Millennium Zoology - Aloysius

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Millennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium Zoologywww. millenniumzoology.com

RNI. Reg.No. KERENG/2001/6034 ISSN No. 0973-1946

A peer reviewed journal published annually to foster study and research in Zoology

by the Dept.of Zoology, St.Aloysius College, Elthuruth,

Thrissur, Kerala, 680611, India

Vol. 15 November 2014 No. 1

Notes to Contributors

The Millennium Zoology will consider the publication of research papers,reviews and updatesrelated to all branches of Zoology.

Research Papers

A research paper containing original unpublished work can be submitted to the Editor any time of the year. Thepapers may be up to 4 single-spaced typed A4 pages inclusive of tables, photographs and references. The photographsmay be the minimum since the printing will be only in black and white. Two hard copies of the manuscripts must besubmitted to the office along with a CD saved in MS word ( Photographs must be scanned in.jpeg format and tablesshould be prepared in Excel ) or send to [email protected]. The title should follow the names andaddress of all the authors. The abstract should not be more than 100 words. A few keywords should also be givenimmediately after the abstract. The text of the articles should be divided into various sections as the case may be. Eachreference should be cited in the text by author and year in the parentheses and if there is more than one author the firstauthor’s name should follow et. al., followed by the year in the bracket. The references should be cited in alphabeticalorder in the following pattern:

1.Gaston, K.J., 1991. The magnitude of global insect species richness. Conservation Biology, 5: 283-296.

2.Norse, E. A. and R. E. McManus,1980. Ecology and living resources: Biological diversity. In: Environmental Quality1980: the Eleventh Annual Report of the Council on Environmental Quality, Washington, DC., pp. 31-80

All research papers are charged @ Rs. 500/- per B/W printed page as processing fee. Printing of colour pages arealso undertaken on specific request from the authors. On acceptance of a paper, the first author will be sent the accep-tance letter, edited copy for correction and demand for processing fee. The payments should be made by crossedDemand Draft in favour of Millennium Zoology and payable at Thrissur. The first author should return the edited copyafter necessary corrections to the Editor along with the payment within two weeks.

Reviews and Updates

The contents should be related to the syllabi of any one of the courses in Zoology offered by various Universities inKerala. The articles should function as an additional reading material to the graduate and post- graduate students as wellas their teachers. We request the Zoology faculty in various colleges and Universities in Kerala to contribute their articles.Scientists of various Biological Research Centres and Teachers in related disciplines are also welcome to contribute.Articles from students will also be considered on merit.

Manuscripts should be typed copies of about 3-4 pages. We prefer a CD in MS word or an E-mail transfer. Thedeadline for receiving articles will be 31 st October of every year. The journal will be in black and white printing andhence photographs and other drawings should be at the minimum. We suggest no definite format. However, contributorsmay confirm to the current practices of various journals. An editorial board of experts will select the articles.

Editor

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RNI. Reg.No. KERENG/2001/6034 ISSN No. 0973-1946

Millennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyMillennium ZoologyAddress for communication

Editor, Millennium Zoology, Dept.of Zoology, St.Aloysius College, Elthuruth, Thrissur

Kerala, 680611, India,Tel:(0487)2360748; Email:[email protected]

www. millenniumzoology.com

Editorial Board

Chairman Dr. Fr. K. T. Babu (Principal)

Editor Tomy Francis (Head of the Dept.)

Email: [email protected], Tel: 09388555738

Associate Editor Dr. Jeeja Tharakan (Asst.Prof., Zoology Dept.)Email: [email protected], Tel: 09446872757

Advisory BoardDr.P.R. Varghese , Research co-ordinator, Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Thrissur, Kerala. India

Dr.U.P. Johny,(Retd. Professor of Zoology),Paravattani, Thrissur.

Dr.C.K.G. Nayar, (President, Kerala Limnology Association), Azad Road, Irinjalakuda.

Dr.K. Muraleedharan Pillai, Retd.Principal, Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda College, Ollur.

Dr.A.I. Jose, Director of Extension ( Retd.), Kerala Agricultural University, Mannuthy.

Dr.K.B. Soni, Associate Professor, Dept.of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Kerala AgriculturalUniversity, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram.

Dr.V.R.Prakasam, Professor (Retd.), Dept.of Environmental Sciences, Kerala University Campus,Kariavattam, Thiruvananthapuram.

His Grace Dr.Joseph Mar Dionysius, Arch Bishop of Kolkata, ( formerly of Zoology Dept., St.Stephen’sCollege, Pathanapuram)

Dr.R.Krishnakumar, Jt.Director, Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam.

Dr.M.C.George, Associate Professor (Retd.), College of Fisheries, Panangd.

Dr.J.K. Mukkadan, Research Director, L F.Hospital, Angamaly.

Dr.M.P.Thobias, Homeopathic Consultant, Sastri Road, Thrissur- 5.

Dr.A.P.Usha, Associate Professor, Dept. of Genetics and Animal Breeding, College of Veterinary And AnimalSciences, KAU, Mannuthy.

Dr.E.A.Jayson, Research coordinator, KFRI, Peechi.

Dr. Sr.Rose Anitha, Head, Dept.of MLT, MCOAHS, Manipal University, Manipal.(Retd).

Copies are available from

Current Books, Thrissur

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EDITORIAL

Our very own inner GPS system

The discoveries of John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and EdvardMoser have solved a problem that has occupied philosophers andscientists for centuries. How does the brain create a map of the spacesurrounding us and how can we navigate our way through a complexenvironment?

The discovery of brain cells - our very own “inner GPS system”that tells us who we are, how we find our way from one place to anotherand how we store that information to find the way the next time wetrace the same path, has won Nobel Prize in Physiology /or Medicine2014. The discovery of the brain’s positioning system has opened newavenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such as memory,thinking and planning. Brain disorders are the most common cause ofdisability and yet there is no effective way to prevent or cure most ofthese disorders. The episodic memory is affected in several braindisorders, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

A better understanding of neural mechanisms underlying spatialmemory is therefore important, and the discoveries of place and gridcells have been a major leap forward to advance this endeavour.

The journal is published for the fifteenth consecutive year in everyNovember without fail. This has generated great interest among theacademic community of Kerala. Millennium Zoology hasbeen consistently gaining reputation and preference over to journals ofsimilar nature. The website of the journal www. millenniumzoology. comis available for free access. .

We acknowledge the help, encouragement and criticism fromvarious quarters. We admit all the shortcomings and commit ourselvesto continuous evaluation and improvement. We request everybody tocontinue their patronage, voice their responses and make suggestionsfor improvement.

Editor

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ANTIBIOTICS VERSUS FISH BYPRODUCTS AS ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS Jinsu Varghese and Liju P. Varghese

AbstractThe mucus and muscle of Channa striatus and Heteropneustes fossilis extracted in acetone showed wide range

of potency against pathogenic organisms and these were competent with two antibiotics namely ciprofloxacin andstreptomycin. It implies that the fish epidermal mucus and to some extent the muscle of the above fishes can serve assubstitutes for selected antibiotics in warding off the human infectious diseases.

Key words: Channa striatus, Heteropneustes fossilis , antibacterial activity

IntroductionIn recent years, interest in medicinal animals has increased considerably. Apart from therapeutic values, the medicinal

properties of animal extracts have become highly necessary. Further several microorganisms have developed resistance tomany antibiotics and this has created immense clinical problems in the treatment of infectious disease. The antibacterial roleof fish mucus has been known for many years (Fletcher, 1978; Ingram,1980; Fouz et.al.,1990).The antibacterial activityof the fish muscle extract from Etroplus maculates against Aeromonas hydrophila, Klebsiella pneumoniae,Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerugenes, Streptococcus pyrogenes, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonasaeroginosa are already reported ( Renganayagi et.al., 2007). In this study, acetone extracts of epidermal mucus andmuscle of two fish species Channa striatus and Heteropneustes fossilis were screened for its antibacterial activityagainst human pathogens. It was then compared with four antibiotics namely ciprofloxacin, streptomycin, ampicillin andamoxyllin.

Materials and Methods Two fresh water fishes namely, Heteropneustes fossilis and Channa striatus, were selected for the experiment. Thecollected fishes were acclimatized to laboratory conditions. The fishes were immobilized on ice and epidermal mucus wascollected as described by Ross et.al., 2000 and placed in ice jacketed glass bottles. Mucus from the ventral side were notcollected to avoid intestinal and sperm contaminations. The mucus samples that were collected aseptically from fish werethoroughly mixed with equal (1:1 v/v) quantity of acetone. The samples were centrifuged and the supernatant were taken.The filtered extracts for testing antibacterial activity were concentrated in a hot water bath maintained at 400C and thenused.

About of 10 g of flesh was dissected out from the shoulder region of fish. Minced and homogenized well with acetatebuffer. It was then mixed with 10 ml acetone. The samples were centrifuged and the supernatant collected. The filteredextracts were concentrated in a hot water bath for antibacterial tests. Antibacterial testing were done by the Kirby-Bauermethod (1966 ) against seven selected pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella newport, Klebsiella pneumonia,Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris, Enterococcus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.). Two way ANOVA were done totest the significance of the findings.

Result and Discussion The antibacterial spectrum of the epidermal mucus and muscle of Heteropneustes fossilis and Channa striatusby disc diffusion assay on agar plates was shown in Table1. The mucus that was extracted in acetone was found to beenriched in antibacterial compounds. The controls incubated with the solvent acetone showed negative results, demonstratingthat the solvent themselves do not account for the antibacterial activity observed in fish mucus and muscle extracts. Theepidermal mucus sample from H. fossilis and C. striatus showed inhibition towards the growth of seven human pathogenic

Jinsu Varghese and Liju P. Varghese, Department of Zoology, St. Thomas College, Kozhencherry Pathanamthitta Dist.

[email protected]

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References1. Ebran,N.,Julien,S.,Salio,P and Molle, G; 1999.Comparative biochemistry and physiology. 122.

2. Fletcher T. and Defe Fletcher T. Defense mechanisms in fish. In: D. Malins and J. Sargent (eds). Biochemical andBiophysical Perspectives in Marine Biology. London Academic Press, 1978; pp. 189-222.

3. Ingram,G.1980.Substance in the involved in the natural resistances of fish to infection.Fish Biol.16:23-60.

4. Kirby. W, M., Bauer. A, W., Turck. M.and Sherris, .J. C. 1966. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standard singledisc method. J. Cein pathol. 493-496.

5. Muzumber, and Mohammed ,M,H. 2005.Antibacterial activity in fish mucus from farmed fish.University of TromsoPublishers.

6. Renganayaki,S.,Padmalatha,C.,RanjithSingh,A and Sasi,Sekhar,M.2007.Antimicrobial activity of fish extracts ofEtroplus maculates(Bloch).Asian Jr. of Microbial.Biotech.Env.Sc.vol.9.727-730.Global Science publication.

7. Ross, N.W., K.J. Firth, A.P.Wang, J.F. Burka and S.C. Johnson, 2000. Changes in hydrolytic enzyme activities ofna’ive Atlantic salmon Samo saar skin mucus due to infection with the salmon louse Lepeophtheirlls salmonis andcortisol implantation.Dis. Aquat. Org., 41: 43-51.

8. Sattar, M.A, Paul, D.K.Arafat, S.M.y.Khan, M.Z.H. and Mila, M.C.2005.Antibacterial activity of methanol extractsof boal fish (Wallago attu).CMU Journal .Vol.5.323-331.

Statement about the Ownership and Other Particulars of Millennium Zoology Annual

1. Place of Publication Elthuruth, Thrissur

2. Periodicity of Publication Annual

3. Printers name Tomy Francis

Whether Citizen of India Indian

Address Dept. of Zoology, St.Aloysius College, Elthuruth

4. Publishers name Tomy Francis

Whether Citizen of India Indian

Address Dept. of Zoology, St.Aloysius College, Elthuruth

5. Editors name Tomy Francis

6. Name and address of the Individualswho own the newspaper and thepartners or the Shareholdersholding more than one percent Dept. of Zoology, St.Aloysius College,of total capital Elthuruth

I, Tomy Francis, hereby declare that the particulars given above aretrue to the best of my knowledge and belief

Date: 29.11.2014 sd/- Signature of the Publisher

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Source S.S D.F M.S.S F value p value Inference

Raw

attribute 107 6 17.83333 2.659172 0.050136 Variation is not significant

Column

attribute 2602.286 3 867.4286 129.3444 2.28E-12 Variation is significant

Error 120.7143 18 6.706349

Total 2830 27 104.8148

Source S.S D.F M.S.S F value p value Inference

Raw attr 209.3571 6 34.89286 3.86166 0.011861 Variation is significant

Column attr 2320.107 3 773.369 85.59025 7.6E-11 Variation is significant

Error 162.6429 18 9.035714

Total 2692.107 27 99.70767

Table 3. ANOVA of antibacterial activity of

epidermal mucus and muscle of Heteropneustes

fossilis and with standard antibacterial discs

bacteria namely Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella newport, Enterrococcus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiellapneumoniae, Escherichia coli and Proteus vulgaris. The maximum zone of inhibition by the mucus of Heteropneustesfossilis was observed against Salmonella newport (26mm). The maximum zone of inhibition in mucus of Channa striatuswas observed against Pseudomonas aeuruginosa (24mm). The muscle sample from Heteropneustes fossilis showedinhibition of the growth of only two human pathogenic bacteria Salmonella newport (20mm) and Pseudomonasaeuruginosa (14mm) among the selected pathogens. The muscle sample from Channa striatus showed inhibition of thegrowth against only one human pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeuruginosa (16mm).

Table 1: Antibacterial activity of epidermal mucus and muscle of Heteropneustes fossilis and Channastriatus and comparison with standard antibacterial discs ( Zone of inhibitions were measured in mm)

*Average of three replicates Cip=Ciprofloxacine; Stre=Streptomycin; Amp= Ampicillin; Amo = Amoxyllin

Two way ANOVA reveals that the antibacterial activity shown by mucus and muscle against various pathogens issignificant (pÃ0.5). The study also reveals that mucus of both Heteroneusteus and Channa exhibit similar antibacterialeffects against the tested pathogens though there are slight variations against certain pathogens. Mucus of Heteropneustesseems to show more bactericidal activity against Salmonella.

Antibacterial activity of epidermal mucus and muscle of Heteropneustes fossilis and Channa striatus were comparedwith four different antibiotic discs namely Ciprofloxacine , Streptomycin, Ampicillin and Amoxyllin . Ampicillin and Amoxyllindid not show any remarkable antibacterial activity against the seven bacterial strains selected for the study (Staphylococcusaureus , Salmonella newport, Enterrococcus, Pseudomonas aeuruginosa ,Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichiacoli and Proteus vulgaris). It was observed that the antibacterial activity of epidermal mucus and muscle extract werecompetent with the two antibiotics Ciprofloxacine and Streptomycin. Epidermal mucus had been showing a positiveantibacterial activity towards almost all the bacterial strains selected for the study and is almost comparable with theantibiotics Streptomycin and less than that of Ciprofloxacine. Thus it implies that epidermal mucus and muscle of theabove fishes are better than some of the antibiotics in treating human infectious diseases.

Table 2. Two way ANOVA of antibacterial activity ofepidermal mucus and muscle Channa striatus with standard antibacterial discs

The role of mucus and its components in various fish species suggest that the epidermal mucus acts as a first line ofdefense against the pathogens. The variations in amount of mucus secretion between fish species had been observed toplay a role in the susceptibility of the fish to infection. There are many reports on the antibacterial property of various freshwater and marine fishes. Fouchereau et .al., 1999 studied the antibacterial property mucus from Channa punctatus andCirrhinus mrigala. Their studies revealed that the mucus collected from Cirrhinus mrigala show a strong inhibitoryactivity than mucus of Channa punctatus against Salmonella paratyphi , Salmonella typhi , Staphylococcus aureusand Vibrio cholera. Muzumber and Mohammad (2005) studied the antibacterial activity in the mucus of Atlantic salmonand Atlantic cod against Staphylococcus aureus. It was found that Staphylococcus aureus was the least sensitive againstdifferent mucus sample of Atlantic salmon and Atlantic cod.

There are several studies on biologically active compounds obtained from fish muscle. Most of the antibacterialcompounds obtained by fish muscle are said to be proteins and peptides by nature. The muscle extract of Etroplusmaculatus is reported to possess antibacterial property against Staphylococcus aureus. Sattar et.al. (2005) reportedthat methanol extract of boal fish has significant antibacterial acivity against Salmonella species. There are reports inacetone extract of Etroplus maculatus having antimicrobial property against Salmonella typhi. Ebran et.al. (1999)showed that only the hydrophobic components of crude epidermal mucus of freshwater and seawater fish exhibit strongpore forming properties which are well correlated with antibacterial activity. They have isolated novel glycosylated proteinsfrom the hydrophobic supernatant of tench ( Tinca tinca), eel ( Anguilla Anguilla) and trout ( Oncorhyncus mykiss)mucus. The study of their secondary structures has revealed the formation of ion channels. This pore forming activity waswell correlated with a stong antibacterial activity against both gram negative and gram positive bacteria. In another reportit was also found that fish secrete antibacterial glycoproteins which are able to kill bacteria by forming large pores in thetarget membrane.

In the present study the muscle extract of Heteropneustes fossilis showed antibacterial activity against Pseudomonasaeuruginosa and Salmonella. The muscle extract of Channa striatus showed antibacterial property against Pseudomonasaeuruginosa. It did not exhibit antibacterial property against Salmonella. In these two fishes mucus extracts showedstrong antibacterial properties. Channa striatus exhibited greater and broader antibacterial properties than Heteropneustesfossilis. This may be attributed to the greater amount of mucus being secreted by Channa striatus epidermis thanHeteropneustes fossilis.

Antimicrobial proteins and peptides play key role in innate immunity and have been observed in a wide variety oforganisms in the last few decades. The findings thus support the use of fish mucus and muscle ingredients of drugs tocombat the human pathogens. It highlights the presence of biologically active substances in fish mucus and muscle forhuman health related applications.

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pCO2 AND DISSOLVED CH4 IN MANGROVE SURROUNDING WATERS OF JHARKALI,SUNDARBANS, NORTH EAST INDIANeetha V. and Ramesh Ramachandran

Abstract

pCO2 and dissolved CH4 were measured in the largest mangrove ecosystem, Sundarbans, India and was found to

be supersaturated throughout the system. It was found that heterotrophic respiration fuelled by the high POC content wasthe reason for CO2 production and their distribution was governed by the tides in the region

Key words: pCO2 , Sundarbans , Jharkali mangroves

Introduction Mangrove ecosystems found along the tropical and sub tropical coastal margins are one of the most productiveecosystems of the world (Alongi et. al., 2001). Anthropogenic processes are also responsible for the conversion ofa productive estuary to a heterotrophic one (Mukhopadhyay et. al.,2002). In this study an attempt has been made tounderstand spatial variability of concentrations of pCO

2 and CH

4 in mangrove surrounding waters of anthropogenically

impacted Sundarbans.

Study area The Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem is the largest mangrove deltaic system in the world and covers a vast surfacearea (4,264 km2 of mangrove forests). Located in the north eastern coast of Bay of Bengal, it is the largest deltaic systemon earth and spans a length of 140 km from east to west (Biswas et. al., 2004). It is a tide dominated allochthonous typeof mangrove ecosystem characterized by strong bi - directional currents.

Sampling A transect covering an area of ~ 40 km was sampled and samples were collected from inside creeks towards thesea. The width of the mangrove creeks along which samples were collected ranged from 10 - 15 m. The mean highest highwater level and mean lowest low water level are 5.94 and 0.94 m respectively (Selvam, 2003). Penetration of coastalwaters is seen up to 110 m inland and in some areas 300 km inland (Selvam, 2003).

Materials and methods

For the purpose of continuous in situ field measurements of pCO2 a shower type equilibrator and NDIR (NonDispersive Infra Red Analyzer) according to Frankignoulle et. al.(2001) was used. A high precision single -phase gasequilibration gas chromatograph was used for the measurement of partial pressures and concentrations of CH

4 (Upstill

Goddard et. al.,1996). Samples were collected using Niskin sampler and dissolved O2, salinity, conductivity, turbidity

specific gravity and pH were measured with a pre-calibrated WQC - 24 multiprobe which was allowed to stabilise for 30sto allow sensor equilibration.

Results pCO

2 was measured in situ in the Jharkali mangroves of the Sundarbans along with other physicochemical parameters.

In Fig.1(a) pCO2 concentrations are plotted as a function of salinity. The inset in the figure shows the same concentrations,

plotted against the transect locations from the starting point of sampling towards the sea. It was observed that there was agradual increase in pCO

2 along the creek from inside the creek towards the sea with pCO

2 marginally lesser at the lower

salinity zone and higher at higher salinities. It was found that pCO2 remained supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere

over the entire spatial survey except over a small area. Dissolved CH4 concentrations at Jharkali mangroves (Sundarbans)

Neetha V , Institute for Ocean Management, Anna University, Chennai, [email protected]

Ramesh Ramachandran, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai

ICHTHYOFAUNA OF KOLE WETLANDS OF THRISSUR DISTRICTA PART OF VEMBANAD – KOL RAMSAR SITE,KERALA,INDIA

Tomy Francis, John George M.and Raju Thomas K.

Abstract A total of 59 species of fishes belonging to 47 genera and 31 families of 10 orders were recorded from the study area.Among these six species were exotic, three species were endangered, ten species were vulnerable and six species werenearly threatened.

Keywords: Kole wetlands, Cyprindae, Puntius conchonius, secondary freshwater fishes.

Introduction Fishes are the keystone species, which determine the distribution and abundance of other organisms in the ecosystemthey represent and are good indicators of water quality and the health of the ecosystem (Moyle and Leidy, 1992). Accordingto Jayaram (2000), Indian region harbours 2,500 species of fishes, among them 930 species are freshwater inhabitantsand rest are marine. State of Environment Report, Kerala (2005) reported 202 species of freshwater fishes from Kerala.

Kole wetland is a Ramsar Site since 2002 (Islam and Rahmani, 2008), and a High Value Biodiversity Area since2009 (MoEF, 2009). The Kole wetlands covering an area of 13,632 ha. are spread over Thrissur and Malappuramdistricts extending from the northern bank of Chalakudy river in the south to the southern bank of Bharathapuzha river inthe north ( Johnkutty and Venugopal, 1993). The name ‘Kole’ refers to the peculiar type of cultivation practice carried outfrom October to April. The present study aimed to document fishes of kole wetlands and was conducted in five intensivestudy sites in kole wetlands of Thrissur district, Kerala.

