal by animals in the dry deciduous forests of southern

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

; :Ecology of

Indian Grey Hornbill The Indian gray hornbill (''Ocyceros birostris'') is a common hornbill found on the Indian subcontinent. It is mostly arboreal and is commonly sighted in pairs. It has grey feathers all over the body with a light grey or dull white belly. The hor ...

(''Ocyceros birostris'') with special reference to its role in seed dispersal in southern Eastern Ghats; :Plant-bird interactions with special reference to identification of bird-attracting plants for afforestation of Attappady valley, Kerala. ;Ecotoxicology: :Impact of agricultural pesticides on the population status and breeding success of select species of fish-eating birds in Tamil Nadu ;Environmental Impact Assessment: :Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment of the

India-based Neutrino Observatory India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is a particle physics research project under construction to primarily study atmospheric neutrinos in a deep cave under INO Peak near Theni, Tamil Nadu, India. It is planned to provide a precise measureme ...

Singara Singara (, ''tà Síngara''; Syriac: ܫܝܓܪ) was a strongly fortified post at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, which for a while, as it appears from coins minted there, was occupied by the Romans as an advanced colony against the Persi ...

, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu; :Management Plan for the Eco-restoration of

Pallikaranai Pallikaranai is a neighborhood and a residential area in south Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Located in proximity to the IT industry in Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai's central business districts and the automobile hub in GST road has attracted ...

Reserve Forest; :Status of Blewitt's Owl in

Araku Valley Araku Valley is a hill station in the Alluri Sitharama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh, India, located 111 km from Visakhapatnam. Geography Araku is located in the Eastern Ghats about from Visakhapatnam, close to the Odisha state border. The ...

and Environmental Management Plan in View of the Proposed Bauxite Mines.

Education

The SACON is affiliated with

Bharathiar University Bharathiar University is a public state university in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Named after Tamil poet Subramania Bharati, the university was established in February 1982 under the provision of Bharathiar University Act, 1981 (Act 1 of 1 ...

. In 2006–07, 26 SACON students were enrolled for PhD and 2 for M.Phil. One PhD degree was awarded and three theses for PhDs submitted. Eight MSc students from different colleges and universities did their dissertation work at SACON for the partial fulfillment of their degree. The nature education division conducted several programmes including a one-month residential vacation training programme on ''Bioresources for School Children''.
SACON collaborates with the Centre for Ecological Sciences,

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...

, Bangalore, on the ''People’s Biodiversity Register through School Children'' programme, involving five local schools. In addition to student research programmes, other nature education programmes conducted during 2006–07 included ''Nature Camps for students of Coimbatore'',
''Wildlife Week Celebrations'',
''Nature Awareness Competitions and Sálim Ali Trophy awards'',
''Young Bird Watcher of the Year contest'',
''Sálim Ali Birth Anniversary celebrations'',
''World Wetlands day Programme'',
The ''3rd Children’s Ecology Congress (CEC)'' and
''Naming common butterflies in Tamil''. "Song of Sparrow: Nature Education e-Newsletter" a bimonthly e-newsletter was also published and circulated to the ''Salim Ali Naturalists Forum'' during the period. SACON also conducted short term training programmes on instrumentation and analytical techniques and offered analytical service to industries and academic institutions. ;Consultations and conferences A rapid environmental assessment of the ''Kundah pumped storage hydro electric project in the Nilgiris'' was completed. Another EIA project for the Mumbai trans-harbour sea link project: ''Study of Flamingos and migratory birds'' was completed. ''Andhra Pradesh Community Based Tank Project – Environmental and Social Assessment Study'' was also completed. During 2006–2007, SACON conducted a ''Workshop on Conservation and Management of Biodiversity in Teesta Valley, Sikkim'' at

Gangtok Gangtok (, ) is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

, Sikkim.
A ''National Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Human Well-being'' was conducted jointly with the Department of Zoology,

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad, issued a ''firman'' calling f ...

. SACON staff presented papers in 58 national and international conferences, workshops and seminars and delivered 13 invited/plenary lectures.

Publications

Several research communications were made during 2006–2007 by SACON researchers. These included 12 scientific reports, 28 research papers, 8 chapters in edited books and 5 articles in technical newsletters.

References

External links