I discussed the cost of human-induced climate change with Dr Rucha Karkarey, a coral reef ecologist and marine conservation biologist from India. She has been studying how habitat loss from climate change impacts the diversity and functioning of coral reef fishes.
Her work has been based in the lesser known Lakshadweep archipelago in India, which incidentally is part of the same island chain as the popularly known Maldives and Chagos (in other words, a gorgeous, gorgeous place!).
Through her work, Rucha explores the losers and winners in this era of climate change.
How the winners are winning (some fish are coping with habitat loss better than others) and what potential roles and benefits these winners can play in degraded and altered coral reefs.
The rhetoric around climate change is (rightly) rather gloomy: we are losing biodiversity at an unprecedented rate, with consequences for entire ecosystems and the people they contribute to.
Dr Rucha Karkarey
To know more about climate-change, coral reefs, fisheries and marine conservation in Lakshadweep, you can follow the wonderful work being done by the Nature Conservation Foundation (www.ncf-india.org) and the Dakshin Foundation (www.dakshin.org) in India.
About Dr Rucha Karkarey
“I am currently working for the Canal & River Trust, UK as part of their Research and Impact Team, demonstrating the wellbeing impacts of the Trust’s multifarious community programmes. I am still very engaged with coral reef science emerging from India. You can follow my journey on twitter @theruchka.”
Here’s a list of some popular articles I’ve written:
“On the line” – Caravan Magazine.
“Life of fry”- The Hindu – In School.
“Survival tips from an old fish to a young fish”- The Hindu – In School.
“She sells, seashells, on the sea shore” – The Hindu – In School
You can follow her academic work here
The Cost of Everything Podcast 