Materials and methods The study was carried out from February 2011 to January 2012. Fish collections were made from five sites. Thesampling carried out during every month. After reaching the sampling sites, careful observations were made in clear watersfrom the bund and fish counts from a roughly 2m2 areas was carried out. Various sampling methods or fishing gears such ascast net, scoop net and gill nets of varying mesh size were also used .Fishes identified, classified and arranged based on theworks of Talwar and Jhingran (1991) with slight modification as followed by Menon (1991) and Jayaram (2010). Abundanceand status of fishes of kole wetlands of Thrissur was prepared based on the individuals observed in the kole lands.

Result and Discussion The kole wetlands of Thrissur district has different types of freshwater bodies including lakes, ponds, lower reaches ofrivers and paddy fields which provide habitat for fishes including secondary freshwater fishes. A total of 59 species offishes belonging to 47 genera of 31 families including 10 orders were recorded from the kole wetland area (Table 1).Order Perciformes represented with more families and species. The most abundant order was Cypriniformes based onthe total individuals recorded. The most abundant family in the present study was Cyprinidae. The most abundant genuswas Puntius and Puntius filamentosus was the most abundant puntid species. Dayella malabarica, a critically endangeredfish species was also recorded during the present study.

Tomy Francis, John GeorgeM. and Raju Thomas.K., Research Centre, P G Department of Zoology,Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District. [email protected]

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were supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere throughout the creek (Fig. 1( b) ). Though CH4 was supersaturated

with respect to the atmosphere throughout the sampled creek there was no discernable trend in dissolved CH4 concentrations.

Table 1 Average ± SD and range of pCO2, dissolved CH4 along with their respective saturationpercentages and other physicochemical parameters in Jharkali mangroves during December 2006

Fig. 1 The distribution of (a) pCO2 with salinity (b) dissolved CH4 with salinity in Jharkali mangroves of theSundarbans in December 2006 with respective insets showing its spatial distribution along the transect.

Discussion Concentrations of pCO

2 were marginally higher at higher salinities (~ 18.5) than at lower salinities. Even though

correlation of salinity with pCO2 was r2 = -0.64, the variation in salinity measured during the sampling survey in the

Sundarbans was lesser than 4. This small decrease in salinity in spite of the distances covered during the sampling surveyindicates the influence of upstream freshwaters over a large distance. Macrotidal regions enable strong out welling ofnutrients to the adjacent coastal areas (Dittmar and Lara, 2001). In the Sundarbans estuary the slight increase in pCO

2

with salinity and lack of any discernable trend in CH4 concentrations (correlation with salinity r2 = 0.07) could be explained

by tidal mechanism within the estuary. During the flood tide, CO2 and CH

4 rich waters from the mangroves mixes with the

undersaturated coastal waters and are carried back into the mangrove creeks. At ebb tide a comparatively well mixedwater body leaves the mangrove.

Dissolved O2 varied inversely with pCO

2 and saturation percentages of O

2 in the Jharkali mangrove waters were

101 ± 5.3 % and ranged from (95 - 120 %). Dissolved O2 was generally supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere

in the lower salinity zones (Fig. 2(a)). There was a general decrease in dissolved O2 along the sampled mangrove creek

towards the sea (inset of Fig. 2(a)). Undersaturation of dissolved O2 coincided with higher pCO

2.

Fig. 2 The distribution of (a) dissolved O2 with salinity (b) POC with salinity in Jharkali mangrovesof the Sundarbans in December 2006. The same data are shown in the inset along the transect

Concentrations of POC were generally high and ranged (Table 1). As seen in Fig.2(b)] lower POC concentrationswere observed at lower salinities and increasing to higher salinities with an increase in POC from inside the creek towardsthe sea. Higher POC coincided with locations with high pCO

2. This further supports the theory of heterotrophic respiration

being the main cause for pCO2 supersaturations fuelled by high suspended matter in these waters.

References1. Alongi D.M., Wattayakorn G., Pfitzner J., Tirendi F., Zagorskis I., Brunskill G.J., Davidson A. and Clough B.F. ,2001

‘Organic carbon accumulation and metabolic pathways in sediments of mangrove forests in southern Thailand’, MarineGeology, Vol. 179, pp. 85-103.

2. Biswas H., Mukhopadhyay S., De T.K., Sen S. and Jana T.K., 2004 ‘Biogenic controls on the air - water carbondioxide exchange in the Sundarban mangrove environment, northeast coast of Bay of Bengal, India’, Limnol. Oceanogr.,Vol. 49 No. 1, pp. 95-101.

3. Dittmar T. and Lara R.J., 2001 ‘Do mangroves rather than rivers provide nutrients to coastal environments south ofthe Amazon River? Evidence from long - term flux measurements’, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., Vol. 213, pp. 67-77.

4. Frankignoulle M., Borges A. and Biondo R., 2001 ‘A new design of equilibrator to monitor carbon dioxide inhighly dynamic and turbid environments’, Water Research, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 1344-1347.

5. Mukhopadhyay S.K., Biswas H., De T.K., Sen S., Jana T.K. ,2002(a) ‘Seasonal effects on the air - water carbondioxide exchange in the Hooghly estuary, NE coast of Bay of Bengal, India’, J. Environ. Monit., Vol. 4, pp. 549-552.

6. Selvam V., Ravichandran K.K., Gnanappazham L. and Navamuniyammal M., 2003 ‘Assessment of community -based restoration of Pichavaram mangrove wetland using remote sensing data’, Current Science, Vol. 85, No. 6, pp.794-798.

7. Upstill-Goddard R.C, Rees A.P. and Owens N.J.P., 1996 ‘Simultaneous high - precision measurements of methaneand nitrous oxide in water and seawater by single - phase equilibration gas chromatography’, Deep Sea Research,Vol. 43, pp. 1669-1682.

S.No. Parameters (units) Average ± SD

(n=25) Range

1 pCO2 (µatm); CO2 (saturation %) 411 ± 39.7 (109 ±

10.5) 353 – 476 (93 - 126)

2 CH4 (nmol l-1); CH4 (sat. %) 13.3 ± 6.5 (607 ±

300.6) 5.8 - 30.9 (267 –

1425) 3 Dissolved O2 (saturation %) 101 ± 5.3 95 – 1204 Salinity 16.9 ± 0.98 15.2 - 18.35 pH 8.05 ± 0.1 7.84 - 8.27 6 Water Temperature (°C) 24.8 ± 0.4 24.2 - 25.7 7 TA (mmol kg-1) 2.15 ± 0.08 1.82 - 2.27

8 Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (mmol kg-1) 2.07 ± 0.06 1.91 - 2.17

9 Particulate Organic Carbon (µmol l-

1) 26.7 ± 9.3 8.8 - 47.9

(a) (b)

(a) (b)

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Table 1. Systematic list, abundance and status of fishes collected from kole wetlands of Thrissur District.

A=Abundant ( number above 1000); C = Common (100 < 999) ; R - Rare = 10 < 99; VR = Very rare = ( > 10); R = Critically Endangered;EN = Endangered ; VU = Vulnerable; LRnt = Low Risk nearly threatened; LRlc = Low Risk least concern; DD = Data Deficient; Intr-

Introduced; NE = Not evaluated

� Secondary freshwater fish species. NA -Not available

16 13

�

11 Barbodes sarana subnasutus (Val.) 346 C VU

12 Puntius amphibius (Val.) 285 C LR lc

13 P. conchonius (Ham.) 20 R VU

14 P. filamentosus (Val.) 1559 A LR lc

15 P. sophore (Ham.) 146 C LR nt

16 P. ticto (Ham.) 57 R LR lc

17 P. vittatus (Day) 766 C VU

18 P. parrah (Day) 26 R VU

19 P. chola (Ham.) 367 C VU

20 Amblypharyngodon melettinus (Val.) 3207 A DD

21 Danio aequipinnatus (McClelland) 152 C LR lc

22 Parluciosoma daniconius (Ham.) 140 C LR nt

23 Garra mullya (Sykes) 81 R LR lc

Family 5. Cobitidae

24 Lepidocephalus thermalis (Val.) 355 C LR lc

V Order : Siluriformes

Family 6. Bagridae

25 Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther) 95 R EN

26 Mystus armatus (Day) 10 R LR lc

27 M. oculatus (Val.) 430 C LR lc

Family 7. Ariidae

28 � Arius arius (Ham.) 46 R LR lc

Family 8. Heteropneustidae

29 Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) 1117 A VU

Family 9. Siluridae

30 Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch) 145 C VU

Sl. No Systematic list Abundance

Status in kole wetlands

IUCN Status

I Order : Elopiformes

Family 1. Megalopidae

1 � Megalops cyprinoides (Broussonet) 11 R LR lc

II Order : Anguilliformes

Family 2. Anguillidae

2 Anguilla bengalensis (Gray) 46 R EN

III Order : Clupeiformes

Family 3. Clupeidae

3 � Dayella malabarica (Day) 1366 A CR

4 � Sardinella sp. 2 VR NA

5 Clupea brachysoma (Bleeker) 2 VR NE

IV Order : Cypriniformes

Family 4. Cyprinidae

6 Catla catla (Ham.) 288 C VU

7 Cirrhinus mrigala (Ham.) 14 R VU

8 Ctenopharyngodon idellus (Val.) 29 R Intr.

9 Cyprinus carpio communis (Linn.) 81 R LR lc

10 Labeo rohita (Ham.) 189 C LR lc

31 Wallago attu (Schneider) 105 C LR nt

VI Order : Cyprinodontiformes

Family 10. Belonidae32 Xenentodon cancila (Ham.) 646 C LR lc

Family 11. Hemiramphidae

33 � Hyporhamphus limbatus (Val.) 307 C LR lc

Family 12. Aplocheilidae

34 Aplocheilus lineatus (Val.) 247 C LR lc

VII Order : Synbranchiformes

Family 13. Mastacembelidae

35 Macrognanthus guentheri (Day) 80 R VU

36 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede) 54 R LR lc

VIII Order : Perciformes

Family 14 Ambassidae

37 Parambassis thomassi (Day) 283 C LR nt

Family 15. Nandidae

38 Nandus nandus (Ham.) 580 C LR nt

Family 16. Cichlidae

39 Etroplus maculatus (Bloch) 2397 A LR lc

40 E. suratensis (Bloch) 464 C LR lc

41 Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) 16 R Intr

Family 17. Gerreidae

42 � Gerres filamentosus (Cuvier) 32 R LR lc

Family 18. Lutjanidae

43 � Lutjanus argentimaculatus (Forsskal) 11 R NE

Family 19. Scatophagidae

44 � Scatophagus argus (Linn.) 6 VR LR lc

Family 20. Sciaenidae

45 � Macrospinosa cuja (Ham.) 10 R LRlc

Family 21. Terapontidae

46 � Terapon jarbua ( Forsskal) 48 R LR lc

Family 22. Carangidae

47 � Caranx carangus (Rippel) 30 R LRlc

48 � Caranx affinis (Bloch) 2 VR LRlc

Family 23. Eleotridae

49 � Eleotris sp. 10 R NA

Family 24. Sillaginidae

50 � Sillago sp. 4 VR NA

Family 25. Gobiidae

51 Glossogobius giuris (Ham.) 32 R LR lc

Family 26. Anabantidae

52 Anabas testudineus (Bloch) 1027 A VU

Family 27. Belontidae

53 � Macropodus cupanus (Val.) 428 C LR lc

Family 28. Channidae

54 Channa marulius (Ham.) 84 R LR nt

55 Channa striatus (Bloch) 701 C LR lc

Family 29. Mugilidae

56 � Mugil cephalus (Linn.) 90 R LR lc

IX Order : Pleuronectiformes

Family 30. Soleidae

57 � Euryglossa orientalis (Bloch and

Schneider)

4 VR DD

X Order : Tetraodontiformes

Family 31. Tetraodontidae

58 Tetraodon travancoricus (Hora and

Nair)

2047 A VU

59 � Tetraodon fluviatilis (Ham.) 2 VR DD

TOTAL 21125

A COMPARATIVE ACCOUNT ON THE AEROBIC BACTERIAL COUNT IN THE FRESHFLESH AND GUT OF CLIMBING PERCH ( ANABAS TESTUDINEUS )

Sunil Kumar. PAbstract

The aerobic bacterial flora of skin with muscle and digestive tract of Anabas testudineus were compared inthe study. Experiments were conducted in triplicate for five samples of skin with muscle and digestive tract. Thetotal plate count ranged from 4.5×10 3 to 6.2 × 103 cfu/gm for skin with muscle and 8.5 ×104 to 12.8×104 cfu/gmfor gut samples. The result indicates that the aerobic bacterial load is higher in the gut than skin with muscle ofAnabas testudineus and digestive tract provides favourable ecological niche for the growth of bacteria.

Key words: Anabas testudineus, total plate count, skin with muscle, gut

IntroductionThe microbial flora of freshly caught fish, molluscs and other aquatic organisms is very largely a reflection of the

microbial quality of the water where they are harvested. If the water is sewage polluted the sea food is partially capable oftransmitting various pathogenic microorganisms. The predominant group of bacteria found from gills, intestine and slimewere classified as Pseudomonas and Achrobacter, which accounted 60 % of the bacteria isolates obtained. The nextpredominant were Cyanobacterium, Flavobacterium and Micrococcus together accounting for 20 % of the isolatesobtained. The remainder was miscellaneous genera such as Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Proteus, Serratium, Escherichia andseveral unidentified species. A marked percentage difference was observed in the relative composition of the flora obtainedby the investigators (Grahamm, 1973).

The presence of certain enzymes of the fish muscle appears to be a pre requisite for optimal growth of bacteriawhich cause spoilage ( Brambtedt et. al.,1961). The digestive tract of fresh water fish carries heavy bacterial load whichplays an important role in spoilage (Hatha, et. al., 2000). Determination of bacterial count therefore gives an idea about theextent to which spoilage has proceeded. The present study was carried out to compare the bacterial flora of Anabastestudineus in different body parts like skin with muscles and digestive tract.

Materials and methodsAll the Petridishes and pipettes were sterilized by dry heat in an electrically operated oven (Labine) for one hour at

180 °C. Plate count agar prepared was sterilized by autoclaving at 15 lbs pressure (121 ° C) for 15 minutes. Withoutcooling 20 ml of media as transferred to petridishes. 34 gm of potassium dihydrogen orthophosphate was dissolved in 1litre of distilled water to prepare buffer solution, 10 -2, 10-3 and 10 -4 dilutions were prepared for skin with muscle and gutsamples. The petridishes were incubated for 48 hours at 37° C. Petridishes containing 30-300 colonies was consideredfor counting. The aerobic plate count (APC) or Total plate count (TPC) was expressed in colony forming units/gm (cfu/g).

Results and discussionMany studies have been attempted to characterize the microbial flora of fish and shell fish..A study carried out by

Nair &Nair (1998) on the bacterial population of fresh water fishes, Labeo rohita and L. calbasu from Krishnarajendrasagarreservoir showed higher bacterial count in tissue samples.

Sunil Kumar. P, St. Xavier’s College, Vaikom, [email protected]

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Puntius conchonius was the first report from the kole wetlands of Kerala. Puntius conchonius is a vulnerable,hill stream fish. Puntius conchonius was recorded from the Muriyad site of kole wetland area during post cultivation

period in the present study and the status of the fish in the habitat was rare. This fish might have reached the Muriyadwetland through the Karuvannur river which is flowing very close to Muriyad site. The abundant fish species noticed inthe kole wetlands were Amblypharyngodon melettinus, Etroplus maculatus, Tetraodon travancoricus, Puntiusfilamentosus, Dayella malabarica, Heteropneustes fossilis and Anabas testudineus.Kurup et.al.,(2003) reportedDayella malabarica species as critically endangered species from Kerala. Based on IUCN status Horabagrusbrachysoma and Anguilla bengalensis recorded from the kole wetland area are coming under endangered category.Ten species namely Puntius conchonius, P. vittatus, P. chola, Channa striatus, Catla catla, Heteropneustes fossilis,Anabas testudineus, Macrognathus guentheri, Tetraodon travancoricus and Ompok bimaculatus are included inthe vulnerable category. Fishes Parambassis thomassi, Nandus nandus, Channa marulius, Puntius sophore,Parluciosoma daniconius and Wallago attu are the nearly threatened species .

The introduction of exotic fishes has resulted in the competition of fish for food and space and ultimately resultingin the decline of indigenous species (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991). The presence of exotic species Oreochromis mossambica,Catla catla, Cyprinus carpio communis, Labeo rohita, Ctenopharyngodon idellus and Cirrhinus mrigala in thehabitat caused a gradual reduction in the number of endemic fish population. In present study, the culturing of exotic fisheswas done in kanimangalam site.

Among the total fish species recorded from the kole wetlands of Thrissur District,18 species (30.5%) werenoticed as secondary freshwater fishes. Out of the 18 species of secondary freshwater fishes, one species was abundant,two species were common, nine species was rare and six species were very rare. The presence of 18 secondary freshwaterfishes shows the high influence of estuarine fishes in kole wetlands. Dayella malabarica, Macropodus cupanus andHyporhamphus limbatus were well represented in the kole wetlands. Seasonality studies based on habitat conditionsof kole lands revealed that the highest number of fish species was recorded during post cultivation season (54), followedby pre cultivation (52) and cultivation season (41). The abundance of fishes were highest in the cultivation season (9,550),followed by post cultivation (6,846) and pre cultivation seasons (4,729).

Prasanth and Sreekumar (2012) reported 88 species of fishes belonging to 37 families of 13 orders from Kuttanadwetland, Kerala which is very similar to kole wetlands of Thrissur. Family Cyprinidae was represented in Kuttanad witha maximum number of 24 species and the most represented genus was Puntius. Six exotic species were also recordedfrom the Kuttanad wetland ecosystem.

Thobias (1976) also reported 39 species of fishes from the paddy fields, ponds and lower reaches of riversflowing through Thrissur district. Inasu (1991) reported 98 species of Inland fishes from Thrissur district, Kerala. Amongthese, 31 species were freshwater fishes, 23 species were estuarine fishes, 23 species of fishes live both in estuarine andbackwaters, 12-hill stream and nine were culture fishes.Thomas (2006) reported 112 species of freshwater fishes fromthe rivers flowing through Thrissur District. Janeesh and Sheeba (2012) reported a total of 105 species of fishes belongingto 42 families from inland water bodies of Thrissur district. Swapna et. al.,(2012) studied the Icthyofaunal diversity ofkole wetlands of Kerala and reported 54 species of fishes belonging to 40 genera. Order Perciformes was representedwith the highest number of families (13). Family Cyprinidae was represented with maximum number of species (14) andgenus Puntius was represented with seven species.

Among the 59 species of fishes recorded during the present study, 32 species were economically important.Some larvicidal fishes recorded were Aplocheilus lineatus, Parluciosoma daniconius, Macropodus cupanus,Amblypharyngodon melettinus and Tetraodon travancoricus.The present study indicates that kole wetlands are importantin fish diversity and serves as a unique habitat for breeding and conservation of freshwater fishes.

14 15

References1. Inasu, N.D., 1991. Systematics and Bionomics of Inland fishes of Thrissur District, Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the

Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, India.

2. Islam, M.Z. and A.R. Rahmani, 2008. Potential and Existing Ramsar Sites in India. Indian Bird ConservationNetwork. Bombay Natural History Society, BirdLife International and Royal society for the Protection ofBirds. Oxford University Press.Pp 592.

3. Janeesh, K.C. and S. Sheeba ,2012. Proceedings of 24th Kerala Science Congress, 29-31 January 2012, RRII,Kottayam, Pp.194-198

4. Jayaram, K.C.,2010. The Freshwater fishes of the Indian Region. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi.

5. Johnkutty,I. and V.K. Venugopal, 1993. Kolelands of Kerala. Kerala Agricultural University. 68 pages.

6. Kurup, B.M., RadhakrishnanK.V., and T.G. Manoj Kumar ,2003. Biodiversity status of fishes inhabiting rivers ofKerala S.India with special reference to endemism, threats and conservation measures.

7. Menon, A.G.K., 1991. Checklist of freshwater fishes of India. Rec. Zool. Surv. India occ. Pap. 175:1 -366.

8. MoEF ,2009. Integrated Development of wildlife Habitats. Ministry of Environment & Forests, New Delhi.Pp-83.

9. Moyle,P.B. and leidy, 1992. loss of biodiversity in aquatic systems: evidences from fish faunas in: Fiedler, P.L. andS.K. Jain (eds) Conservation Biology : The Theory and Practice of nature conservation, preservation andmanagement, Chapman and Hall, New York. PP. 127-169

10. Prasanth,S., Narayanan and B.Sreekumar ,2012. A Decade of Vembanad water bird counts. Report submitted toDeparment of Forests and Wildlife, Government of Kerala.Pp.171.

11. State of Environment Report,Kerala 2005,KSCTE,349 pages.

12. Swapna Johny, Inasu N.D. and A. Dalie Dominic ,2012. A Survey of Kolelands with Emphasis on HydrographicalParameters and Fish bio-diversity, Pp.36.

13. Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Oxford and IBH publishingCo.Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

14. Thobias,M.P. ,1976. Study on the Ecology, Systematics and Binomics of Freshwater fishes in paddy fields andrivers of Trichur district, Kerala Ph.D. Thesis, University of Calicut, Kerala.

15. Thomas ,2006 .Freshwater fish diversity in Thrissur district,central Kerala,India.Keralapiravi 50th anniversary

souvenir,Thrissur pp 301-302.

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Table 1. Bacterial load in the skin with muscle and digestive tract of Anabas testudeneus

The plate count varied between 1.25×10 5 to 4.80×10 5 c.f.u/g. This considerable variation in the result from thepresent study carried out in Anabas testudineus may be due to over pollution of water in the reservoir. A bacteriological,chemical and sensory study on iced and uniced scampi (Nephrops norvegius) stored at an ambient temperature of 2.2 °Cwas made by Walker et.al.(1970). They reported that an increase in the storage time of fresh water prawn resulted inincrease in bacterial load. Durairaj et.al. (1984) substantiated their work on the quality changes in Labeo rohita, Cirrhinusmrigala and Tilapia mossambica. Hence it can be assumed that the total plate count in the present study would haveshown still higher numbers if the count was done in iced fish. Surendran (1991) noticed that in marine fishes the bacterialcounts were higher in the region of intestine of sardine species;105-109 compared to skin 103-107/ cm2 and gill 103-107g.Surendran et. al.(1998) made quantitative analysis for total aerobic plate count of farm water, farm mud and shell withmuscles of the fresh water prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii in fresh condition. Total plate count in shell with musclesof the prawn ranged between 2×10 3 to 10×10 3 cfu/g. The result deviated slightly from that obtained from skin withmuscles of Anabas species. in the present study. It may be due to the difference in habitat of fish and prawn.The work ofOgbon deminu and Okoye (1992) contradicts the results obtained in the present work. He reported a higher bacterialdensity (6.5 × 106 cfu/g) in the skin of tilapia than that present in the intestine (4.5×105 cfu/g).

