Ecology and biodiversity

300px|thumb|right|Someshwara (Udupi dist.) below Agumbe

thumb|Fog filled valley, Sunset point

Rainforest is a dense, wet, tropical evergreen ecosystem, high in its level of biodiversity. According to the 'Champion and Seth' classification, Agumbe is an area of "Southern tropical wet evergreen forests" (1A/C4). R.S. Troup, an eminent forester of his day, said,

:"The tropical evergreen rain forests are characterised by the great luxuriance of their vegetation which consists of several tiers, the highest containing lofty trees...covered by numerous epiphytes"

Agumbe rainforest research station

The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station was founded in 2005 by Romulus Whitaker, a herpetologist. Whitaker had been familiar with Agumbe since the 1970s when he began studying the King Cobra. Its purpose is to create a local biodiversity database, encourage individual scientific research, collaborate with India's Department of Forestry and conserve the rainforest of the Western Ghats as well as to educate the residents of the region in the importance of forestry conservation. The King Cobra, an endangered species is the station's "flagship species".

Flora

;Endangered plant species

Endangered plant species in the area include

  • Dipterocarpus indicus
  • Dysoxylum malabaricum
  • Calophyllum apetalum
  • Garcinia indica
  • Garcinia gummi-gutta
  • Myristica dactyloides
  • Vateria indica
  • Aristolochia tagala
  • Tarenna agumbensis
  • Adenia hondala
  • Celastrus paniculatus
  • Persea macrantha

;Plant species named for Agumbe

  • Meliola agumbensis - fungus
  • Tarenna agumbensis - shrub
  • Hygroaster agumbensis - mushroom
  • Dactylaria agumbensis- fungus
  • Impatiens agumbeana- plant

;Other plant species discovered at Agumbe

  • Caudalejeunea pluriplicata - liverwort
  • Notothylas dissecta - Hornwort

;

;orchids of attraction

  • rhynchostylis retusa
  • aerides crispa
  • aerides maculosa
  • aerides ringens
  • Oberonia brunoniana
  • Oberonia elisiformis
  • Oberonia bicornis
  • dendrobium ovatum
  • Dendrobium nanum
  • dendrobium heyneanum
  • dendrobium macrostachyum
  • Dendrobium nodosum
  • robiquetia josephiana
  • robiquetia rosea
  • dendrobium lawianum
  • epipogium roseum
  • Luisia tenuifolium
  • Luisia macrantha
  • Coelogyne breviscapa
  • pholidota pallida
  • Gastrochilus flabelliformis
  • Odisha cleistantha
  • Habenaria heyneana
  • Habenaria grandifloriformis
  • Pinalia mysorensis
  • Habenaria crinifera
  • Cleisostoma tenuifolium
  • Cottonia peduncularis
  • sirhookera lanceoleta
  • Diploprora championii
  • Zeuxine longilabris
  • Porpax exilis
  • porpax reticulata
  • Porpax jerdoniana
  • Porpax filiformis
  • peristylus aristatus
  • smithsonia maculata
  • smithsonia viridiflora
  • Smithsonia straminea
  • Nervilia plicata
  • Nervilia crociformis
  • Vanilla planifolia
  • Zeuxine gracilis

Fauna

;Mammals

Agumbe provides an environment for large and small mammals such as the endangered lion-tailed macaque, tiger, leopard, sambar, giant squirrel, dhole, a wild dog of India, gaur, the Indian bison and barking deer.

;Reptiles and amphibians

In creating funds for conservation of the Agumbe rainforest, the Ophiophagus hannah, king cobra is a 'flagship' species. An Agumbe-based scientific project to radio-locate rescued king cobras aims to determine whether relocation is helpful to their survival. other reptiles and amphibians of the area include the cane turtle and a flying lizard.

;Birds

Agumbe is a popular destination for bird watchers and photographers. Among the endemic birds are the Malabar trogon, the yellow-browed bulbul and Sri Lankan frogmouths.

thumb|300px|Great Hornbill

;Insects and marine species

Agumbe's many insect species include the Atlas moth, Cyclotoma alleni (a beetle discovered in Agumbe), Selenops agumbensis, a spider and Drosophila agumbensis a small fly species. Cremnoconchus agumbensis is a local small fresh water snail.

Temples

The Agumbe Venugopalakrishna Hindu temple is an old structure known for beautiful architecture and peacefulness. The temple deity is Sri Venugopala Krishna. An annual fair is conducted each year in February during Ratha Saptami in honour of the deity.

Another local temple is the Sringeri Sharadamba temple.

Malgudi Days

Malgudi Days (1985) is a television serial directed by Shankar Nag. It was based on novels written by R. K. Narayan. Many episodes were filmed in Agumbe. In 2004, a new set of episodes of Malgudi Days was filmed at Agumbe by Kavitha Lankesh (director).

See also

  • Mangalore
  • Thirthahalli
  • Udupi
  • Shimoga
  • Sringeri

References

  • Agumbe
  • Kunchikal Falls does not exist