A monthly lecture organised by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society will be delivered by Research Scientist and conservation advocate, University of Colombo Prof. Sampath Seneviratne at the BMICH on October 20 at 6 pm.
Sri Lanka is the pearl and the pivot of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF). Being one of the Southernmost landmasses of CAF that spans from North-Eastern Asia across to Europe down the conical Indian Subcontinent, Sri Lanka becomes the terminus of many migrants who take up the flyway across Asia.
The Mannar Island holds a special place in CAF, providing exciting opportunities to study the poorly known migratory routes and strategies of Asian migrants. Recent evidence suggests that Mannar could receive birds from all oceans and continents of the planet except South Americas – it’s truly a hub in Asia.
The ‘Sri Lanka’s GPS/GSM Satellite Tagging Study of Migratory Birds was initiated in Mannar in 2020. About 40 individuals of 12 waterbird species have been tagged under the program, generating breathtaking insights not just about our migrants, but also on some of the elusive breeding birds in the region. Manike, Mary, Gul-Sari, Sherpa-Tenzing, Sinbad, Donald and Raja are some of these tagged birds who are telling these amazing stories of Sri Lanka’s place in the global map.
The magic of Mannar is fading fast though. Legal and illegal encroachment and deforestation continue as the much-debated windmills and power lines stand across its critical habitats. The ill-planned development has further threatened Mannar’s very existence – not just for migrants but also for those who called this ‘Africa of Sri Lanka’ their home, those include the fisher folks, farmers, and the vibrant assortment of wildlife. The speaker will turn the spotlight on these issues and show us how to keep the magic of Mannar alive – for our diversity, for our beauty and for our prosperity.
Prof. Sampath Seneviratne is a research scientist specialised in Molecular Ecology, Evolutionary Genetics and Ornithology. His research approach uses field- and laboratory-based research grounded in a strong conceptual framework ranging from basic ecology, phylogenetics, to next-generation genomics to address processes underlying biological evolution, island biogeography and causes of endemicity.
He has postgraduate, undergraduate and foreign research students from the University of Colombo and elsewhere at the lab. Besides the laboratory that he conceptualised and developed for the Zoology Department to study molecular ecology and evolution, he has three field research stations across Sri Lanka; in Belihul-oya (Issengard Biosphere Centre), Western Sinharaja (LMEE Field House) and in Mannar (Sandpiper House) dedicated to the studies of ecology and evolution.