Yakinori and Hirofami (1984) reported higher bacterial count in the intestine of carps. The intestine of pearl spot,Etroplus suratensis carried heavy bacterial load when compared with skin, intestine and gill samples (Surendran andMahadeva Iyer,1985). Microbial characteristics of ice stored Labeo gonius along with their biochemical parameterswere investigated by Leelabati and Viswanath (1999). They also reported higher bacterial count in the intestinal region.The result of the present study is in agreement with the inference made in the work done by Leelabati and Viswanath(1999). Surendran et.al. (1976) recorded that in oil sardine the higher magnitude of bacterial population was seen in gutsamples and TPC ranged from 105 to 108/g when compared to skin with muscle which had values from 103 to 105/g andgill samples which had TPC in the range of 10

5 to 10

6 .The result of the present study showed that the population ofbacterial flora of the whole digestive tract is comparatively higher than the corresponding skin with muscle samples. Thetotal aerobic plate count varied between 4.5×10 3 to 6.2 × 103 cfu /g for skin with muscle and 8.5 ×104 to 12.8×104 cfugfor gut samples. So it is inferred that the aerobic bacterial load was higher in the region of gut or digestive tract. Gutprovides favourable ecological niche for the growth of microorganisms. It is therefore suggested that evisceration of fisheswill enhance the keeping quality of fish.

W = a Lb eu

The Log transformed equation is as follows ; ln W = ln a + b ln L + u

Estimated model : 1 (Male; n = 196)

ln W = ln -13.28 + 3.39 ln L S.E (1.549) (0.333) t (â) (-8.57) t(^b) (10.22)

at p = 0.01 p = 0.0 F = 104.46 at P = 0.01; r2 = 0.648

Estimated model: 2 (Female ; n = 181)

Ln W = ln -14.28 + 3.609 l S.E (0.550) (0.115) t (â) (-25.96) t(^b) (31.318)

at p = 0.01 at p = 0.01 F = 980.840 at p = 0.01; r2 = 0.955

The estimate of the parameters ‘a’, ‘b’ and coefficient of determination ‘r2’ are tabulated in Table1.Analysis ofCovariance revealed no significant difference in the regression coefficients of the sexes Table 3. Hence the data of sexeswere pooled and a common equation was calculated as follows.

Estimated model : 3 (for combined sexes n = 377)

ln W = ln -13.533 + 3.45 ln L S.E (0.858) (0.18 t (â) (-15.77) t(^b) (18.93)

at p = 0.01 at p = 0.01 F = 385.5 at p = 0.01; r2 = 0.773

All regressions were highly significant with the coefficient of determination ‘r2’ ranged from 0.648 for males, 0.955for females to 0.773 for combined data at p = 0.01 which indicated a strong correlation between length and weight of fish.The t- test result (Table 2) indicated that the ‘b’ values of males (3.399) and pooled data (3.450) did not show significantdifference from 3 and hence showed an isometric growth pattern whereas, that of females (3.606) deviated significantlyfrom 3 and followed a positive allometric growth pattern.

DiscussionMales followed isometric growth whereas female exhibited positive allometric growth pattern. Similar observation

was made by Murthy (1990) for Secutor insidiator from Kakinada . However, Leiognathus bindus (b = 2.521 - Maleand b = 2.054 - Female) and Secutor insidiator (b = 2.782 – Male and b = 2.907- Female) from the South Karnatakacoast of India were reported to follow the negative allometric growth pattern (Abdhurahiman, et al., 2004). ForLeiognathus brevirostris, a common length - weight equation was computed for the species. Abraham (2001) computedcommon length – weight relationship equations for three silverbelly species from Kerala coast. Even though, the shape andfatness of the species primarily contribute to the change in ‘b’ value, various biological and environmental conditions suchas temperature, salinity, food availability, seasons, sex, stage of maturity, gonad development, health and general fishcondition might influence the difference in the length -weight parameters (Hossain, et.al., 2006 and Simon and Mazlan,2008). However, these factors were not accounted for in the present study.

Table 1. Various parameters in the length - weight relationship of L. brevirostris(males, females and combined sexes)

Group N Length

(mm)

Weight (gm) a b r 2

Males 196 31- 144 2 - 24 -13.28 3.390 0.648

Females 181 34 - 146 4 - 27 -14.28 3.609 0.955

Pooled 377 31 -146 2 - 27 -13.53 3.450 0.773

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References1. Brambtedt Friz and Margrette Aurobach, 1961. The spoilage of fresh water fish. In Fish as food, George

Borgstorm (ed. I). Academic Press. P. 613

2. Durairaj, S. and S. Krishnamurthy, 1984. The preservation of some Indian fresh water fishes Labeo rohita,Cirrhinus mrigala and Oreochromis mossambica J. Fish. Technol. 23 (2): 115-119.

3. Grahamm, C.,1973. Microbial safety of fishery products. Academic press Intc. Pp. 98-100.

4. Hatha, A., Seena Kuruvila, A. M. and Synbia Cherian ,2000. Bacterial flora of the intestine of farm raised freshwater fishes, Catla, Rohu and Ctenopharyngodon. Fish technol. 37 (1): 59-62.

5. Leelabati, H and Viswanath, W., 1999. Biochemical and microbiological quality of Labeo gonius stored in ice.,Fish technol., 36 (1): 24-27 pp.

6. Nair, K. K. S and R. B. Nair, 1998. Bacteriological quality of fresh water fish from Krishnarajendra sagarreservoir, Fishery technol., 25 p.79.

7. Ogbondeminu, T.S and Okoye, I.C., 1992. Microbiological evaluation of an untreated domestic waste wateraquaculture system. Aqua trop.: pp. 27-34.

8. Surendran, P. R., 1991. Microbiology of fishes in summer institute on modern techniques of testing fish andfishery products. CIFT, Cochin, pp.78-87.

9. Surendran, P. R. and Mahadeva Iyer, 1985. The bacterial flora of pearl spot Etroplus suratensis (Bloch)caught from Cochin backwater. Proc. Symp. Coastal Aquaculture 3: pp. 852-855.

10. Surendran, P. K. and Mahadeva Iyer, 1976. Studies on spoilage of commercially important fishes under icedstorage. Fish. Research 7(1-4) pp. 1-9.

11. Surendran, P. K., N. Thampuran and N. Nambiar, 1998. Comparative microbial ecology of freshwater andbrackishwater prawn farms. Fish. Technol., 37: 25-30.

12. Walker, P., D. Cana and J. M. Shevan, 1970. The bacteriology of scampi (Nephrops norvegius) Preliminarybacteriological, chemical and sensory study J. Fish. Technol. No. 5: pp 375-385.

13. Yakinori Takhashi and Hirofami Fugino, 1984. Growth of epiphytic bacteria on the body surface, skin, gill andintestinal part of clam under breeding conditions. Bull. Japan Soc. Sci. Fish. 50 (5-8) 735-742 pp.

LENGTH-WEIGHT RELATIONSHIP OF A SILVERBELLY LEIOGNATHUS BREVIROSTRIS(VALENCIENNES, 1835) FROM KERALA COAST

Honey SebastianAbstract

Male Leiognathus brevirostris showed isometric growth whereas females exhibited positive allometric growthpattern. A common length - weight equation was computed for the species. Various biological and environmental conditionssuch as temperature, salinity, food availability, sex, stage of maturity and gonad development might influence the differencein the length -weight parameters in fish.

Key words: Leiognathus brevirostris, isometric growth, allometric growth, length-weight relationship

IntroductionLeiognathids (Family: Leiognathidae), popularly called as silverbellies or pony fish are important demersal fishes

contributing to the fisheries along Indo-West Pacific region. The present work investigates the length –weight relationshipof Leiognathus brevirostris . This study is useful for the management and developing leiognathid fishery along Keralacoast and can be applied to other regions as well. Length -weight relationship study is important in formulating fish yieldequations, in the prediction of weight of fish from a given length in yield assessment and production (tissue growth) of fishin natural waters as well as in hatcheries and laboratories (Ekelemu and Kesena, 2010).

Materials and methodsFish samples were collected from various trawl landing centers along Kerala coast. A total of 377 specimens

(males - 196 and females -181), ranging in total length from 31 mm to 146 mm and weight of 2 g to 27 g were used forthe analysis. The specimens were sexed and total length (TL) of the fish was measured and weighed using a decimal 3 digitelectronic balance to the nearest 0.01 g. The length measurements were converted into length frequencies with constantclass intervals of 20 mm. The parameters ‘a’ and ‘b ‘ of length weight relationship was estimated by Ordinary LeastSquare method (OLS).

W = a X b e u where, W = body weight, X = the variable (total length), a = constant, b = regression coefficient andu = random disturbance term (which measures the impact of all other factors which are not included in the model).Regression analysis was performed using SPSS – 13 Statistical software.The exponential relationship was transformedinto a straight line relationship based on logarithms by the following equation,

ln W = a + b ln L + u where, ‘ ln ’ the natural logarithm, where ln L (log L) is the independent and ln W (log W)is the dependent variables.

The degree of association of between length weight variables was calculated by the coefficient ofdetermination ‘r2’. T-test was used to determine whether the coefficient ‘b’ was significantly different from 3using the formula, T = (b -B) / sb, where, B = 3, b = regression coefficient and sb = standard error of b. Significance ofdifference between the regression coefficients of the sexes at 5% level was tested by ANCOVA (Snedecor and Cochran,1967) to ascertain the establishment or fitting of a single length-weight relationship equation for the species.

ResultLength-weight equations were computed, for males, females and sexes combined. A plot of log transformed length

-weight relationship however, yielded a straight line.

Honey Sebastian, Dept. of Zoology, Vimala College, Thrissur [email protected]

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Non significant F (df = 200)= 1.26 (5 %); 1.39 (1 %)

References1. Abdurahiman, K., P. Zacharia, P.U. Nayak and K. S. Mohamed, 2004. Trophodynamics of the Spotfin Flat head

Grammoplites suppositus (Troschel, 1840) from the Southeast Arabian Sea. Asian Fisheries Science, 20: 125-143.

2. Abraham, K. J. 2001. Studies on the taxonomy, some aspects of biology and population dynamics of the silverbellies(Pisces: Leiognathidae) exploited along the Kerala coast, India. Ph.D. Thesis, CMFRI, Cochin, 241p.

3. Ekelemu, J.K. and J. Kesana, 2010. Differential growth patterns of Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchusbidorsalis and Hybrid Hetroclarias fed commercially prepared diets. Agric. Biol. J.N. Am., 1 (4): 658-661.

4. Hossain, M.Y., Z. F., Ahemed, P. M., Leunda, I., A. Rokssanul, S. Jasmine, J. Oscos, R. Miranda, and J. Ohtoni,2006. Length- weight and length –length relationship of some small indigenous fish species from the Mathabhangariver, S-W Bangladesh. J. Appl. Ichthyol., 22: 301-303.

5. Murthy, V. S. 1990. Biology and population dynamics of the silverbelly Secutor insidiator (Bloch) from Kakinada.J. mar. Biol. Ass. India, 32 (1&2): 10-24.

6. Simon, K. P and A.G. Mazlan, 2008. Length-weight and length-length relationship of Archer and Puffer fish species.The open Fish Science Journal, 1: 19-22.

7 Snedecor, G.W. and W.G. Cochran, 1967. Statistical Methods. Sixth Edn., Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., Newdelhi, 593p.

24 21

DiscussionThe onset of maturity differs considerably inter-specifically as well as intra-specifically. Information on the size of

maturation is essential for avoiding over exploitation of immature juveniles and ensuring the spawning of individual fish atleast once in life. The minimum size of maturity has been estimated earlier by several workers (Somavanshi,1980., Sunder,1986.,Kurup, 1994).In Puntius amphibius the females and males were found to be mature at 83 mm and 63 mmrespectively. In Puntius parrah the females and males were found to be mature at 88 mm and 68 mm Thus males attainsexual maturity at a smaller length than the female. Similar observations had been reported in many freshwater fishes suchas Schizothorax longipinnis (Sunder, 1986 ) Labeo dussumieri (Kurup, 1994) . According to De Silva et. al., (1985)the total length of Puntius titteya at maturity ranged from 21mm to 40 mm. The first appearance of ripe and spentindividuals of Puntius amphibius male seen in 56-60 mm group and in females it was between 71-75 mm size groups. InPuntius parrah the first occurrence of ripe males and females lies in the range of 61-65 and 66-70 respectively. Thesefindings suggest that this roughly corresponds to the minimum size group at which the females and males attain ripeness andstart spawning .It is a generalized fact that among fish males usually grow to a smaller size than females (Sivakami,1982).In Puntius amphibius and Puntius parrah the females are larger in size. The maximum size of the males andfemales encountered in Puntius amphibius during the present investigation is 85 mm and 120 mm respectively. Thecorresponding values of Puntius parrah were 90mm and 125 mm. The difference in size at first maturity and the maximumsize attained in the two sex group may be due to the fact that female live longer and hence attain a larger size .

References1. DeSilva,S.S.,J.Schut and K.Kortmulder 1985.Reproductive biology of six barbus species indigenous to

SriLankaEnv.Biol.Fish.12;201-218.

2. Jonsson, B. and N. Jonsson. 1993. Partial migration: Niche shift versus sexual maturation in fishes. Reviews in FishBiology and Fisheries 3:348–365. CrossRef, CSA

3. Kurup, B. M. 1994 . An account on threatened fishes of river systems flowing through Kerala. In Proc. Nat. Sem.Endangered Fish India. pp. 129-140

4. Sivakami, S. 1982. Studies on some biological aspects of Puntius dorsalis (Jerdoni) from Bhavanisagar Reservoir(Tamilnadu). J. Inland. Fish Soc. India., 14 (2):61-72.

5. Somavanshi, V. S. 1985. Indices of fecundity in the hill stream fish Garra mullya Indian. J. Fish, 32(1):33-43

6. Sunder, S., 1986.On the breeding biology of a snow trout, Schizothorax longipinnis from the River Thelum, Kashmir.Indian J.Fish ., 33(2):201-210.

Table 2. Statistical analysis to find deviation of L. brevirostris from Cube law

19-2122-24

NS = Non significant, *S = Significant at P = 0.01

Table 3. Comparison of Regression lines in the length - weight relationship of males and females (L . brevirostris)

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A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON LENGTH AT FIRST MATURITY OFPUNTIUS AMPHIBIUS AND PUNTIUS PARRAH

Jeeja Tharakan

AbstractThe length at which 50 % of the female fish attain maturity in Puntius amphibius was calculated as 83 mm. The

length at which 50 % of the male fish attain maturity in P. amphibius was calculated as 63 mm. The length at which 50 %of the female fish attain maturity in Puntius parrah was calculated as 88 mm. The length at which 50 % of the male fishattain maturity in P. parrah was calculated as 68 mm.

Key words: length at first sexual maturity, Puntius amphibius, Puntius parrah

IntroductionPuntius amphibius and Puntius parrah (Day) are two widely distributed fresh water fishes which have all the

desirable qualities of ornamental fishes. In teleost fishes length is considered as a better indicator of the first maturity andmaturity occurs at different sizes. Length at first maturity is defined as the length at which 50 % of the fish of a given stockbecome sexually mature. Size at first maturity largely determined by the natural mortality rate and by the size that has to beattained before a fish can exploit its final food niche most efficiently (Jonssonand Jonsson,1993). It is considered as ameans to better operate a control on the fixed capture-size thus assuring the juveniles to reach the sexual maturity. It isaccepted that knowledge on the fish length at first sexual maturity is indispensable in order to estimate size of the spawningstock. In a natural habitat size at first maturity is affected by environmental conditions, geographical barriers, water bodyarea, overfishing and food supply.

Materials and methodsIndividual specimens were examined for their maturity stages. Based on the histological maturity stage of the

ovaries and testis the proportion of specimens within each 5mm size class that had gonads in stages II onwards werecalculated. The immature fishes may form one group and the other maturity stages form another group. From these, thenumber of immature and mature fishes in each size group and the percentage occurrence of maturing males and femaleswere determined. The average size at first maturity was determined by plotting the percentage of fish against the lengthgroup. Maturity curves were drawn to the scatter plots so as to estimate the length at which 50 % of the fish mature.

ResultA total of 961 females and 517 male specimens of Puntius amphibius were examined for the maturity stage of

gonads. The minimum size at which P. amphibius female attains maturity was presented in Table 1. It can be seen from thetable that those up to the length of 70 mm solely belonged to immature class. Above 106 mm all the specimens belongedto the mature class. The average size at first maturity was determined by plotting percentage of fish against length group.The length at which 50 % of the female fish attain maturity in P. amphibius was calculated as 83 mm (Fig 1). The minimumsize at which P. amphibius male attains maturity is presented in Table 2. Out of 517 male specimens of P. amphibiusexamined, it can be seen from the table that those up to the length of 55 mm solely belongs to immature class. Above 80mm all the specimens belonged to the mature class. The average size at first maturity was determined by plotting percentageof fish against length group. The length at which 50 % of the male fish attain maturity in P. amphibius was calculated as 63mm (Fig 2).

Jeeja Tharakan, Dept. of Zoology, St. Aloysius College, Elthuruth, Thrissur [email protected]

Altogether 676 female and 377 male specimens of Puntius parrah were examined for the maturity stage of thegonads. The minimum size at which P. parrah attains maturity was presented in Table 3. It can be seen from the table thatthose up to the length of 65 mm solely belongs to immature class. The percentage of ripening fish increased rapidly from71mm onwards. Above 106 mm all the specimens belonged to the mature class.The average size at first maturity wasdetermined by plotting percentage of mature fish against length group. The length at which 50 % of the female fish attainmaturity in P. parrah was calculated as 88 mm (Fig.3). A total of 377 male specimens of P. parrah were examined forthe maturity stage of testis. The minimum size at which P. parrah attains maturity was presented in Table 4. It can be seenfrom the table that those up to the length of 55 mm solely belongs to immature class. Above 80 mm all the males belongedto the mature class. The average size at first maturity was determined by plotting percentage of mature fish against lengthgroup. The length at which 50 % of the male fish attain maturity in Puntius parrah was calculated as 68 mm (Fig 4).

Table .1 Percentage occurrence of immature Table .2 Percentage occurrence of and mature female Puntius amphibius immature and mature male Puntius amphibius

of different length groups of different length groups

Table .3 Percentage occurrence of Table .4 Percentage occurrence of immature immature and mature female and mature male Puntius parrah Puntius parrah of different length groups of different length groups

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MITOCHONDRIAL GENE SEQUENCING AND PHYLOGENY ANALYSIS OF A PAPER WASP,ROPALIDIA JACOBSONI

Kavitha S. and Kottickal L.V

AbstractThe PCR of COI gene of the paper wasp Ropalidia jacobsoni collected from Trivandrum district of Kerala

yielded a product of 353bp which was novel. The sequence obtained can be used as a molecular barcode of the species.The conceptual translation product yielded a product of 117 amino acids. The BLAST and phylogeny analysis showed theclose similarity of R. jacobsoni to R. brunneum. The phylogenetic tree of DNA plotted using N-J method highlights thesignificant sequence diversity of the COI gene of R. jacobsoni from its allied species. It enabled an easy discrimination ofspecies and thus assigned a proper phylogenetic status to the species.

Key Words : Ropalidia jacobsoni , CO1 sequence, phylogenetics

IntroductionVespidae is a large family of both social and solitary wasps having a cosmopolitan distribution. Among

the six subfamilies only Vespinae, Polistinae and Eumeninae are reported from Kerala (Lambert et.al., 2002). Thewasps of the subfamily Polistiane builds their nests using fine plant fibers and adult wasp’s oral secretion, whichgives it an appearance of a nest made of paper. The species under this subfamily are hence called paper wasps.

Ropalidia jacobsoni, is a common paper wasp which is reported from Kerala by Kojima et. al.(2007). It is alsoreported from Delhi, Utter Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Assam. It is also found inMyanmar, Sumatra, Bangka, Java, Lombok and Sulawesi. It was first described by du Buysson (1908), which wasreviewed by Das and Gupta (1984, 1989), Lambert et. al., (2005) and Kojima et. al., (2007).

The foremost intention of molecular phylogenetic studies is to assess the order of evolutionary events and presentthem in evolutionary trees that graphically portray species interrelationships over time. A 648 fragment of mt DNA calledcytochrome c oxidase I (COI) was elected as a standardized tool in the molecular studies like barcoding and phylogenyanalysis in the recent years (Galtier et. al., 2007). This is due to the fact that CO1 appeared to be among the mostconservative protein-coding genes in the mitochondrial genome of animals, which was preferred for the evolutionary,phylogenetic and systematic studies (Goldstein et. al., 2011). It can be quickly recovered from diverse species using alimited set of primers. The first molecular barcode data of a vespid wasp from India was provided by Mashhoor et. al.,(2013). They sequenced the CO1 gene of a potter wasp Eumenes petiolata fabr collected from Kerala. Later, Lopez-Osorio et. al. (2014) sequenced the CO1 sequence of a Vespinae wasp, Vespa affinis, collected from Bangalore.

Materials and methodThe experimental insect was collected from Trivandrum district of Kerala and was identified morphologically.

DNA was extracted from thoracic muscle tissue homogenate using Sigma Aldrich DNA extraction kit. About 2 nanogramof COI gene was amplified using the forward primer, and reverse primer. The PCR reaction mixture consists of 2ng oftemplate DNA, 1X Taq buffer with MgCl

2 2.5µM of forward primer (5’-GGATCACCTGATATAGCATTCCC-3’) and

reverse primer (5’- CCCGGTAAAATTAAAATATAAACTTC-3’), 0.2 mM dNTPs and 1U Taq DNA Polymerase toa final volume of 25µl. The PCR amplification was performed in the following conditions: initial denaturation of 95°C for 1

Kavitha S., Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut.

Kottickal L.V, Dept.of EnvironmentalSciences,Central University of Science and Technology, Nileswaram,Kasaragod, India.

DEMERSAL FISHERY POTENTIAL BASED ON BENTHIC PRODUCTIVITY - COCHINBACKWATERS, SOUTH WEST COAST OF INDIA

Sheeba PAbstract

In Northern limb of Cochin backwaters an annual carbon production of 4.06g C/m2/y and a biomass production of53.46g/m2/y were observed whereas in the southern limb these values were 994.78gC/m2/y and 13106.50g/m2/yrespectively. Accordingly the demersal fishery potential is calculated as 1310650kg/km2 in the southern limb area frombarmouth and 5350kg/km2 in the northern limb area from barmouth.

Key Words : Cochin backwaters, Benthic biomass, Fishery potential

IntroductionBenthic organisms form an important link in the food chain at different trophic levels. Between the primary production

and the fish production, the role of benthic organisms first as a feeder of detritus and plant material and in turn forming foodof some predators like crabs and fishes is now well recognized. Qasim (1977) has given the estimated fish yield for theIndian Ocean (between lat. 26°N to 4°S and long. 30°E to 125°E) to be 15-17 million tonnes with India’s share to bearound 46% or 7.36 million tonnes. He has estimated 14% or 1.03 million tonnes out of the total 7.36 million tonnes tocome from the demersal sources. Parulekar et. al. (1982) estimated the potential demersal fish and crustacean resourcesof the Indian continental shelf based on the benthic productivity to be 1.2 million tonnes as against the exploited value of0.45 million tonnes/yr.

Madhusoodhanakurup (1982) has highlighted the importance of bottom fauna as a main food source forvarious species of fishes in the Vembanad Lake. He further stated that the size of the food consumed by the fishincreases with an increase in size of the fish. This can be confirmed by noting the fact that smaller planktonic fooditems were found in appreciable quantities in the gut of juvenile fishes. In addition to amphipods and isopods,polychaetes were also found to be consumed in high amounts by the adult fishes. Moreover, juvenile crabs,bivalves, molluscs and detritus were also encountered in appreciable percentage.

A number of estimates about the tertiary potential including demersal resources from the Indian Ocean areavailable (Qasim, 1977; Desai et. al., 1990 and Krishnamoorthy et. al., 1999). All these workers have estimated thefishery potential based on primary productivity and secondary production or on the exploratory fish survey dataand calculated tertiary production either as 0.1% of primary production or 10% of secondary production (Cushing,1971 and 1973 ). As far as demersal resources are concerned the benthic biomass as rightly pointed out by Moiseev(1971) is the more valid parameter for projecting the demersal fish potential (including the crustacean and molluscs).Parulekar et.al.,(1982) have also carried out the assessment of demersal fishery resources of the Indian seas based onbenthic standing stock.

Materials and methodsQuantitative study on benthos and its possible relationship with the demersal living resources in the Cochin backwaters

are examined. The stations are located 25 km upstream towards the southern (stns. 1 to 5) and northern (stns. 6 to 13)limbs of Cochin backwaters along with barmouth (stn. 14). Benthic samples were collected using a van Veen Grab and thesamples collected were sieved through a 500 µm mesh (Birkett and McIntyre, 1971). The benthic biomass was expressedas wet weight in g/m2 (shell on weight). The annual benthic productivity was calculated from the biomass as:- Dry weight= 22% of wet weight, Carbon content = 34.5% of dry weight, (Parulekar et al., 1980), Annual benthic production =Carbon content x 2g C/Yr. (Sanders, 1956), Annual biomass production is calculated as twice the standing stock (Harkantra

Sheeba P, Dept. of Zoology, Vimala College, Thrissur, [email protected]

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minute, followed by 35 cycles of denaturation at 95°C for 10 seconds, annealing at 50°C for 3 minutes, extension at72°C for 45 seconds and final elongation at 72° C for 1 minute.

After ascertaining the PCR amplification of the corresponding COI fragment, the PCR product was columnpurified using Mo Bio Ultraclean PCR Clean-up Kit (Mo Bio Laboratories, Inc. California). The purified PCR productwas sequenced from both ends using the forward and reverse primers of PCR amplification using Sanger’s sequencingmethod. The forward and reverse sequences obtained were trimmed for the primer sequences, assembled using ClustalW and the consensus was taken for the analysis.The final sequence was subjected to Basic Local Alignment Search Tool(BLAST) alignment of National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) for searching similarity in sequences. Theconceptual translation of the DNA sequence obtained was done using European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)nucleotide sequence translation tool European Molecular Biology open software suite ( EMBOSS ) ( http:// www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/st/emboss

_transeq /). The phylogenetic tree was plotted using Neighbor-Joining ( N-J ) method in traditional

straight format by comparing with other COI sequences of wasps in the database.

Results and DiscussionPCR amplification of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of Ropalidia jacobsoni

The PCR of the COI gene fragment of R. jacobsoni yielded product of 353bp. The conceptual translation ofCOI gene of R. jacobsoni yielded a peptide of 117 amino acids. The nucleotide BLAST against the nucleotide redundantdatabase showed that the cytochrome oxidase gene sequence obtained is novel, thus enabling it to be used as a molecularbarcode of the species. R. jacobsoni showed 98% identity to Rhynchium quinquecinctum in nucleotide BLAST(BLASTn) analysis and 99% identity to Rhynchium quinquecinctum in peptide BLAST ( BLASTp) analysis. The COIgene sequence and conceptual translation product of the wasp R. jacobsoni are presented in figures 1 and 2.

TAGCATTCCCTCGAATAAATAATATAAGATTTTGACTCTTACCCCCTTCTTTAGCCTTATTAATTATAAGAAATATTATTGGATCAGGTGTTGGAACAGGATGAACTCTTTATCCTCCTTTATCATTTAATTTAGGGCATAACTCACCTTCTGTAGATTTAAGAATTTTTGCTCTTCATATTGCTGGAATTTCTTCTATCATAGGAGCTATTAATTTTATTGTTACAATTTTTAATATACACACAAAAACACCAACTTTAAATTTTATTTCCCTTTTTGCATGGGCAGTTTTAATTACTGCAATCTTACTACTTTTATCT TTACCTGTACTTGCAGGTGCAATTACTATACTT

Fig.1. Partial coding sequence of R. jacobsoni cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene.

A F P R M N N M S F W L L P P S L A L L I M S N I I G S G V G T G W T L Y P P L S F N L G H NSPSVDLSIFALHIAGISSIMGAINFIVTIFNMHTKTPTLNFISLFAWAVLITAILLLLSLPVLAGAITML

Fig.2. The conceptual translation product of the DNA sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunitI (COI) gene of R. jacobsoni.

Molecular phylogeny of Ropalidia jacobsoni

The phylogenetic tree of DNA is plotted using N-J method which is exhibited in figure 3. The phylogeny treesupported the close relationship of Ropalidia jacobsoni to Rhynchium quinquecinctum. Both species are havingdistribution in oriental region and hence posess close similarity in their genetic makeup. R. jacobsoni is distantly related tothe species of the genus Euodynerus, having distribution in North america (Carpenter and Cumming, 1985). This regionis a part of the supercontinent Laurasia. It got separated from the supercontinent Gondwana which includes the orientalregion comprising the Indian sub-continent, Ceylon, Burma and Philippines (Arévalo et. al., 2004). Thus the species ofthe two region shows significant variation in their genetic makeup. The phylogeny tree also revealed the close relationshipof R. jacobsoni to other species of the subfamily Polistinae and their mode of evolutionary divergence from a commonancestor.

Fig. 3. N - J tree showing the phylogenetic relationship of COI gene sequence of R. jacobsoniwith other COI sequences of wasps.

References.

1. Arévalo, E., Y. Zhu., J. M. Carpenter. and J. E. Strassmann., 2004. The phylogeny of the social wasp subfamilyPolistinae: evidence from microsatellite flanking sequences, mitochondrial COI sequence, and morphologicalcharacters. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 4: 8.

2. Carpenter, J. M. and J. M. Cumming., 1985. A character analysis of the North American potter wasps (Hymenoptera:Vespidae; Eumeninae). Journal of Natural History, 19: 877-916.

3. Das, B. P. and V. K. Gupta., 1984. A catalogue of the families Stenogastridae and Vespidae from the Indiansubregion (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Oriental Insects, 17: 395–464.

4. Das, B. P. and V. K. Gupta., 1989. The Social Wasps of India and the adjacent countries (Hymenoptera: Vespidae).Oriental Insects Monograph, 11: 1-292.

5. Du Buysson, R., 1908. Deux Hyménoptères nouveaux de Java. Notes from the Leyden Museum, 30: 123–126.

6. Galtier, N. and L. Duret., 2007. Adaptation or biased gene conversion? Extending the null hypothesis of molecularevolution. Trends in Genetics, 23: 273-277.

7. Goldstein, P.Z. and R. DeSalle., 2011. Integrating DNA barcode data and taxonomic practice: Determination,discovery, and description. BioEssays, 33: 135–147.

8. Kojima, J., K. Lambert., L. T. P. Nguyen. and F. Saito., 2007. Taxonomic notes on the paper wasps of the genusRopalidia in the Indian subcontinent (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Entomological Science, 10: 373–393.

9. Lambert, K., 2002. Investigation of alpha systematics of Vespidae (Hymenoptera) of the Kerela state. Universityof Calicut.

10. Lambert, K., T. C. Narendran. and P. K. Girish., 2005. Taxonomic study of three new species of RopalidiaGuerin (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) from Kerala, India. Journal of Current Sciences, 7.1: 267-276.

11. Lopez-Osorio, F., K. M. Pickett., J. M. Carpenter., B. Ballif. and Agnarsson., 2014. Phylogenetic relationshipsof yellowjackets inferred from nine loci (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Vespinae, Vespula and Dolichovespula).Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 73: 190-195.

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and Parulekar, 1994) and the potential yield is taken as the 10% of the annual benthic standing stock (Parulekar et. al.,1982).

ResultsIn the southern limb the maximum production in terms of carbon and biomass production was noticed at station 3

and the values were 5854.06 g C /m2/y and 77128.52 g/m2/y respectively followed by station 4 and the correspondingvalues were 84.04 gC/m2/y and 1107.18 g/m2/y (Table 1). In the area towards southern limb the annual benthic productionin terms of carbon and biomass production were 994.78 g C/m2/y and 13106.50 g / m2 / y respectively ( Table 2).

In the northern limb area, which is 25 km upstream towards north from barmouth, the maximum production occurredat station 8 and here an annual carbon production of 2.58 gC/m2/y was noticed and the annual biomass production was33.94 g/m2/y. Stations 6 and 7 showed the annual carbon productions of 0.74 gC/m2/y and 0.90 gC/m2/y respectivelyand the corresponding biomass productions were 10.00 g/m2/y and 11.80 g/m2/y ( Table 1). In this area an annual carbonproduction of 4.06 gC/m2/y and a biomass production of 53.46 g/m2/y were observed (Table 2). In the barmouth (stn.14) the annual carbon production was 29.46gC/m2/y and the biomass production was 388.28g/m2/y (Table 1). Thebiomass of stn. 14 is incorporated with both northern and southern limb areas for calculating the annual production interms of carbon and biomass production and in turn for the calculation of fishery potential.

Considering all these values and taking the potential yield as 10% of the benthic standing crop the potential yield iscalculated as 1310650 kg/km2 in the southern limb area from barmouth and 5350 kg/km2 in the northern limb area fromthe barmouth.

Table 1. Benthic biomass and annual production at stations 1 to 14.

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STUDY ON HYDROLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND ASSOCIATED HEALTH RISKS INKATHIKKUDAM, THRISSUR, KERALA

Prasad N. K., Hima K. U., Jisha O. S., Midhuna P. M., Sudheena P. S., Sumayya Moideen P. M., SwethaSivan O. S., Athira M. L., Subiksha V. S., Shihabudeen A. S. and Shaji E. M.

Abstract

About 60 % of the studied dug wells in Kathikudam village of Thrissur district were polluted which may be dueto industrialization. Among the families studied, in 73.3% of the families at least one member of the family is affected withsome sort of diseases,which is due to the utilization of contaminated water.

Key words: Water pollution, Industrialization, Kathikkudam, health problems.

Introduction

Deterioration of quality and fast depletion of drinking water resources are the foremost challenges our countryfaces and they need urgent attention (Sujitha et. al.(2012). Anthropogenic activities like agriculture, deforestation, urbanizationand industrialization has adversely affected the quality of drinking water and there by the health of people ( Park, 2009).The effluents from industries play a crucial role in polluting surface water as well as ground water. A variety of healthhazards like conjunctivitis, diarrhoea and skin problems associated with the consumption of polluted water were reportedfrom different parts of Kerala (Roy, 2004).

Many fresh water sources like rivers, rivulets, streams, ponds, lakes and wells of Kerala are polluted due to theunscientific industrialization. In many parts of the state, the extent of such pollution has been raised to such a level that itinterferes with the human right to get clean water. It was reported that Kathikudam, an agricultural village near Chalakkudywas facing such a serious issue due to the industrial pollutants.

Study Area

The area selected for the study was Kathikkudam, a small village included in Kadukkuty Panchayath ofChalakkudy Thaluk in Thrissur District. It is located between latitude 10.20ON and longitude 76.34OE.


Well water samples were collected from ten different houses, located around the major industrial plant at Kathikudamand were analysed for different physiochemical parameters. Parameters like pH and turbidity were measured directly byusing standard instruments viz., pH pen and Secchi disc respectively. The water samples were collected in pre sterilizedBOD bottles for further analysis.The other physiochemical parameters such as hardness, level of free chlorine, iron, fluoride,and chloride were analysed by following the protocols of APHA,1995.

A direct survey with a questionnaire was conducted among the members of fifteen selected families for collectingdata on the health issues they face due to the existence of the factory nearby.

Prasad N. K., Hima K. U., Jisha O. S., Midhuna P. M., Sudheena P. S., Sumayya Moideen P. M., Swetha Sivan O.S., Athira M. L., Subiksha V. S., Shihabudeen A. S. and Shaji E. M.,Dept. of Zoology, K.K.T.M. Govt. College, Pullut

Stations

Mean

biomass

Wet wt.

( g/m2)

Mean

biomass

Dry wt.

(g/m2)

Carbon

content

(gC/m2)

Annual

carbon

production,

Mean

(gC/m2/y)

Annual

biomass

production

(g/m2/y)

1 0.15 0.03 0.01 0.02 0.30

2 0.34 0.07 0.03 0.06 0.68

3 38564.26 8484.14 2927.03 5854.06 77128.52

4 553.59 121.79 42.02 84.04 1107.18

5 7.02 1.54 0.53 1.06 14.04

6 5.00 1.10 0.37 0.74 10.00

7 5.94 1.31 0.45 0.90 11.88

8 16.97 3.73 1.29 2.58 33.94

9 5.09 1.12 0.39 0.78 10.18

10 1.19 0.26 0.09 0.18 2.38 11 1.64 0.36 0.12 0.24 3.28

12 7.04 1.55 0.53 1.06 14.08

13 3.53 0.78 0.27 0.54 7.06

14 194.14 42.71 14.73 29.46 388.28

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Table 2 - Benthic biomass, annual production and potential yield for two different regions

DiscussionThe maximum benthic production and potential were observed in the southern limb and this may be due to the high

biomass obtained at station 3 and 4. At station 3 a large number of small gastropods were obtained and these wereconsidered to be consumed by higher forms and a potential contributor to the next trophic level. At station 4, the highbiomass obtained was due to the presence of the bivalve sp., Villorita cyprinoides (with maximum size of 2.1 - 3.7long, 1.8 - 3.3 broad and with a height of 1.2 - 2.3 cm) obtained throughout the observation period, which are consideredto be subsistence fishery resource.

In the northern limb the high values obtained at station 8 were due to the presence of tube dwelling polychaetes andat station 12 it was due to the occurrence of some polychaete species in large numbers. At the barmouth a comparativelyhigh value was due to the gastropods obtained for which only the viable components, which are transferred to the nexttrophic levels, are considered.

The primary sources of food for the benthos in shallow waters are the algae plant and terrigenous organic detritus.In most areas, grazed or unutilized surplus of plankton in overlying water is the chief source of nutrition and high benthicproductivity depends upon their presence. Detritus and bacteria also form important food resources as they can becarried to greater distances by water currents. Sponges, pelecypods and brachiopods feed mainly on detritus, polychaeteson the other hand are mainly deposit feeders.

Primary producers occupy the base of the ecological pyramids, which produce organic matter with the help ofnutrients and sunlight. They form the food of herbivorous planktonic forms, which in active stage are fed upon bycarnivorous planktonic forms and as detritus by benthic organisms. The macrobenthic infauna is dominated by polychaete-bivalve combination, which are filter feeders and therefore mainly subsist on the particulate matter in the water column.Productivity of benthos is presumably related to the primary productivity of the overlying water column (Lie, 1968). Theherbivorous and carnivorous planktonic and some of the benthic forms together occupy the second stage in the ecologicalpyramid. They in turn form the food of the higher carnivores including fishes, which are the tertiary producers. Thus, it isevident that benthos is a very important link in the food chain and any reduction in benthic productivity may adverselyaffect the demersal fishery. Direct relevance of benthic standing crop and production to the exploited demersal fishes andcrustacean resources is by now, a well-established fact (Kurian, 1971 and Harkantra et. al., 1980).

References1. Birkett, L. and A.D., McIntyre, 1971. Methods for the study of marine benthos. IBP Handbook No. 16: Treatment

and sorting of samples, Blackwell Sci. Publ. Oxford and Edinburgh : 157.

2. Cushing, D.H., 1971. Upwelling and the production of fish. In: Russel, F.S. and Yonge, C.M. (Eds.) Advancesin Marine Biology, Academic Press, London and New York, 9: 255-334.

3. Cushing, D.H., 1973. Production in the Indian Ocean and the transfer from primary to secondary level. In :Zeitzschel, B (Ed). The biology of the Indian Ocean, 3: 475-486, Springer Verlag, Berlin – Heidelberg, NewYork.

4. Desai, B.N., R.M.S. Bhargava and J.S. Sarupria, 1990. Estimates of Fishery Potentials of the EEZ of India.Estuarine coasal and Shelf Sciences, 30: 635-639.

5. Harkantra and A.H. Parulekar, 1994. Soft sediment dwelling macro-invertebrates of Rajapur bay, central westcoast of India. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 23: 31-34.

6. Harkantra, S.N., Ayyappan Nair, Z.A. Anzari and A.H. Parulekar, 1980. Benthos of the shelf regions along thewest coast of India. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 9: 106-110.

7. Krishnamoorthy, P., S. Arun and P. Subramanian, 1999. Commercially important meroplankton production andfishery potential in the Gulf of Manar. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 28: 216-218.

8. Kurian, C.V., 1971. In Fertility of the sea Vol. Edited by J.D. Costlow (Jr) (Gordon and Breach ScientificPublication, New York), 225.

9. Lie, U.,1968. Fisk Skritter series Haunderskelser, 14: 237.

10. Madhusoodana Kurup. B., 1982. Studies on the systematics and biology of the fishes of the Vembanad lake.Ph.D. Thesis, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Cochin, India.

11. Moiseev, P.A., 1971. The living resoruces of the world ocean (Israel Program for Scientific Translation, Jerusalem),334.

12. Parulekar, A.H., V.K. Dhargalkar and S.Y.S. Singbal, 1980. Benthic studies in Goa estuaries: Part III – Annualcycle of Macrofaunal Distribution, Production & Trophic Relations. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 9: 189-200.

13. Parulekar, A.H., S.N. Harkantra and Z.A. Anzari, 1982. Benthic production and assessment of demersal fisheryresources of the Indian Seas. Indian J. mar. Sci., 11: 107-114.

14. Qasim, S.Z., 1977. Biological productivity of the Indian Ocean. Indian J. Mar. Sci., 6(2): 122-137.

15. Sanders, H.L., 1956. Oceanography of long Island, Sound. 1952-54 X, Biology of marine bottom. Bull. BinghanOceanogr. Coll, 15: 345-414.

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Results and Discussion

A. Hydrological parameters

According to Khan and Firuza (2012) evaluation of water pollution in aquatic environment can be judged byfocusing mainly on its physical and chemical characteristics. Many physicochemical analytic techniques are simple toperform and guide the researcher to make quick conclusion.Chart 1 shows the result of various physiochemical testsconducted by the water samples collected. Out of the ten water samples analysed, six samples (60%) showed less pHvalue than the desirable limit (6.11±0.22). This indicated that the water samples were acidic and were not ideal fordrinking purpose. 50% of samples collected were turbid and the values were greater than permissible limit. Three watersamples (30%) studied had greater levels of hardness (17.6±4.79) than desirable limit. Iron and chloride levels werehigher than the optimum level in 40% of well water studied. Free chlorine and fluoride levels were within the range ofdesirable limit in 90% of samples studied.

B. Health risks

73.3% families studied had atleast one member affected with water pollution related health problems. The healthhazards varied from minor skin problems to serious problems like different Cancers (Chart 2). The major skin problemswere skin rashes (46%), itching and irritations on skin (57%), etc. Frequent stomach aches (36%), vomiting (42%) andstomach ulcers (24%) were identified among the members of nine (60%) families. Respiratory system disorders likeasthma (36%), bronchitis (39%); frequent coughing (57%) etc. were also prevalent among the family members studied. Itwas found that there were increased occurrences of different cancer types (7%) among the people studied. Cancer ongallbladder, skin, breast, lungs and uterus were predominant in Kathikudam village.

A number of studies have indicated that household environment and quality of drinking water play a major role inthe health status of the people of Kerala. Well water in several parts of Kerala are highly polluted (Roy,2004). Garg(2012) reported that industrial effluents reaching our surface water bodies form a serious cause of water pollution andbecome threat to the life and health of many people in India. Pillai and Ouseph (2000) observed that more than half theKerala population utilises dug wells as the sole source of drinking water and the outbreaks of water-borne diseases weredue to consumption of contaminated water from poorly protected wells. The data collected for this study revealed that thealarming rate of occurrence of diseases in this area is mainly attributed to the usage of contaminated water for drinking,cooking, bathing etc.

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Methodology

Food and feeding habits of Mystus oculatus and Nandus nandus were studied by examining a total of fivepreserved specimens of each species. After recording the total length of each specimen, the fishes were dissected out andthe digestive tracts were carefully taken out . The guts were later uncoiled, cleaned off the attached fat and the length wererecorded for determining the Relative Length of Gut (RLG). The gut contents is then mixed with distilled water taken in apetridish and observed it under a dissection microscope. For better identification of each food items, the drops of theabove solution were examined under a 10X microscope. The method adopted for the present dietary analysis is Index ofPreponderance.

It is usually an integration of occurrence frequency method and volumetric analysis Index. Preponderanceindex was determined based on the formula provided by Natarajan and Jhingran (1961):

I P = VO X100

Ó V O

Where, V and O represent the percentage volume and occurrence of each particular food item respectively andIP, the index of preponderance. The volume of each food item is measured by displacement method using measuringcylinder with the smallest possible diameter for accuracy. For this purpose, each food item is initially separated. The indexof occurrence is determined by recording the number of stomachs in which each item occurs and expressed as a percentageof the total number of stomachs examined. Relative Length of the Gut (RLG) is the ratio between the gut length and totalbody length of the fish. RLG was estimated by adopting the following formula:

RLG = Length of gut/ Total body length

The feeding habits of the fish can be determined by using the relationship of relative length of the gut (RLG), whereRLG > 3 represents herbivore, RLG < 1, carnivore and RLG value1-3 represents omnivore (Odum, 1970).

Result and Discussion

The food types which have been observed during the gut content analysis of Nandus nandus have beenclassified into 5 categories namely algae, detritus, worms, plant matter and fish scale. Algae constituted 41.66%according to the percentage of occurrence method. The three food items such as detritus, worms and plant matterwere represented approximately as 16.66%. The fish scale was the least food item found in the gut content ofNandus nandus by the occurrence method. In the case of volumetric method, the larger volume of the gut waspossessed by algal material (46.29%), which is followed by worms (32.40%), detritus (18.51%), plant matter(1.85%) and fish scale (0.92%) respectively. Indices of Preponderance determined for algae, worms, detritus,plant matter and fish scale are 62.50%, 19.17%, 10.95%, 1.09% and 0.27% respectively (Table 1). According tothis, Nandus nandus is an omnivorous fish.

The gut content analysis of Mystus oculatus showed the presence of 7 food items such as algae, sand and mudparticles, worms, insect body parts, crustacean parts, fish vertebrae and fish scales. The Indices of Preponderance (Table2) shows that predominant food item present in the gut consists of worms and insect body parts, which represents about37.66%. The second abundant food material observed was algal material (10.03%). The sand and mud particles werefound only in one specimen examined and it constitutes only about 2.09 %. Worms, insect body parts and algae wererepresented by about 23.07 % based on occurrence method. In short, a total of 87.86% animal matters were observedin Mystus oculatus, which reveals its carnivorous habit.

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References

1. American Public Health Association (APHA), 1995. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 19th edn., American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, Washington.

2. Garg M., 2012. Water pollution in India: Causes and Remedies. International Journal of Philosophy and SocialScience, 2:555-567.

3. Khan,I..N. and Firuza B.M.,2012. Biological Assessment of Water Pollution Using Periphyton Productivity andStanding Crop in the Linggi River, Malaysia. International Review of Hydrobiology, 97: 124-156.

4. Park, K., 2009.Preventive and Social Medicine. Jabalpur, India: M/S Banarsidas Bhanot Publishers.

5. Pillai ,G..M.,Ouseph PP., 2000. “Water quality management in wells –A case study”, Proceedings of 12th

Kerala Science Congress 2000.

6. Roy, M.K.P., 2004. Water quality and health status in Kollam Municipality. Publication,. Kerala Research programmeon local level development, Centre for development studies, Thiruvananthapuram: Discussion paper 56.

7. Sujitha, P.C., Mitra D.D, Sowmya, P.K and Minipriya .R., 2012. Physiochemical parameters of Karamana riverwater, Thiruvanathapuram district, Kerala, India. International journal of environment Science 2: 1417-1434.

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DIETARY ANALYSIS OF NANDUS NANDUS AND MYSTUS OCULATUS FROM

PAMPA RIVER, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT, KERALA

Raju Thomas K. and Ruby Thomas

Abstract

The dietary analysis of Nandus nandus showed the presence of algae, detritus, worms, plant matter and fish scalewith 46.29%, 18.51%, 32.40%, 1.85% and 0.92% respectively. The RLG value of Nandus nandus is 0.55 cm. Thestomach content of Mystus oculatus consists of algae (10.03%), sand and mud (2.09%), worms (37.66%), insect bodyparts (37.66%), crustacean parts (4.18%), fish vertebrae (4.18%) and fish scales (4.18%). The Indices of Preponderanceof Mystus oculatus showed that the predominant food item present in the gut is animal matter (87.86%) and its RLGvalue is 0.29. The second abundant food material observed was algal material which constitutes about 10.03%. Hence,the gut content analysis of Nandus nandus and Mystus oculatus reveals that the first one is an omnivore and the latter acarnivore.

Key words: Nandus nandus, Mystus oculatus, Relative length of gut, Preponderance index

Introduction

Food is the main source of energy and plays an important role in determining the population levels, rate of growthand condition of fishes. Stomach content analysis provides important insight into fish feeding patterns and quantitativeassessment of food habits is an important aspect of fisheries management. Lagler (1949) pointed out that the accuratedescription of fish diets and feeding habits also provides the basis for understanding trophic interactions in aquatic foodwebs. Diets of fishes represent an integration of many important ecological components that included behaviour, , habitatuse, energy intake and inter/intra specific interactions.The food and feeding habits of fishes is variable throughout the yeardue to seasonal changes in temperature and water quality, which are responsible for food production in aquatic habitat.Age and sex may also show variation in food choice.

The gut content analysis of many freshwater fishes has been carried out by a number of research workersthroughout the world. Alam et.al.(2013) reported that the stomach contents of Mystus armatus consists of fish, aquaticinsects, crustaceans, molluscs, annelids, debris and mud, and unidentified food groups. According to Agrawal and Uma(1966), Nandus nandus is a carnivorous fish mainly feeds on insects, crustaceans and occasionally on algal filaments. Astomach content analysis of Horabagrus brachysoma from Lake Vembanad showed that this species was omnivorousand euryphagous (Sreeraj et.al.,2006). It is also found that the composition of the food varied from season to seasondepending upon the fluctuations in the occurrence of various planktonic elements ( Vidhya and Radhakrishnan Nair, 2012).Dasgupta ( 2004), observed that the RLG value increased with the increase of vegetable matter as food, and decreasedwith the increase of animal matter.

Study Area

The area selected for the present work is the downstream regions of Pampa river, in the Veeyapuram village.Veeyapuram is located in the Karthikapally taluk in Alappuzha district in Kerala state. The Veeyapuram village is situatedat an approximate latitude of 90 34’N and longitude of 760 44’E .Veeyapuram village is having some geographicalimportance that the Pampa river and the Achankovil river meets together in Veeyapuram.

Raju Thomas K. and Ruby Thomas, P.G. and Research Department of Zoology, Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla-689103

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The relative length of gut (RLG) of Nandus nandus is calculated as 0.55, while that of Mystus oculatuswas 0.29.

References

1. Agrawal, V.P. and Uma Sharma, 1966. Studies on the physiology of digestion in Nandus nandus(Ham.).Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences- Section B. Vol.64: 157-168.

2. Alam, M. M., Flowra, F. A., and Hussain, M. A., 2013. Diet composition and feeding Intensity of wild zigzag eel,Mastacembelus armatus. Trends in Fisheries Research., 2(1):24-26.

3. Dasgupta, M., 2004. Relative length of the gut of some freshwater fishes of West Bengal in relation to food andfeeding habits. Indian J. Fish., 51(3):381-384.

4. Lagler, K.F.1949. Studies in freshwater biology. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

5. Natarajan, A.V. and A.G. Jhingran, 1961. Index of Preponderance a method of grading the food elements in thestomach analysis of fishes. Indian J. Fish. 8 (1), 54-59.

6. Odum, W.E. ,1970.Utilization of the direct grazing and plant detritus food chains by the striped mullet Mugilcephalus. Marine food chains. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 222–240.

7. Sreeraj, N., R. Raghavan and G. Prasad ,2006. The diet of Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther), an endangeredbagrid catûsh from Lake Vembanad (South India). Journal of Fish Biology 69:637-642.

8. Vidhya, V. and C. Radhakrishnan Nair ,2012.Observations of food and feeding habits of Etroplus suratensis(Bloch) in Rajakkamangalam Estuary. Int. J. Cur. Tr. Res.1 (3): 107-109

�

Gut Contents

Index of

occurrence

(O)

Index of

volume

(V)

O×V

Index of

Preponderance

(O×V×100/∑n)

Algae 41.66 46.29 1928.44 62.50

Detritus 16.66 18.51 308.37 10.95

Worms 16.66 32.40 539.78 19.17

Plant matter 16.66 1.85 30.82 1.09

Fish scale 8.33 0.92 7.66 0.27

Total 2815.07

Gut Contents

Index of

occurrence

(O)

Index of

volume

(V)

O×V

Index of

Preponderance

(O×V×100/∑n)

Algae 23.07 7.76 179.02 10.03

Sand and

Mud particle 7.69 4.85 37.29 2.09

Worms 23.07 29.12 671.79 37.66

Insect body parts 23.07 29.12 671.79 37.66

Crustacean parts 7.69 9.70 74.59 4.18

Fish vertebrae 7.69 9.70 74.59 4.18

Fish scales 7.69 9.70 74.59 4.18

Total � 1783.66 �

Table 2: Index of preponderance of mystus oculatus

Table 1: Index of preponderance of Nandus nandus

Climate unsuitability is another factor responsible for mangrove’s change and disappearance. Hardy specieslike Avicennia species recolonised the area in very fast but this is not true in the case of the species of genus Rhizophora,Ceriops, Sonneratia and Aegiceras . Abundance of the Avicennia is increased and other true mangrove species areeither absent or slowly disappeared ( Table1). Global warming and sea level rise would bring changes in the parameterespecially in the most of the region, resulting in alternation in mangrove setting.

Mangroves in tropical region extremely sensitive to global warming because strong temperature dependence ofphysiological rates places many tropical species near their optimum temperature. Increased species diversity at the communitylevel will add to the competitive ability of mangrove communities as a whole. Outside the present latitudinal limits formangroves, comparable saline coastal environments are generally occupied by salt marsh vegetation. It is likely, given themore herbaceous nature of the vegetation in these communities that mangroves will compete such species in the mediumto long term and that a gradual replacement of salt marsh vegetation by scrubby mangroves

Sensitivity and adaptability of the species in the critical ecosystem become important to assess the vulnerability ofa species. Tidal forest of India support about three and half dozen species of core mangroves and majority of them may besensitive to medium to high rate of changes and they be categorized as highly vulnerable species because they can survivefor long period in only a relatively stable environment. Adaptive capacity of some of them can be improved by managementintervention, especially by planting them in suitable areas after assessing the trend and rate of environmental changes. Incase of climate change and sea level rise, loss of some species in one area, especially on islands, can be compensated byplanting them in the area of higher latitudes, although overall loss cannot be recovered.

References

1. Anon., 2001. India 2001- A reference annual compiled and edited by Research, Reference and Training Division,Ministry of Information and Broad-Casting. Government of India: 873 p.

2. Clough, Barry F., 1994. Climate impacts on mangrove ecosystems. Conservation of mangrove forest geneticresources. M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, India: 39-44:487 p.

3. Ellison, J. C. and D. R. Stoddard, 1991. Mangrove ecosystem collapse during prediction sea level rise. Holoceneanalogues and implication. Journal of Coastal Research; 7(1): 151-155.

4. FSI, 1999. State of Forest Report, 1999. Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, Ministry of Environment and Forest:113p.

5. ISRO, 1998. Coastal Wetlands of India, National- wide wetland mapping project. Space Applications Centre),A’bad: 237p.

6. IPCC, 2001.Climate Change 2001. Synthesis Report. A contribution of the working group I, II and III to theThird Assessment Report of the international Penal on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,United Kingdom and New York, NY-USA: 398 p

7. Macnae W.,1968. A general account of the fauna and flora of Mangroves in Indo-Pacefic region. Advances inMarine Biology , Academic Press ,London.

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A STUDY ON IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM IN CHETTUVAI,KERALA, INDIA Jain. J Therattil

AbstractThe impact of sea level rise on mangrove community has been reported to be a serious issue. Mangroves

are endangered by hostile habitat and human abuse. Climate unsuitability is responsible for mangrove’s change anddisappearance. Hardy species like Avicennia recolonised the area in very fast but this is not true in the case of the speciesof genus Rhizophora, Ceriops, Sonneratia and Aegiceras . Mangroves in tropical region extremely sensitive to globalwarming because strong temperature dependence of physiological rates places many tropical species near their optimumtemperature. In case of climate change and sea level rise, loss of some species in one area, especially on islands, can becompensated by planting them in the area of higher latitudes, although overall loss cannot be recovered.

Key words: Mangroves, Climate Change, Chettuvai

IntroductionMangroves are a taxonomically diverse group of salt-tolerant, mainly arboreal, flowering plants that grow

primarily in tropical and subtropical regions (Ellison and Stoddart,1991). A “mangrove” has been defined as a “tree,shrub, palm or ground fern, generally exceeding more than half a meter in height, and which normally grows above meansea level in the intertidal zones of marine coastal environments or estuarine margins. The term “mangrove” can refer toeither the ecosystem or individual plants. Mangrove ecosystems have been called “mangals” (Macnae, 1968) to distinguishthem from the individual plant species. Mangroves are the most productive ecosystems, which can fertilize the sea,potentially protect the coastal zone and serve as the breeding, feeding and nesting ground for many animals. The Indianmangroves support rich faunal resources. Mangrove habitats are an important constituent of coastal wetlands. They areunique and located between sea and land, influenced by tidal and fresh water regimes, and hence are fragile in nature. Theimpact of sea level rise on mangrove community has been reported to be a serious issue in some of the Southeast Asiancountries. Climate change is the biggest environmental challenge that we face. Building on our understanding of the impactsof climate change on our natural environment, and how we can minimise those impacts, is very important.

Study areaThe area of study is Chettuvai in Thrissur district. It is an estuarine backwaters complex that comes under

the Orumanayur Grama Panchayat of Chavakkad Taluk. It has latitude of 1032’ N and 7602’ E longitude. It is located ata distance of 25 km from Thrissur town. The estuary is formed by the confluence of the Karuvannur and Kechery riverswith the Arabian Sea.

Materials and methodsThe entire area was surveyed. Field trips were arranged to find out the impact of destruction. Reports published

by the Government of India on coastal habitats, mangroves have been studied and relevant information has been extracted.Projected rate of climate change, as reported by the IPCC (2001) and national institutions, especially ISRO (1998), hasbeen logically analysed with respect to mangroves in India.

Jain. J Therattil, Dept. of Zoology, St. Aloysius College, Elthuruthu, Thrissur, E- mail: [email protected]

Result & DiscussionA detailed observation and field trips revealed that Chettuvai Mangroves under the threat of high habitat destruction

due to global climate change. The mangrove areas and patches were fragmented and causing serious damage especially inbackwater region of Chettuvai is seriously polluted. 16 species of mangrove plants is categorized into two namely core ortrue mangroves and associated mangroves.

Table.1 Main Mangrove Species Seen In Chettuvai

Mangroves are endangered by hostile habitat and human abuse. The factors that affect this mangrove plants arebroadly classified into two: general factors and specific factors. General factors include loss of habitat, human interference,and trade over exploitation of fishery etc.The climate, salinity, tidal fluctuation, substrate or soil, and wind velocity aremajor factors which determine extent and type of tidal forest. Climatic factors like temperature fluctuation, humidity, andprecipitation, number of rainy days, regular wind flow, radiation and fresh water flow in the region act as the most significantfactors for development and succession of mangroves. Impact on highly diverse and productive ecosystems such asmangrove forests will depend upon the rate of sea level rise relative to growth rates and sediments supply, space for andobstacle to horizontal migration, changes in climate-ocean environment. Sea level rise will affect mangroves by eliminatingor modifying their present habitats and creating new tidally inundated areas to which some mangrove species may shift(IPCC, 2001). Extent of high tidal mudflats constitutes major share of the tidal mudflats, especially in Gujarat State. Thiswill provide great potential to the mangroves of the region for adjustment and adaptation against sea level rise.

11 Premna latifolia Verbenaceae Climber 12 Calophyllum ionophyllum Clyusiaceae Punna Tree 13 Cyperus sp Upperaceae Grass 14 Ipomea biloba Convolvulaceae Creeper 15 Liannea coromandalica Anacaediaceae Tree 16 Sesbania sp Fabaceae Shrub

S.No Species Family Common

Name Habit

1 Avicennia officinalis Avicenniaceae Uppatti Tree

2 Avicennia marina Avicenniaceae Cheru-uppatti Chakkapooo

Tree

3 Rhizhophora mucronata Rhizophoraceae Pranthan kandel or pee kandal

Tree

4 Excoecaria agallocha Euphorbiaceae Kannam potti Tree 5 Bruguiera cylindrica Rhizohporaceae Pichala kandal Tree 6 Ageiceras corniiculatem Myrsinaceae Poo kandal Tree 7 Acanthus ilicifolius Acanthaceae Chulli Shrub 8 Acrostichum aureum Pteridaceae Machinthol Shrub 9 Derris trifoliata Fabaceae Ponnamvalli Climber 10 Hibiscus tiliaceours Malvaceae Shrub

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HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT IN IMMIGRANT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS IN KERALA

Saji K. G, Zubair M. And Varghese P. R.Abstract

Masons have reported skin related problems as well as pulmonary ailments. The skin related problems includeburning, irritation to skin, skin rashes/ inflammations and hair loss/ hair change on their skin. 56 % of masons haveexperienced burning effect of cement. 20% of workers were affected by skin rashes/ inflammations and 18% with irritationto skin. Altogether 78% of workers have shown skin related problems. Pulmonary impairment is another ailment amongcement workers. 32% percentages of workers have breathlessness and 18 % have reported persistent cough. Wheezingand sneezing are also complained by 14% and 12 % respectively.

Key words: Health hazards, lung function impairment, cutaneous effects

IntroductionConstruction work is the second most important labour sector that is booming in Kerala. Educated youth of

Kerala are not willing to take up construction and related jobs in spite of otherwise unemployed. This created acuteshortage of human resource in the construction field. This vacuum attracted other state labourers to Kerala. Highremuneration in construction field in comparison to other Indian states is also another attracting factor.

Workers in the construction sector are exposed to cement dust for long periods. The most commonly usedPortland cement contains mainly calcium silicate with aluminium and iron compounds together with a small amount ofgypsum. High-alumina cement contains calcium aluminates. Cement dust contains heavy metals like nickel, cobalt, lead,and chromium (Baby et.al.,2008). A variety of additives such as alkaline hardeners may be used to produce specialpurpose cements and these increase health risk. Cement dust irritates the skin, mucous membrane of the nose and respiratorysystem. Its deposition in the respiratory tract causes a basic reaction leading to increased pH values that irritates theexposed mucous membranes (Zeleke et. al., 2010). Chronic exposure to cement in workers can provoke clinical symptomsand inflammatory responses such as chronic cough, phlegm production, and impairment of lung function, skin irritation,conjunctivitis and carcinoma of various organs such as lung, stomach and colon (Abo Taleb et.al.,1995). Contact dermatitisis also a recurring health problem among construction workers (Shah and Tiwari, 2010). Prolonged exposure of cementhas been reported to lead to prevalence of cutaneous effects and lung function impairment in construction workers fromKerala (Saji et. al. 2014 a, b).

In the present epidemiological investigation, health hazards of non- Keralite mason workers are reported.

Material and MethodsHealth hazards of masons from other states are focused in this study as they form a major work force in

construction industry. The present study was conducted between January and April of 2012 in Malappuram districtof Kerala state. The study population comprises 100 workers. All were working in their respective workplaces.

A questionnaire was prepared focusing questions on all known and other probable health hazards to whichthe study group were exposed. All the members of the study group were visited personally and data collectedindividually by using their regional language. They are categorized into 3 groups based on their duration of workin the cement related labour (less than 10 years, 10-20 years and more than 20 years). Health hazards studiedinclude persistent cough, wheezing, sneezing, burns and rashes on skin, irritation of skin, eyes and throat, headache, hair loss and colour change.

Saji K.G, Dept.Of Zoology, Maharajas’ College, Ernakulum, Kerala. India [email protected] M., Department Of Zoology, University Of Calicut, Kerala. India.

Varghese P. R. Research co-ordinator, Jubilee Centre for Medical Research, Thrissur, Kerala. India

ICHTHYOFAUNA OF VEEYAPURAM AREA OF PAMPA RIVER ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT, KERALA

Ruby Thomas and K. Raju Thomas

AbstractA total of 47 species of fishes belonging to 9 orders, 21 families and 34 genera were recorded from the study

area. Out of 47 species, 13 are reported to be endemic to the Western Ghats, Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. 34 speciesare with high ornamental value and are used for aquarium trade. Ompok bimaculatus, Wallago attu and Oreochromismossambica are near threatened, and Tetraodon travancoricus, Cyprinus carpio communis and Horabagrusbrachysoma are vulnerable species. The Anguilla bengalensis is placed in the endangered category. Dayella malabarica(amphidromous), Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Hypselobarbus kurali, Channa striatus (potamodromous), and Anguillabengalensis (catadromous) are the important migratory fishes found in the area. Parental care and territoriality is found inOreochromis mossambica. Other fishes with parental care and nest building behaviour include Etroplus suratensis, E.maculatus and Macropodus cupanus. Accessory respiratory organs are present in Lepidocephalus thermalis,Heteropneustes fossilis, Anabas testudineus, Channa marulius and Channa striatus.

Key words: Veeyapuram, Pampa river, Endemic

IntroductionThe riverine systems in Kerala are originated from the paradise of biodiversity- The Western Ghats. Animal life is

always rich in these ecosystems. Studies of freshwater fishes in the Indian subcontinent have been limited to scatteredworks on commercial fisheries and even these have been largely restricted to some of the major river systems like theGanges and the Yamuna. Large parts of the Western Ghats are unexplored, the distribution status of many of thesespecies remains uncertain. Reports indicate that more than 90% of the fishes reported so far from Kerala were encounteredfrom the five major rivers, Kabini, Kallada, Bharathappuzha, Periyar and Chalakudy (Kurup et.al.,2004). A total of 88species of fishes representing 15 orders, 41 families and 64 genera were recorded from the Bharathappuzha river (BijuKumar and Sushama, 2006). According to a study in the Periyar river, the number of fish species recorded was reachedupto 115 (Raju Thomas et.al., 2007). A total of 27 fish species were reported by Arun (1999). Of these 14 (52%) areendemic to the Western Ghats.

Study AreaThe area selected for the present study is the downstream regions of Pampa river, in the Veeyapuram village. It is

located in the Karthikapally taluk in Alappuzha district in Kerala state. The Veeyapuram village is situated at an approximatelatitude of 90 34’N and longitude of 760 44’E . Veeyapuram village is a part of upper Kuttanad and is a little above themean sea level (MSL) and having some geographical importance that the Pampa river and the Achankovil river meetstogether in Veeyapuram.

Meterials and Methods Cast net, hook and line, gill net and harpoon were used for the collection of fishes. Preservation of the specimenswere done by keeping the fishes in 10% formalin solution. The works of Talwar and Jhingran (1991), Munro (2000), andJayaram (2010) were followed for identification of fishes. The status of fishes was assessed mainly following the IUCNwebsite (www. iucnredlist.org, 2014).

Ruby Thomas and K. Raju Thomas, P.G. and Research Dept. of Zoology, Mar Thoma College, Tiruvalla- 689 103

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Symptoms

Frequency in %

Persistent cough 32

Breathlessness 18

Wheezing 14

Sneezing 12

Burning effect 56

Skin rashes/ inflammation 20

Irritation to skin 18

Hair loss /change in colour

on body 52

ResultsOut of 100 individuals interviewed during the study 82 were masons. Other groups such as helpers and concrete

mixers were only 18 in number. They were excluded from analysis due to insufficient number. Masons were categorizedinto three based on their duration of exposure to cement. 87 % have more than ten years of exposure in the constructionfield. 15 % have below ten years of exposure.

Lung function impairment and skin related problems are observed in most of workers. Persistent cough, breathlessnessand wheezing are taken to be indicators of lung function impairment where as burning effect, skin rashes/ inflammationsindicate cutaneous effects. Frequency of workers with lung function impairment and cutaneous effects is shown in table -2.

Masons have reported skin related problems as well as pulmonary ailments. This includes burning, irritation toskin, skin rashes / inflammations and hair loss/ hair change on their skin. Fifty six percentage of masons have experiencedburning effect of cement. Twenty percentage of workers were affected by skin rashes/ inflammations and 18% withirritation to skin. Altogether 78% of workers have shown skin related problems.

Pulmonary impairment is another ailment among cement workers. 32% of workers have breathlessness and 18 %have reported persistent cough. Wheezing and sneezing are also complained by 14% and 12 % respectively.

Duration as cement

workers Number

<10 years 12

10-20 years 68

>20 years 2

Total 82

Table: 1 Duration wise distribution of the study group

Table: 2 Frequency of lung function impairment &cutaneous effects in masons

DiscussionAssessment of health hazards in other state masonry workers in Kerala are highlighted in this study. Their work

may include mixing, pouring and spreading concrete, gravel and other materials. Workers are exposed to cement and itspotential toxicological effect during pouring and cleaning processes. Cutaneous problems are more prevalent than pulmonaryproblem among masons. They handle wet cement preparations of different combinations rather than in dust form.

Cutaneous problems are more prevalent in workers exposed to wet cement. Prolonged and untreated symptomswill lead to dermatitis because of the presence of hexavalent chromate in cement. The hexavalent form of chromatepenetrates the skin easily than other forms ( Liden et. al., 2006). Chromium dermatitis affects the dorsal region of handsand distal forearms. Other impurities such as nickel and cobalt also lead to more complications. When the cement dustcomes in contact with water, hydroxides are formed that alter natural water alkalinity; causing burning to living tissues, skinrashes and inflammation. Effect of hydroxide can be decreased by taking precautions like alkali resistant gloves and bootsand by wearing full sleeved dresses. Frequencies of cutaneous effects such as burning and inflammations on skin were alsohigh in native labourers (Saji et. al.,2012, 2014a).

Pulmonary impairment symptoms reported by these labourers may be due to exposure to dry cement during theirwork. Symptoms related to lung function impairment were also reported among native construction workers (Saji et. al.,2014 b).

References1. Abu-Taleb A N,Musaiger AO,Adelmoneim RB, 1995. “Health status of cement workers in the United Arab

Emirates.” J Roy Soc health. 115:378-381.

2. Baby, S., N. A. Singh, P. Shrivastava, S. R. Nath, S. S. Kumar, D. Singh and K. Vivek, 2008. “Impact of dustemission on plant vegetation of vicinity of cement plant.” Environmental Engineering and Management Journal7(1): 31-35.

3. Liden C, Bruze M, Menne T.Metals. In: Frosch P J , Menne T, Lepoittevin, Editors. Contact dermatitis.4th ed.Germany: Springer, 2006. 537-568.

4. Kartik R Shah and Rajnarayan R Tiwari , 2010. “Occupational skin problems in construction workers”. IndianJournal of Dermatology 55(4):348-351.

5. Saji K.G, Sreelatha B.Nair, Zubair M. and Varghese P.R ,2012. An epidemiological study in construction workersMillennium Zoology Vol.13:46-49.

6. Saji K. G, Zubair M., Varghese P. R., 2014 a . Health risk in workers exposed to wet cement. InternationalJournal of Research In Medical and Health Sciences vol.4:34-37.

7. Saji K. G, Varghese P. R.,2014 b. An epidemiological study on health status of cement workers. InternationalJournal of Science and Research vol.3: 318-320.

8. Zeleke, Z., B. Moen and M. Bratveit , 2010. Cement dust exposure and acute lung function: A cross shift study.BMC Pulmonary Medicine 10(1): 19.

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yLepidocephalus thermalis (Val.) LC

22.

IV Order : Siluriformes Family 5: Bagridae Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther)

VU

23. Mystus armatus (Day) LC

24. M. oculatus (Val.) LC

25.

Family 6: Siluridae Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch) NT

26. Wallago attu (Schneider) NT

27.

Family 7: Heteropneustidae

Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) LC

48

41. Anabas testudineus (Bloch) DD

42.

Family 18: Belontiidae Macropodus cupanus (Val.) LC

43.

Family 19: Channidae Channa marulius (Ham.-Buch.) LC

44. C. striatus (Bloch) LC

45.

VIII Order : Synbranchiformes Family 20: Mastacembelidae Macrognathus guentheri (Day)

LC

46. Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede) LC

47.

IX Order : Tetraodontiformes Family 21: Tetraodontidae Tetraodon travancoricus Hora & Nair

VU

45

Family 4: Cobitidae

Result and DiscussionA total of 47 species of fishes representing 9 orders, 21 families and 34 genera were recorded ( Table 1) from

the Veeyapuram area of Pampa river.

Table 1. Systematic list and status of freshwater fishes collected from the Pampa River system

Out of 47 fish species recorded, Hypselobarbus kurali, Osteobrama bakeri, Mystus oculatus, Parambassisdayi, P. thomassi, Pristolepis marginata, Macrognathus guentheri, and Tetraodon travancoricus are endemic tothe Western Ghats. Etroplus suratensis is endemic to Penisular India and Sri Lanka. Labeo dussumieri is found to beendemic to southern Kerala and Sri Lanka. Puntius amphibius, Puntius parrah and Dayella malabarica are endemicto southern India. According to IUCN criteria, Ompok bimaculatus, Wallago attu and Oreochromis mossambica arenear threatened, while Tetraodon travancoricus, Cyprinus carpio communis and Horabagrus brachysoma representthe vulnerable species. The Anguilla bengalensis is placed in the endangered category. It is very rare in the study area.The result showed that Pampa river harbours many endemic and threatened species. The study revealed that Pampa riverharbours many ornamental fishes. Catla, Rohu, Common Carp and Tilapia are introduced fish species found in the locality.

Sl.No. Name of Species Status

1.

I Order : Anguilliformes Family 1: Anguillidae Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis (Gray)

VR; EN

2.

II Order : Clupeiformes Family 2: Clupeidae Dayella malabarica (Day)

LC

3.

III Order : Cypriniformes Family 3: Cyprinidae Catla catla (Ham. –Buch.)

LC

4. Cyprinus carpio communis Linn. VU

5. Hypselobarbus kurali Menon & Rema Devi LC

6. Labeo dussumieri (Valenciennes) LC

7. L. rohita (Ham.-Buch.) LC

8. Osteobrama bakeri (Day) LC

9. Barbodes sarana subnasutus (Val.) LC

10. Puntius amphibius (Val.) DD

11. P. chola (Ham.-Buch.) LC

12. P. dorsalis (Jerdon) LC

13. P. filamentosus (Val.s) LC

14. P. melanampyx (Day) LC 15. P. parrah Day LC

16. P. ticto (Ham.-Buch.) LC

17. P. vittatus Day LC

18. Amblypharyngodon melettinus (Val.) LC

19. Danio aequipinnatus (McClelland) DD

20. Parluciosoma daniconius (Ham.-Buch.) LC

p f

28.

V Order : Beloniformes Family 8: Hemiramphidae Hyporhamphus limbatus (Val.)

LC

29.

Family 9: Belonidae Xenentodon cancila (Ham.-Buch.) LC

30.

VI Order : Cyprinodontiformes Family 10: Aplocheilidae Aplocheilus lineatus (Val.)

LC

31.

VII Order : Perciformes Family11: Ambassidae Parambassis dayi (Bleeker)

LC

32. P. thomassi (Day) LC

33.

Family 12: Teraponidae Terapon Sp. LC

34.

Family 13: Nandidae Nandus nandus (Ham.-Buch.) LC

35. Pristolepis marginata Jerdon LC

36.

Family 14: Cichlidae Etroplus maculatus (Bloch) LC

37. E. suratensis (Bloch) LC

38. Oreochromis mossambica (Peters) NT

39.

Family 15: Gobiidae Glossogobius giuris (Ham.-Buch.) LC

40.

Family 16: Eleotridae Eleotris fusca (Schneider) LC Family 17: Anabantidae

Sl.No. Name of Species Status

Table 1. Distribution of the insects in Chettuvai mangroves

Symbol: + donate rare, + + denote occasional, + + + denote common and – denote absent.

SL.No Name of the insect Site -1:

Chettuvai

Site- 2:

Thaikkad

Site- 3:

Chakkamkandam

1 Papilio polyxenes +++ ++ -

2 Tirumala septentrionis - - ++

3 Plocaoderus obseus +++ + ++

4 Hypolimnas bolina +++ ++ +

5 Prodasineura integra +++ ++ -

6 Cocotrypes fallax +++ - -

7 Apis mellifera +++ +++ -

8 Apis florae +++ +++ -

9 Tabanus striatus +++ - -

10 Vindula erota erota ++ - -

11 Danaus chrysippus - +++ +

12 Lucilia sericata ++ - -

13 Lady bird beetle (Coccinellidae) +++ + ++

14 Megopis sulcipennis - - ++

15 Oecophylla smaragdina +++ +++ +++

16 Termitidae +++ +++ +++

17 Anisoptera selys - - ++

18 Amegilla cingulata - - ++

19 Brachycyttarus subteralbata +++ +++ -

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VR- Very Rare; EN- Endangered; LC- Least Concern; VU- Vulnerable; DD- Data Deficient; NT- Near Threatened

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Another interesting fact is the presence of anadromous, catadromous, amphidromous and potamodromous fishesin the study area. Dayella malabarica is an amphidromous fish, while Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Hypselobarbus kuraliand Channa striatus are potamodromous in nature. Thornfish is a marine fish, migrating to the riverine system. TheAnguilla bengalensis recorded during the present study is a catadromous species. Many larvicidal fishes also obtainedduring the study. These consists of weed fishes like Puntius ticto, Aplocheilus lineatus, cultivable fishes like Anabastestudineus, ornamental fishes like Macropodus cupanus and Puntius amphibius. These fishes play an important role inthe control of mosquitoes and thereby control serious diseases caused by mosquitoes.

Lepidocephalus thermalis, Heteropneustes fossilis, Anabas testudineus, Channa marulius and Channastriatus are the fishes with accessory respiratory organs. Some of the fishes are reported to be medicinally important.These include Anguilla bengalensis (treatment of Arthritis in Assam), Labeo rohita (antidiabetic activity), Heteropneustesfossilis (treatment of malaria) and Glossogobius giuris. Channa striatus is a subject of renewed interest in Malaysianfolk medicine in the search for a better cure for diseases and ailments. Extracts of the Channa is used as a wound healer,pain reliever and energy booster. Heteropneustes fossilis and Tetraodon travancoricus are poisonous fishes to someextent. The Heteropneustes fossilis possess a poisonous spine, but the Tetraodon carries a lethal compound calledtetrodoxin in their flesh. Horabagrus brachysoma and Oreochromis mossambica are known to possess sound producingorgan. Nandus nandus undergo camouflage as a defense mechanism, while Puffer fish have the ability to ‘puff’ themselvesup with water or air, if threatened. Many of the fishes are used as poultry feed. The major carps such as Catla catla,Labeo rohita, exotic fishes like Oreochromis mossambica, catfishes like Heteropneustes fossilis are widely introducedto various man-made habitats like tanks, ponds and reservoirs for culture and export in different parts of the area. Somefishes need special consideration and conservation because they are placed in the near threatened, vulnerable and endangeredcategory by IUCN. Problems like saltwater intrusion, construction of bunds and spillway may cause harmful effects onthese rich biodiversity.

References1. Arun, L.K., 1999. Patterns and processes of fish assemblages in Periyar lake valley system of Southern Western

Ghats. KFRI, Thrissur.

2. Bijukumar, A. and S. Sushama ,2006. Diversity of vertebrate fauna in Bharathapuzha river, Kerala. Proceedingsof National Conference on Wetland Biodiversity, Thrissur, Kerala: 47-66.

3. Jayaram, K.C., 1999. The freshwater fishes of the Indian Region. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi.

4. Kurup, B.M., K.V. Radhakrishnan and T.G. Manojkumar (2004). Biodiversity status of fishes inhabiting in riversof Kerala (South India) with special reference to endemism, threats and conservation measures. Proceedings ofthe Second International Symposium on the Management of Large Rivers for Fisheries. Vol.2. FAO Regionaloffice for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand. RAP Publication 2004/17.

5. Munro, I.S.R. ,2000. The marine and freshwater fishes of Ceylon. Narendra Publishing House,Delhi.

6. Raju Thomas, K., M. John George, C.R. Ajithkumar and C.R. Biju ,2007. Ichthyofauna of Periyar River (SouthIndia) with special Reference to Distribution of Hill stream, Endemic and Endangered species. Advances in Fish,Wildlife Ecology and Biology.Vol.4. Daya Publishing House, Delhi.

7. Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran ,1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries.

Volume:1& 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

A STUDY ON DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF INSECTS IN CHETTUVAIMANGROVES, KERALA

Arjitha K. V., Jerry Thomas and Jain J. Therattil

Abstract

The study in Chettuvai mangrove shows 90 species of insects included in 6 orders and 11 families. They areclassified into economically important insects and destructive insects. Economically important insects found in the studyare Apis melliferi and Apis florae.The growth of the plants were seriously affected by insect pests. The severe destructionreported from Chettuvai and least from Chakkamkandam. The host plants of maximum infestation reported in Avicenniaofficinalis and Avicennia marina.

Key words: Destructive insects, Chettuvai, Borers, Miners.

Introduction

Mangroves are the most productive and biological complex ecosystems on earth, which can fertilise the sea,potentially protect the coastal zone and serve as the breeding, feeding and nesting ground for many animals(Macnae,1968).The threats to the mangrove ecosystem could be broadly grouped into two: natural and anthropogenic. The destructiveinsects classified into borers and miners .The insects of present study were generally affecting the vitality of plant growthand photosynthetic activity. They may also seriously damage the different parts of the plant including the roots.


Chettuvai mangroves are an estuarine backwaters complex in Thrissur district. It comes under OrumanayarGrama panchayath of Chavakkad Thaluk. It has latitude of 1032’N and 7602’E longitude. It has located 25 km awayfrom Thrissur town. The estuary is formed by the confluence of the Karuvannur and Kechery rivers with the Arabiansea(Jain and Joseph Louis, 2011).Several field trips were arranged in this area. Three index stations were established inthe mangrove forest in Chettuvai. Intensive and extensive collection of insects are done during early morning and eveningfrom each of the three index station. Samples were collected with sweep nets specially made for the purpose, while lighttraps were used at night. Adult were killed in chloroform. The mounded specimen were dried, stretched, pinned by no.3asta insect pins of size 38mm Í0.5mm and labelled on rectangular card transferred to sample boxes for subsequentidentification. Taxonomic identification of the specimens were carried out with the help of experts.

Result and Discussion

The study in Chettuvai shows 90 species of insects included in 6 orders and 11 families. They are classified intoeconomically important insects and destructive insects. Economically important insects found in the study were Apismelliferi and Apis florae. Among this study another group of insects reported are harmful insects. They are broadlyclassified into borers and miners. The insects of present study were generally affecting the vitality of plant, growth andphotosynthetic activity. They may also seriously damage the different parts of the plant including the roots. The growths ofthe plant were seriously affected by insect pests.

Arjitha K. V. and Jerry Thomas , Dept. of zoology ,Morning star College,Angamaly.

Jain J. Therattil, Dept. of zoology, St.Aloysius College, Elthuruth.

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Table 2 . Distribution of the diversity of insect pests in the Chettuvai mangroves

The destruction of the insect pattern and infestation is almost common in all three index station. The severedestruction reported from Chettuvai and least from Chakkamkandam. The host plant of maximum infestation reported inAvicennia officinalis and Avicennia marina in all three index station.

References1. Das, A K. and Dev Roy M K.,1984. Insects borers of mangroves in India,7 (2-3), 251-254.

2. Jain Therattil and Joseph Louis Olakkengil.,2011.Diversity and Distribution of Destructive Insects inChettuvai Mangroves, Kerala. India. Millennium zoology, vol 12(1), 35-37.

3. Kathiresan, K.,2003. Insect Folivory in Mangroves.Indian Journal of Marine Sciences 32, 237-239.

4. Mani ,M S., 1982.General Entomology.Oxford&IBH Pub.Co Pvt.Ltd., New Delhi.

5. Macnae, W., 1968.A general account of the fauna and flora of Mangroves in Indo-Pacific region. Advancesin Marine Biology, Academic Press, London

Sl.No Name of the Insect Host Plant Location % of

destruction

1 Papilio polyxenes Avicennia officinalis I,II *

2 Tirumala septentrionis Acanthus illicifolius III **

3 Placaoderus obseus Rhizophora Mucronata I,II , III ***

4 Hypolimnas bolina Bruguiera cylindrical I,II , III **

5 Prodasineura integra Bruguiera cylindrical I,II *

6 Cocotrypes fallax Avicennia marina I, *

7 Apis mellifera Rhizophora Mucronata I,II *

8 Apis florae Avicennia officinalis I,II **

9 Tabanus striatus Avicennia officinalis I **

10 Vindula erota erota Rhizophora mucronata I **

11 Danaus chrysippus Aegiceras Corniculatum II , III **

12 Lucilia sericata Aegiceras corniculatum I *

13 Lady bird beetle

(Coccinellidae)

Avicennia officinalis I,II , III *

14 Megopis

Sulcipennis

Acanthus illicifolius III *

15 Oecophylla smaragdina Avicennia officinalis I,II , III ***

16 Termitidae Bruguiera cylindrica I,II III **

17 Anisoptera selys Acanthus illicifolius III *

18 Amegilla cingulata Acanthus illicifolius III **

19 Brachycyttarus subteralbata Rhizophora mucronata I,II ***

Location I=Chettuvai , II=Thaikkad,III=Chakkamkandam

PENGUINS - BIRDS IN TUXEDOSKezia Kuruvilla

Introduction The name “Penguin” instantly brings to our mind the stately march of the Emperor penguins. In spite of an experienceof more than two decades as a zoology teacher, I was totally ignorant of the diversity of penguins until I had a chance towitness the Boulder penguins of Africa and the Little penguins of Australia. These birds when compared to the Emperorsare real miniatures.

Penguins are flightless, aquatic birds seen in climates as varied as the ice covered Antartica to the Galapagos Islandon the equator. Molecular dating indicates that penguins originated about 71 million years ago in Gondwanaland when itwas further south and cooler. At that time, Antarctica was still attached to Australia and South America, and New Zealandstill relatively close to the supercontinent. Baker et. al.,(2006) hypothesized that, as Antarctica became ice-encrusted,modern penguins migrated via the circumpolar currents to oceanic islands within the Antarctic convergence, and later tothe southern continents. The family spheniscidae include a wide variety of penguins - Aptenodytes forsteri, the largest ofall penguins with 48 inches height and up to 45 kg weight which is seen in the Antarctica to the petite Eudyptula minor,which stands only 12 inches and weighs just a kilogram. The categorization given below provides a general idea aboutthe diverse species of penguins.

Of the above mentioned ones, I will be discussing here two different penguins – the Boulder penguins and theLittle blue penguins.

Spheniscus demersus

During a trip to Cape Town in 2009, I had a chance to visit the Boulder’s Beach in Simon’s Town, which forms a part ofthe Table Mountain National Park. This beach, with its wind sheltered bays and sandy shores, homes a breeding colonyof over 2000 endangered African penguins. They were previously called the Jackass Penguins, for their hilarious brayingcall, but later renamed as African penguins. With black and white tints and a sharply pointed black beak and black feet,

Kezia Kuruvilla, Department of Zoology, Vimala college, Thrissur

Great penguins

King penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus

Emperor penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri

Brush-tailed penguins

Adélie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae

Chinstrap penguin, Pygoscelis antarcticus

Gentoo penguin, Pygoscelis papua

Little penguins

Little blue penguin, Eudyptula minor

White-flippered penguin,

Eudyptula albosignata (provisional)

Banded penguins

Magellanic penguin, Spheniscus magellanicus

Humboldt penguin, Spheniscus humboldti

Galapagos penguin, Spheniscus mendiculus

African penguin, Spheniscus demersus

Eastern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes filholi

Northern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes moseleyi

Royal penguin, Eudyptes schlegeli (disputed)

Macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus

Chatham penguin, Eudyptes chathamensis (extinct)

p g p

Megadyptes

Yellow-eyed penguin, Megadyptes antipodes

Waitaha penguin, Megadyptes waitaha (extinct)

Crested penguins

Fiordland penguin, Eudyptes pachyrhynchus

Snares penguin, Eudyptes robustus

Erect-crested penguin, Eudyptes sclateri

Southern rockhopper penguin,

Eudyptes chrysocome

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COMPARISON OF hsCRP AND OTHER SERUM PARAMETERS OF DIABETES MELLITUS

IN 10 AND 20 RELATIVES OF DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS

Sherin K.V, Rency Jacob and Jose Jacob

Abstract

The hsCRP is used as a marker to investigate the susceptibility of diabetes mellitus in the 1st and 2nd degree relativesof patients with diabetes mellitus. It has seen that the first relatives patients above 25 years show significant increase in thelevel of hsCRP. It has also observed that 1st and 2nd degree relatives of diabetes mellitus even below 25 years of age alsoshow significantly higher CRP levels. This high level of CRP also correlates with increase in total triglycerides and serumglucose and decrease in HDL cholesterol. It is evident that, many of the serum parameters that are altered in diabetesmellitus patients are also altered in 1st degree relatives of patients below 25 years are to a much lesser extent.

Keywords : hsCRP, HDL, CRP

Introduction

A Number of serum biochemical parameters are altered in Diabetes Mellitus . In addition to increase serum glucose;there is increase in total triglycerides, insulin and high sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP). CRP is a marker of injury,inflammation and infection. In the absence of these conditions, CRP levels are generally below 5 mg/l. The CRP at thisconcentration is called hs CRP. There is also decrease in HDL cholesterol in diabetes mellitus (Fredrickson and Lees1967).This high level of CRP also correlates with increase in total triglycerides and serum glucose and decrease in HDL cholesterol.These are the same parameters which are altered in Diabetes mellitus. This study was conducted to find hsCRP can beused as a predictive marker for diabetes mellitus and to estimate the extent of alternations in hsCRP in 1st and 2nd degreerelatives of diabetes mellitus patients and correlating with other serum parameters that are altered in diabetes mellitus (Bellet.al.,2001).


Blood samples were collected by venipuncture and serum is separated by centrifugation. High sensitivity C Reactiveprotein is estimated by immunoturbidimetric assay in the fully automated biochemistry analyzer. Glucose was estimated byGOD-PAP methodology. Cholesterol is estimated by oxidase peroxidase methodology. HDL cholesterol is estimated byprecipitation method.

Result

The hsCRP levels in individuals who are 1st or 2nd degree relatives of diabetes mellitus patients and in individualswithout family history of diabetes mellitus were estimated. It was observed that there is increase in hsCRP in 1st and 2nd

relatives of patients. In the same sample, also estimated the levels of serum glucose, total triglycerides, HDL cholesteroland LDL cholesterol. Significant observations were made in these individuals. Serum total TG were significantly elevatedin 1st degree relatives of DM patients and HDL cholesterol were significantly decreased.

The CRP levels were grouped into two groups with levels <1mg/l and e™1mg/l. There was a significant differenceof these two groups. Fasting serum, total TG and HDL cholesterol were estimated in the two groups with low and highCRP who were 1st degree relatives below 25 years of DM patients.The results show that there is significant increase in

hsCRP levels in 1 st degree relatives of DM patients.This increase of hsCRP correlates with increase in triglycerides andserum glucose and decrease in HDL cholesterol.

Discussion

A number of serum components altered in diabetes mellitus. There is increase in fasting blood glucose, total triglyceridesand serum hsCRP levels in diabetes mellitus. The level of HDL cholesterol decreases in type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (Gibbons,1990). This study investigated the susceptibility of Diabetes Mellitus in the 1st and 2nd degree relatives of patients withdiabetes mellitus. It seen that the 1st degree relatives of patients above 25 years show significant increase in the level ofhsCRP ( Zimmet et.al.,1998). It also shows that 1st and 2nd degree relatives of patients even below 25 years of age alsoshow significantly higher CRP levels. This high level of CRP correlates with increase in total TG and serum glucose anddecrease in HDL cholesterol. These parameters are the same parameters which are altered in diabetes mellitus ( Nissen,and Tuscu, 2005). But alterations seen in 1st degree relatives of diabetes mellitus patients below 25 years of age are muchto a lesser extent. These results show that taken together, these parameters along with serum insulin levels can serve as apredictive markers for diabetes mellitus. If predictive markers can be described for diabetes mellitus, corrective measurescan be taken much before on the onset of diabetes mellitus.

Reference

1. Bell, G. I. and K. S. Polonsky, 2001. Diabtes mellitus and genetically programmed defects in beta cell function.Nature.414;788-791

2. Fredrickson, P. S. and RJ Lees, 1967. Fat transport in lipoprotein, an integrated mechanisms and disorder S, NEngl.J Med 276 ; 32

3. Gibbons, G. F., 1990. Assembly and secretion of hepatic very low density lipoprotein.Biochem.J.268:1-13

4. Nissen, T. and M.E. Tuscu, 2005. C-reactive protein and coronary artery disease.N Engl.J Med.352:29-38

5. Zimmet, P. , E. J. Bykol and M. Decowten, 1998. Features of metabolic syndrome predict higher risk of diabetesand impaired glucose tolerance. Trends Genet.14 : 98 -102l

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Inflammatory cells involved in Cancer developmentMacrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells and different WBCs like lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils are the

major inflammatory cells that contribute much to the development of epithelial originated tumours (Coussens andWerb,2002). In general many inflammatory cells can act as tumour promoters in inflammation related cancers.

Following are the ways by which inflammatory cells induces tumour:-

1. Activation of DNA damage, which results in the formation of mutated cells.

2. Production and secretion of tumour promoting growth factors.

3. Initiation of angiogenesis and lymph-angiogenesis.

4. Make alternation in the basic structure of extracellular material in favour of invasion and metastasis.

Involvement of Molecules and how they link Inflammation to Cancer

An array of cytokines is associated with the conversion of chronic inflammation to tumour development (Grivennikovet.al.,2010). These molecules are either free or membrane bounded ones and produced by macrophages, lymphocytes,mast cells, endothelial cells, fibroblast cells and various stromal cells (Rossi and Zlotnik,2000). In general they act asexcitatory molecules and accelerate the growth and differentiation of mutated cells. They are potent to do the suppressionof apoptosis of malformed cells at the inflammatory region. Lu et. al.,(2006) reported that Type II transmembrane proteinFas ligand (Fas L), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Transforming Growth Factor ( TGF-â) derived fromtumour cells can suppress general immune response of the body in tumour sites. An inflammation promoting factorInterleukin-6 can promote colon cancer. Initiation of DNA damage and inhibition of DNA repair mechanism can beachieved by another cytokine molecule called Tumour Necrosis Factor ( TNF-á). It promotes tumour growth by inducingangiogenesis. However recent studies show that administration of high dose TNF-á makes necrotic effect in tumours.TNF-á is a major inducer for Nuclear Factor-êB (NF-êB) activation. According to Hoesel and Schmid (2013) NF-êBpromotes the production of mutagenic reactive oxygen species, a possible cause of mutations. These mutations can maketransformation in cells. They protect transformed cells from apoptosis and promote tumour invasion and metastasis. NF-êB plays a central role in linking chronic inflammation to cancer (Pal et.al., 2014)

Adhesion molecules ( E-selectin, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1), Matrixmetalloproteinase (MMPs),Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (iNOS) are the otherchemokines which support the formation of inflammatory microenvironment which favours the origin of cancer (Lu et al.,2006). Adhesion molecules are also used by tumour cells to facilitate metastasis. The production of COX-2 induces thelevel of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are key mediators of inflammation. Apart from prostaglandin synthesis, COX-2 isdirectly related with increased proliferation of the cells, angiogenesis and epithelial mesenchymal transition.MMPs areproteolytic molecules and they promote tumour invasion. iNOS is an enzyme which can catalyze Nitric Oxide production.NO is an important regulatory molecule in both inflammation response and cancer development. During chronic inflammation,the continuous generation of iNOS and NO induces DNA damage, disrupts DNA damage correction mechanism andalso causes cancer-prone post translational modifications. They are able to regulate formation of blood vessels, leukocyteadhesion and infiltration, and finally, metastasis.

When tissue oxygen level decreases Hypoxia Inducible Factor-1 ( HIF-1), a transcription factor, activates a widerange of hypoxia responsive molecules like glucose transporter-1, erythropoietin, iNOS, vascular endothelial growthfactor and glycolytic enzymes. By means of this HIF-1 can sustain inflammation in tissues. HIF-1 also promotes cancerprone chronic inflammation by preventing the hypoxic apoptosis of neutrophils and T lymphocytes. Hypoxia InducibleFactor-1 facilitates angiogenesis, tumour invasion, and metastasis by trans-activating VEGF.

the bird has a number of dot-like markings flecked across its white chest which are said to be as unique as a human fingerprint. A black stripe is seen curving across the top of the chest. They are about 60 cm tall and weigh about 2.4 to 3.6 kg.The male African penguin is slightly larger than their female counterparts and has a longer bill. The pink glands above theireyes help in thermoregulation as blood is pumped into these glands and is cooled by the surrounding air. They get ready fortheir annual moult by putting on extra fat. During this moulting period they are land-bound, stop foraging, get thinner andtheir weight almost halves. Peak moulting time is from October to December, which takes about three weeks after whichthey head out to sea for feeding. They return in January to mate and begin nesting from February to August. Beingmonogamous the lifelong partners take turns to incubate their eggs and to feed the young.

African penguins sometimes travel up to 70 kilometers to feed - mainly on small pelagic fishes like anchovies,horse mackerel and herrings. They are capable of diving to considerable depths of up to 35 meters. Though a little clumsyon land, they are extremely skilful swimmers, reaching a speed of 24 kilometers per hour. Their feathers are very small andwaterproofed, overlapping to provide insulation. The African penguins have shorter feathers than their Antarctic counterparts.They live an average of 10 to 11 years. This bird is listed in the Red Data Book as an endangered species. The uncontrolledharvesting of penguin eggs and guano scraping nearly drove the species to extinction. More recent threats are oil spills,over fishing of pelagic stocks, unnatural predation, habitat destruction and climate change.

Eudyptula minor

The Little blue penguin native to Australia is the smallest of all penguin species. Found on the coastlinesof southern Australia and New Zealand they weigh around 1kg and reach upto 30 to 33 cm (12 to 13 inches).Slate-blue back feathers and flippers contrast with white underside. The eyes are silver and the bill is black. Theyare very boisterous animals producing distinctive snorts, screeches and brays.

Diurnal in habit, they spend the day swimming and foraging in sea. During the breeding and chick rearing seasons,little penguins will leave their nest at sunrise, forage for food throughout the day and return to their nests just after dusk tofeed their chicks. The birds come ashore in small groups to provide some defense against predators. This parade ofpenguins at Phillip Island is one of Australia’s wildlife attractions which draw over 500,000 visitors every year. We droveto this island during the month of December 2013 from Melbourne which takes about two hours. A viewing area withwooden platforms has been set up at the Phillip Island Nature Park to allow visitors to view the “Penguin Parade”. As thesun descended below the horizon, in the twilight we saw black spots cresting the waves which transformed into smallpenguins as they reached the shore. They would gather at a point in the beach line and when in sufficient numbers scuttleas fast as they could over the sandy beach to the shelter of the scrubs and undergrowth where they made their way inwinding lines up the rocky mounds to their nests. It continued for about two to three hours.

Fig. 1. Boulder penguins of Table Mountain National Park

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CHRONIC INFLAMMATION AND CANCERShaji E.M.

Introduction

Inflammation and cancer are complicated conditions controlled by many driving factors. The connection betweenchronic inflammation and origin of cancer is not a new knowledge.Cancer may develop at sites where chronic inflammationoccurs ( Balkwill and Mantovani, 2001). Lu et al.(2006) and Pal et.al.(2014) stated that chronic inflammation plays apivotal role in cancer development. But unfortunately the molecular connection between chronic inflammation and canceris not fully unravelled.

Inflammation is a part of innate immunity in response to various physical, physiological and / or oxidative stresses.The cause of inflammation may be microbial infection or a non-infective physical and /or chemical agent. The normalphysiological response (acute inflammation) is attributed to various cells and chemical factors. Neutrophils, the first cellsreach the inflammatory area and their entry is under the regulation of molecules secreted by macrophages and mast cells,which are already present in the area.Different leukocytes, especially lymphocytes and other inflammatory cells are theother cells that reach the inflamed site and their arrival is controlled by a signalling network which involves a large numberof cytokines.

The resolution of inflammation occurs by the removal of inflammatory cells from inflammation sites by macrophages,dendritic cells and phagocytes. These cells do this job by promoting apoptosis and phagocytosis. Acute inflammation isgoverned by numerous self regulating mechanisms. According to Coussens and Werb (2002), if the regulatory mechanismof resolution of inflammation is not regulated, the inflammatory pattern shifts from acute to chronic state. As a result atumour promoting microenvironment may be generated. Constant attack by inflammation initiating factors in body tissues isanother cause of chronic inflammation (Kuper et.al., 2000).

Examples for Cancers associated with Chronic inflammation

The connection between chronic inflammation and cancer is illustrated by various epidemiological and clinicalstudies. The risk of development of colorectal cancer is many times greater in individuals with chronic inflammatory diseaseslike ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Clinical evidences show that the control of colitis by certain anti-inflammatorysubstances reduces colon cancer incidences. Chronic infection by Helicobacter pylori in the alimentary canal is a majorcause of stomach cancer, adinocarnimoma and mucosa associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. A persistent infection byClonorchis sinensis causes chlorangiocarcinoma in bile duct. Read and Douglas (2013) stated that chronic inflammationinduced by Hepatitis B and C viruses predisposes into hepatocellular carcinoma. Chronic irritation by Papilloma virusinduces penile and anogenital cancers. The trematode worm Schistosoma and human herpes virus type 8 are two biologicalagents, which increase the risk of development of chronic inflammation leading to urinary bladder cancer and Kaposi’ssarcoma respectively. Relentless bacterial infection in prostate gland (chronic prostatitis) is associated with prostate cancer.Chronic prostatitis and allied malignancies may also attribute to non infective stimuli.

Other non-infective chronic inflammatory conditions and their possible associated cancer conditions are - Marjolin’sulcer and skin carcinoma, asbestos and mesothelioma, chronic asthma and lung cancer, oesophagitis and oesophagealcancer, chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. It is also obvious that silica and cigarette smoke, two notorious non-infective inflammatory agents can cause bronchial cancer.

Shaji E.M., Dept. of Zoology, K.K.T. M. Govt. College, Pullut, Thrissur-680663.email - [email protected]

Fig. 2. Penguin parade at Phillip Island Fig. 3. Little blue penguin

Little penguins preen their feathers to keep them waterproof. They feed on fish, squid and other small sea animals,for which they travel and dive quite extensively. They are able to dive as deep as 20 m and remain submerged for 60seconds. They swim at a speed of 10 km/hour. Little penguins breed in pairs or colonies. The female matures at 2 yearsand male at 3 years. Nests are seen close to the sea in burrows, rock crevices or under logs. They are monogamous withina breeding season, and share incubation and chick rearing duties. They are the only species of penguin capable of producingmore than one clutch of eggs per breeding season. The one or two white or lightly mottled brown eggs are laid from Julyto mid-November, and second (or even third) clutches begin as late as December. Incubation takes up to 36 days andchicks are brooded for 18–38 days. Little Penguins live to an average of seven years.

References

1. Baker,A.J., Pereira,S.L., Haddrath,O. P. and Edge, K.A., 2006. Multiple gene evidence for expansion of extantpenguins out of Antarctica due to global cooling. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 273: 11-17.

2. Bertelli,S. and Giannini N.P., 2005. A phylogeny of extant penguins (Aves: Sphenisciformes) combining morphologyand mitochondrial sequences. Cladistics, 21:209-239.

3. Birdlife International, 2014. IUCN Red List for birds. <URL:http://www.birdlife.org>. Accessed 7 June 2014.

4. Birdlife International, 2014. <URL:http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet. php?id=32472>. Accessed18 September 2014.

5. Giannini,N.P. and Bertelli,S., 2004. Phylogeny of extant penguins based on integumentary and breeding characters.Auk, 121: 422-434.

6. Ksepka,D.T., Bertelli,S. and Giannini,N.P., 2006. The phylogeny of the living and fossil Sphenisciformes (penguins).Cladistics, 22: 412-444.

7. O’Hara.R.,1989. Systematics and the study of Natural History, with an estimate of the phylogeny of the livingpenguins (Aves: Spheniscidae), Harvard University, Cambridge., pp. 171

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URBAN PARAKEETS OF BOMBAY CITY

T.V. Jose

It is a common sight that this kind of birds (Psittacula krameri) are kept as pets in many homes here in Mumbai.They are fed mostly the same kind of food that the owners eat. Few peoples care to know that they have a history ofeating a vast variety of uncooked items of food with no salt or spices of any sort. Again, these birds had open-air life andwere free to fly wherever they like. Their body and mind are meet for that kind of life. They are now imprisoned in narrowimprovised jail cells and the birds fret and fume most of the time initially and then occasionally. In long run they apparentlyresign to their lot.

The worst kind of jail life is that of parakeeets kept in small box-like cages by smooth-sayers. Comforting to notethat theirs is vanishing tribe. In spite of this endless, rigorous torture, it is no small wonder these birds survive. They donot simply survive but live pretty long. What is more, they also mimic bits of man’s language sound, which the captor likesto hear. The bird takes special care to kept him or her in good humor. I admire the tenacity of these birds. Much the samecan be said about their elder cousin Alexandrine parakeet (Psitttacula eupatria). In the pages of NL, I once read thata parakeet of this sort somewhere in Poona laid every year two eggs. Perhaps, few cage birds can beat parakeets in theirtenacity and love for life. Besides parakeets are known for their agility and ornamental features of varied colours, whichthey deserve and rightly possess. To cap it all these birds have comely feminine look. By all counts they deserve entry intoGuinness Book and get applause from their tormentors for their staggering capacity to suffer all sorts of odd treatmentsthey are subject to.

In Mumbai there is large number of escapees from their cages and these past masters of adaptation adjustthemselves in this city of grime, dust and smoke. What do they eat ?. Do they eat the same kind of food they had got whilethey were in their respective cages?. In some areas some religious people throw pulses to rock pigeons on the terrace,which parakeets too eat. But in many parts this practice is not found. They will not allow themselves to die of starvation.The ability to adapt is considered to be a mark of intelligence, which these birds seem to have. They subsist on seeds ofpeltophorum, Cassia fistula and of course on the berries of Ficus bengalensis and Ficus religoisa. They are resourcefulbirds.

They seem to have one more biological problem, the need for which they might not have felt in their prison days.That need is to find a secure site for raising their young ones. What is natural to them is a hole in a tree with suitable sizeof entrance hole. Needless to say that situation is not available in cities like Mumbai. Here again they manifest theircapacity for adaptability. They find the bathroom lofts of the flats a good substitute for laying their eggs and raise theiryoung. Three Cheers!

T.V. Jose, Rtd. Professor, Department of English,Orlem, Mumbai

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Generally during chronic inflammation the cytokines do the following actions, which end up in tumour developmentand progression:

1. Inducement of DNA damage and inhibition of DNA repair.

2. Recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes in inflammatory regions.

3. Activation of tumour cell proliferation.

4. Promotion of cancer cell infiltration and metastasis.

5. Enhancement of angiogenesis by promoting endothelial division.

6. Protection of transformed cells from apoptosis.

Acute inflammation is a quick response of body against various stress factors. A wide variety of inflammatorycells and biomolecules are working harmoniously for the initiation and management of inflammatory response. But failurein regulatory mechanisms of acute inflammatory response may change the normal process to chronic inflammatory state,which induces a tumour microenvironment in the tissue. Chronic inflammation drives to the initiation and progression ofvarious cancer types. The detailed mechanisms behind the conversion of acute inflammation to chronic inflammation andfinally to cause cancer are unresolved. However, in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the recent findings on therelation between chronic inflammation and cancer offer promising contributions (Pal et.al., 2014).

References

1. Balkwill F, Mantovani A., 2001. Inflammation and cancer: back to Virchow? Lancet, 357:539-545.

2. Coussens LM, Werb Z., 2002. Inflammation and cancer. Nature, 420:860-867.

3. Grivennikov, S.I., Greten, F.R., and Karin, M., 2010. Immunity, inflammation, and cancer. Cell 140:

883–899.

4. Hoesel B, Schmid JA., 2013. The complexity of NF-KB signalling in inflammation and cancer. MolecularCancer, 12: 1476-4598.

5. Kuper H, Adami HO, Trichopoulos D., 2000. Infections as a major preventable cause of human cancer.Journal of Internal Medicine, 248:171-183.

6. Lu H, Ouyang W, Huang C., 2006. Inflammation, a key event in cancer development. Molecular CancerResearch, 4:221-233.

7. Pal S, Bhattacharjee A, Ali A, Mandal NC, Mandal SC and Pal M., 2014. Chronic inflammation and cancer:potential chemoprevention through nuclear factor kappa B and p53 mutual antagonism. Journal of Inflammation,11: 1476-9255.

8. Read SA and Douglas M.W., 2013. Virus induced inflammation and cancer development. Cancer letters, 345:174-181.

9. Rossi D. and Zlotnik A., 2000. The biology of chemokines and their receptors. Annual Reviews Immunology,18: 217-242.

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Grid cellsMary Britt Moser and Edvard I Moser discovered a type of cells called grid cells in the medial entorhinal cortex.

(Solstad et. al, 2008). It provides the brain with an internal coordinate system that is essential for navigation. That is itallows for precise positioning and path finding. The firing of grid cells signals the distance and angle to other firing locations.Moser’s insert electrode into the rat’s entorhinal cortex and measure electrical signals from individual grid cells as the ratruns around the box. A single grid cell fire when rat crosses certain points in floor,it turns out that these points form ahexagonal grid, like honey comb. A hexagonal pattern gives highest possible spatial resolution with fewest cells . Each cellgenerate its own grid and these overlapped patterns help the animal to recognize its location and direction.

Mechanism of GPSBrain has its own operating language like that of computer which enable them to respond to external world like

sound ,space, light , position in space as per the codes hidden in rates and timing with which neurons fire as well asrhythmic electrical activities through brain circuit. Moser’s were the first to crack one such code deep in the brain ,byconducting experiment in rats (Hafting et.al., 2005). As per experiment it was found that hippocampal place cells acts asan navigator on ocean and updates the estimation of location by means of two input signals from grid cell system. Thecollection of hippocampal cells and entorhinal grid cells form interconnected nerve cell network that are critical for thecomputation of spatial maps and navigational tasks.Path integration input / dead reckoning refers to the ability to navigatewithout external cues. It acts as the first input into the hippocampal place cells from grid cell system. Input from entorhinalcortex –The second inputs into hippocampal place cells come conveys sensory information for “sighting”. The collectionof hippocampal place cells combine both types of inputs and a create map. Map processing identifies familiar location andcomputes efficient path to other locations. (Bonnevie, et al., 2013)

Relevance in mankindBrain disorders are the most common cause of disability and there is no effective way to prevent or cure

most of these disorders. The episodic memory is affected in several brain disorders, including dementia andAlzheimer’s disease. A better understanding of neural mechanisms underlying spatial memory is therefore important,and the discoveries of place and grid cells have been a major leap forward to advance this endeavour. Hippocampalcells and grid cells have been used to study the neural basis of cognitive changes in diseases such as Alzheimer’s,epilepsy and schizophrenia. O’Keefe and co-workers have showed in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease thatthe degradation of place fields correlated with the deterioration of the animals’ spatial memory (Cacucci, et al.,2008). However, the hippocampal formation is one of the first structures to be affected in Alzheimer’s disease andknowledge about the brain’s navigational system might help understand the cognitive decline seen in patientswith this diseases.

Reference

1. Bonnevie, T., Dunn, B., Fyhn, M., Hafting, T., Derdikman, D., Kubie, J.L., Roudi, Y., Moser, E.I., and Moser,M.B., 2013. Grid cells require excitatory drive from the hippocampus. Nature Neuroscience 16, 309-317.

2. Cacucci, F., Yi, M., Wills, T.J., Chapman, P. and O´Keefe, J., 2008. Place cell firing correlates with memory deficitsand amyloid plaque burden in Tg 2576 Alzheimer mouse model. PNAS, 105, 7863-7868.

3. Lever, C., Wills, T., Cacucci, F., Burgess, N., and O’Keefe, J., 2002. Long-term plasticity in hippocampal place-cellrepresentation of environmental geometry. Nature 416, 90-94.

4 O’Keefe,J.,and Dostrovsky, J.,1971. The hippocampus as a spatialmap.Preliminary evidence from unit activity in thefreely moving rat.Brain Resaerch 34,171-175.

5. O’Keefe,J ,1976. Place units in the hippocampus of the freely moving rat.Experimental Neurology 51,78-109.

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INNER GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM OF BRAINLekshmi Jayakrishnan

The human brain which is a wonder organ has fascinated scientists for a long time. It has the power to control eachand every functions of the human body in a coordinated fashion. This year John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser, Edvard I.Moser bagged the Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine for their discoveries on cells that constitute a positioning systemin the Brain. There are certain inbuilt activities by the brain which we are not bothered about and done it unconsciously.Like how do we know where we are? How do we find our way from one place to another? How is this information storedso that the same path can be retraced? The answer to these questions was given by the studies of the Nobel laureates of2014. According to them these activities are controlled by a positioning system, “an inner GPS” (Global PositioningSystem) in the brain that make it possible to orient ourselves in space, demonstrating cellular basis for higher cognitivefunction.

Hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are the parts of brain which involved in this inner GPS .The preliminaryresearch was conducted in rats with an assumption that rat hippocampal / entorhinal system is a model of human system.Later studies were extended in neurosurgical patients.It shed light on the working of grid cells in humans.

HippocampusThe hippocampus is a major part of human brain. It is located under the cerebral cortex. Humans and other

mammals have two hippocampi on each side of the brain. It belongs to the limbic system and plays an importantrole in consolidation of information from short term memory to long term memory in spatial navigation. In primatesit is in the median temporal lobe, underneath the cortical surface. It contains two main interlocking parts: Ammon’shorn and dentate gyrus.

Place cellsJohn O’Keefe who had a background in physiological psychology, discovered place cells while working at

University College in London, where he started his work on cellular activity during natural behaviour in animals in the late1960s. There he discovered the place cells, when recording informations from neurons in the dorsal partition of hippocampus,called CA1, together with his co researcher Dostrovsky, in rats moving freely in a bounded area which allowed him toobserve the unique place fields and relate the neural activity in the place cells to represent the sense of place. (O’Keefe et.al.,1971). In subsequent experiments, O’Keefe showed that the place cells might have memory functions

John O’ Keefe found that place cells in the hippocampus signals position and provide the brain with memorycapacity (O’Keefe, J.,1976). These cells not only register visual input, but build an inner map of the environment. Simultaneousrearrangement in place cells in different environment is type of remapping. O’Keefe showed that it is a form of learningand as it is formed it remain stable overtime.(Lever et.al.,2002). That means it provide a cellular substrate for memoryprocess, where the memory of an environment can be as a specific combination of place cells.

Entorhinal cortexIt is an area on the brain located in the medial temporal lobe interior to the rhinal sulcus and functions as a hub in

a widespread network for memory and navigation. It is the main interface between hippocampus and neocortex. It playsanimportant role in declarative memories and spatial memories like memory formation, memory consolidation and memoryoptimaization in sleep.

Lekshmi Jayakrishnan, Dept.of Zoology, St. Aloysius College,Elthuruth, Thrissur [email protected]

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Millennium Zoology Award for Students’ Projects

This year we received a very good number of PG and UG projects for evaluation. Thanks for the cooperation..We hope that more PG and UG projects will be received for considering the award in coming years.

We are happy to announce the Thirteenth

Millennium zoology award for student projects - 2014

PG award winning project

Diversity of Spiders in Chetuva Mangrove Ecosystem ,Kerala

Drisya Mohan O.M. guided by Sudhikumar A.V.

Christ College, Irinjalakuda. July 2014 , Calicut university

Selected for publication of summary

Study on Butterfly Diversity and It’s Host Plant Interaction in Suvarnodhayanam Biodiversity ParkNear Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery

Smitha Dominic guided by Sunu.N.V.

Marthoma College for Women , Perumbavoor , October 2014 , Mahatma Gandhi University

UG award winning project

Effect of Natural Products on Biofouling

Shilpa Abraham guided by Meera Jan Abraham

St .Theresa’s College, Ernakulam, March 2014 , Mahatma Gandhi University

Selected for publication of summary

Study of Cattle Breeds, Diseases and Parasites

Arya V. M., Philomina C., Preethy X., Agnes Philip, Sobira Sherin N., Raji A. R. and Raji. R.

guided by Dr. T. G. Dhanalekshmy

All Saints’ College, Thiruvananthapuram, March 2014, Kerala University

METAGENOMICS: A PROMISING APPROACH FOR BIOPROSPECTINGAbeesh P., Soni K.B., Swapna Alex and Deepa S. Nair

IntroductionMicrobial populations occur in every part of earth which include metabolically useful and the most physiologically

diverse groups of organisms. The genomes of these organisms mainly uncultured species, encode a largely untappedreservoir of novel enzymes and metabolic capabilities. The metabolites isolated from microorganisms based on culturebased techniques have yielded limited amount of success when considering the number of microbes available in theenvironment. It is reported that more than 95% of all micro-organisms in almost every environment on earth cannot becultured using conventional methods ( Handelsman ,2004). These limitations led to the adoption of metagenomic approachfor exploring the microbial resources.

Metagenomics deals with the isolation and analysis of genetic material directly recovered from environmentalsamples. The term “metagenomics” was coined by Jo Handelsman et.al., in1998. Since it is an emerging approach tostudy microbial communities in the environment, it is also known as Environmental Genomics, Ecogenomics or CommunityGenomics. The advantage of this technique is that significantly diverse genes can be isolated directly from the environmentalsources which also include those microbes which are not culturable using traditional methods ( Park et.al., 2007) .Thereforemetagenomics is being used as an alternative to the conventional microbial screening for identifying genes for specificfunctions.

The major part of this study is the preparation of metagenomic library which represents the whole microbialcommunity in the environmental sample. The procedure consists of (i) isolation of genetic material, (ii) libraryconstruction, and (iii) the analysis of genetic material in the metagenomic library. Depending on the size of theDNA fragments to be cloned, different vectors like plasmids, fosmids or bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC)are used. The genomic information in a metagenomic library can be accessed by two approaches – function based andsequence based.

Functional metagenomicsThis approach involves screening of metagenomic libraries for a particular phenotype, e.g.salt tolerance, antibiotic

production or enzyme activity, and then identifying the phylogenetic origin of the cloned DNA ( Dinsdale et.al., 2008).Three different function driven approaches have been used to recover novel biomolecules: Phenotypical detection of thedesired activity, heterologous complementation of host strains or mutants, and induced gene expression (Simon andDaniel ,2011). Discoveries made using functional metagenomics include various groups of novel enzymes, for exampleamidase, amylase, antibiotic resistance enzyme, chitinase, cellulase, DNAse, esterase, lipase, oxygenase, protease andxylanase.

Sequence-based approachesSequence-based methods are used either to study the microbial community in a given habitat, or to search for

genes encoding novel products.16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing is a common amplicon sequencing method usedto identify and compare bacteria present within a given sample. The sequence can be used for studying phylogeny andtaxonomy of samples from complex microbiomes. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing reveal genes present in environmentalsamples. Here DNA is sheared randomly, sequenced and the short sequences are reconstructed into a consensus sequence.Whole genome sequencing approach could help comparing genomes across multiple samples and is important for generatingaccurate reference genomes. RNA sequencing will allow microbial transcriptome analysis.

Abeesh P., Soni K.B., Swapna Alex and Deepa S. Nair, Department of Plant Biotechnology, College of Agriculture,Vellayani, Trivandrum 695522

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References:

1. Handelsman J., 2004. Metagenomics: application of genomics to uncultured microorganisms. Microbiol. Mol.Biol. Rev. 68: 669–685

2. Park H.J, Jeon J.H, Kang S.G , Lee J.H, Lee S.A and Kim H.K., 2007. Functional expression and refolding ofnew alkaline esterase, M 2L8, from deep-sea sediment metagenome. Protein Expr. Purif. 52: 340–347

3. Dinsdale E.A, Edwards R.A, Hall D., Angly F., Breitbart M.,2008. Nature 452 (7187): 629–632.

4. Simon C, Daniel R., 2011. Metagenomic analyses: past and future trends. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77:1153–1161

5. Metzker M.L., 2010. Sequencing technologies-the next generation. Nat. Rev. Genet. 11(1): 31-46.

6. Carlotta De Filippo, Matteo Ramazzotti, Paolo Fontana and Duccio Cavalieri, 2012. Bioinformatic approachesfor functional annotation and pathway inference in metagenomics data.2012. Brief Bioinform. 13(6): 696-710.

7. Myung Hwan Lee and Seon-Woo Lee, 2013. Bioprospecting Potential of the Soil Metagenome: Novel Enzymesand Bioactivities. Genomics Inform. 11(3): 114-120.

8. Iqbal HA, Feng Z, Brady SF., 2012. Biocatalysts and small molecule products from metagenomic studies. Curr.Opin. Chem. Biol. 16:109–116.

9. J. Vidya, S. Swaroop, S. K. Singh, D. Alex, R. K. Sukumaran, and A. Pandey, 2011. “Isolation and characterizationof a novel 5ØüÞ-amylase from a metagenomic library of Western Ghats of Kerala, India”.Biologia 66(6): 939–944, 2011.

10. Raveender Sebastian, Jae- Young Kim, Tae-Hun Kim, and Kyung Tai Lee, 2013. Metagenomics: A promisingapproach to assess enzyme biocatalysts for biofuel production. Asian J. Biotechnology 5(2): 35-50

Sequencing of metatranscriptomes can be done which will represent all RNAs encoded by a group of organismsin a complex sample. Next generation sequencing methods are very powerful and able to deliver highly accurate sequenceseconomically and more rapidly ( Metzker, 2010). In the recent years, the field of whole metagenome shotgun sequencing(WGS) has witnessed significant growth due to the high-throughput sequencing technologies that allow sequencing genomicsamples cheaper, faster, and with better coverage than before.

Bioinformatics

The metagenome sample contains genetic material from hundreds to thousands of bacterial species of differentabundances, most of which have not been fully sequenced previously. The large number of short sequence reads producedby WGS sequencing presents significant challenges in data analysis and interpretation. Many bioinformatics tools havebeen evolved during these years which can read and analyze these data into meaningful results (Carlotta et.al., 2012).These tools use alignment, assembly and gene prediction based methods. Functional annotation represents a majorcomputational challenge for most metagenomic projects. Metagenomic annotation relies on classifying sequences to knownfunctions or taxonomic units based on homology searches against available annotated data. Many reference databases areavailable to give functional context to metagenomic datasets, such as KEGG, egg NOG, PFAM etc. Databases like MG-RAST, IMG/M, and CAMERA are also available that process and deposit metagenomic datasets.

Bioprospecting metagenomes

Metagenomics holds enormous promise for discovering novel enzymes and other bioactive molecules suitable forvarious industrial applications. This approach has provided new molecules and novel enzymes with diverse functions andenhanced features compared to the enzymes from the culturable microorganisms. The sources include metagenomiclibraries prepared from soil, sea water, activated sludge etc. Soil metagenome has provided many novel enzymes, themost prevailing one being esterase / lipase which are important biocatalysts for biotechnological applications (.Lee andLee, 2013). Bioactive molecules identified include pectinases, cellulases, antibacterial turbomycins, glycopeptides,cyanobactins, type II polyketides, trans-acyltransferase polyketides and the anticancer agent ET-743 ( Iqbal et.al., 2012).A thermostable and calcium-dependent amylase identified from a soil metagenome was found to be useful for starchliquefaction, which needs a temperature above 100 C (Vidya et.al., 2011).

Marine bioprospecting is an area where metagenomics has contributed most. Because of their high biologicaldiversity, marine ecosystems are particularly suited for bioprospecting, novel thermostable and salt-tolerant biocatalystshave also been isolated through metagenomic approach. Cold adaptive and thermostable enzymes discovered frommarine sources are already being used in many biotechnological applications, providing economic benefits and energysavings. Cold active esterase called Est 97 and cold-active glycoside hydrolase named Bgl MKg are examples. A marinelactase with alkaline activity and salt-tolerant esterases possess wide industrial applications ( Raveender et.al.,2013). Anovel lipase from a metagenomic library constructed from marine sediments was found to be alkaline stable and suitablefor use in milk fat flavor production. Animal digestive tract and gut were found to be rich source for novel enzymes. A geneencoding acidic cellulases was isolated and characterized from buffalo rumen metagenome and 15 hydrolases from dairycow rumen. Among them, 7 glycosyl hydrolases (GHs) and 1 feruloyl esterase were successfully cloned, expressed,purified and characterized.

The NIH Common Fund Human Microbiome Project ( HMP ) was initiated for comprehensive characterizationof the human microbiota and analysis of their role in human health and disease. Viral metagenomic analyses of environmentalsamples suggest that the field of virology has explored less than 1% of the extant viral diversity. Metagenomics holdspotential to solve practical challenges in the field of medicine, agriculture, and ecology. It also has found application inbioremediation process. The sequence data will also help to compare the genomes from different sources and theirfunctions.

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STUDY OF CATTLE BREEDS, DISEASES AND PARASITESArya V.M., Philomina C., Preethy X., Agnes Philip, Sobira Sherin N.,Raji A.R.and Raji.R.

guided by Dr. T.G. Dhanalekshmy

All Saints’ College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, March 2014, Kerala University

Summary

Dairy farming is an important source of income to small, marginal and large scale farmers. In India, there are 30

well defined breeds of cattle classified as milch, dual purpose and draught breeds. Cross breed cattle contribute to 85%

of the total milk production in the country. The aim was to study about the common Indian Milch cattle breeds and the

breeds seen in the selected farms and to study about the diseases and parasites commonly seen among the cattle. Three

cattle farms in Thiruvananthapuram city were selected for the study and the cattle farms were visited twice a month.

The six common Indian milch breeds of cattle showed unique characteristic features and milk yielding capacities. In

the farms, cross breeds of Holstein-Friesian, Jersey and Brown Swiss was seen. Vechur cow, smallest in the world and

endemic to Kerala was seen to be kept as a pet. Laboratory test of the dung showed the presence of gastro-intestinal

parasites like Amphistoma ova, Coccidial oocyst and Strongyloides ova. Boophilus sps. tick was seen in some cattle.

In all the farms, vaccination against contagious diseases like Tuberculosis, Anthrax, Foot and Mouth disease were

given according to schedule. A rare incidence of occurrence of Foot and Mouth Disease in the farm at Pattom despite the

vaccination being given point to the unexpected happenings the farmers have to face at times. The courage shown by the

farm owner, the strain and pain taken by him and his family and the timely help rendered by the government officials/

veterinarian to overcome the situation is a realistic example for other cattle farmers.

Cross breeds of high yielding high priced varieties of cattle maintained in the farms were due to the non-

availability of good endemic cattle breed. Few cattle seen with gastrointestinal and ectoparasite infestation point to the

need of extra care to be taken by farmers during feeding the calves and also in the maintenance of the sheds. Study also

revealed that all the three farms were running at a good profit for more than 40 years due to the genuine interest, initiative

and the hard work of the farmers. Thus this study point to the availability of good cattle breeds in Kerala, which are seen

to be mostly disease free due to the dedicated care and medication given in time. This goes to prove the fact that dairy

farming can be easily selected as a self employment by the hard working, sincere and interested educated youth which

gives an assured income.

Award Winning Project PG

DIVERSITY OF SPIDERS IN CHETUVAI MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM, KERALA

Drisya Mohan O.M. guided by Sudhikumar A.V.

Christ College, Irinjalakuda. July 2014,Calicut university

Summary

Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. Spiders are clearly an integral part of

global biodiversity and used as an important indicator in biodiversity assessment studies. Chettuvai mangrove ecosystem

located in Thrissur district of Kerala is a green patch of mangrove forest with many microhabitat associations .This study

is a pioneering attempt to reveal the diversity of spiders in this mangrove ecosystem. Fortnightly faunistic surveys of spiders

associated with the mangrove ecosystem were conducted .

This study reveals the different species of spider fauna in this mangrove ecosystem.Of the 19 families of spiders

collected, the family Araneidae is the most dominant family represented by 18 species. The next dominant families were

theridiidae and salticidae, each represented by 11 species, followed by family tetragnathidae represented by 7 species.

Family oxyyopidae represented by 5 species. Thoisidae, uioboridae were the next dominant families, each represented by

4 species . The family pholcidae represented 3 species and lycosidae and sparassidae represented by 2 species each,.the

remaining families such as clubionidae, corinnidae, ctenidae, hersiliidae, liniphiidae, miturgidae, nephilidae, pisauridae,

scytodidae were represented with only one species each. Families may potentially serve as ecological surrogates for

species. Diffferent families may present similar roles in the ecosystem,with replacement of some taxa by other .

Spiders in tropical regions seems to have higher redundancy of functional roles and or finer resource partitioning

than in temporate regions. Although species and family diversity were higher in the tropics , functional diversity seems to be

also influenced by altitude and habitat structure. According to the guild structure analysis , majority of species belong to

orb web weavers (40%) category. The second dominant guild constituted the diurnal hunters (22%). Scattered line

weavers( 18%), ground runners ( 7% ), diurnal ambushers (5%), foliage hunters (3% ), bark hunters (1%) and sheet web

weavers (1%) are the other ecological guild of these spiders.

Spiders are good indicator taxons to reflect ecological change. They are in fact the main arthropod predators in

many biomes and habitat type. Additionally they have already suggested to be an ideal group for predicting extinction debt

in other taxa due to habitat destruction .Classsifying spiders into guilds seems therefore useful to future studies of ecological

change in all kinds of biomes and habitats..

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Millennium Zoology

VOL.15 (1), 2014:

Millennium Zoology

VOL.15 (1), 2014:

ISSN

0973 - 1946

ISSN


6766

Award Winning Project UG

EFFECT OF NATURAL PRODUCTS ON BIOFOULINGShilpa Abraham guided by Meera Jan Abraham

St .Theresa’s College, Ernakulam, March 2014, Mahatma Gandhi University

Summary

Biofouling is simply the attachment of an organism to a surface in contact with water for a period of time. Industrially

important examples include membrane systems such as membrane bioreactors and reverse osmosis spiral wound membranes

cooling water systems of large industrial equipments and power stations.Biofouling cause huge material and economic

cost in maintenance. Higher levels of fouling on a ship’s hull significantly increases drag, reducing the over all dynamic

performances of the vessel and increase the fuel consumption. Antifouling mechanism is the process of removing the

accumulation or preventing its accumulation. In order to minimize the impact of foulers many underwater structures are

protected by anti fouling coatings. Many types of coatings however have been found to be toxic to marine organisms.

Hence,using ecofriendly antifouling secondary metabolites are necessary to protect the ecosystems. Thes present study

was undertaken to find out ecofriendly , economical, readily available and effective antifouling preparations from terrestrial

plants which are expected to be devoid of any residual or the cumulative toxicity to the end user.

The plants selected for the study are Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa,Ocimum sanctum, Plectranthus

amboinicus and Piper nigrum. The plants were dried powdered and the secondary metabolites were extracted using

ethanol. Test panels half coated with binder in plain solvent were employed to study the effect. Zingiber officinale,Curcuma

longa,Ocimum sanctum, Plectranthus amboinicus and Piper nigrum show promises as antifouling agents. Zingiber

officinale shows inhibitory effect on the settlement of barnacles. Bivalves were inhibited by the presence of crude ethanol

accomodated secondary metabolites of Plectranthus amboinicus and Piper nigrum. Curcuma longa have adversely

affect the attachment of bivalves on to the test panel. Plectranthus amboinicus also showed inhibitory effect on tube

worms.Based on result obtained the inhibitory activity is in the order Plectranthus amboinicus, Zingiber officinale ,

Piper nigrum ,Curcuma longa followed by Ocimum sanctum. The ginger contains a mixture of zingerone, shogaols and

gingerols and volatile oils. Some of the main chemical constituents of tulsi are oleanolic acis, ursolic acid, rosmarinic acid,

eugenol, carvacrol, linalool, â-caryophyllene (about 8%), â-elemene (c.11.0%) and germacrene D (about 2%). The most

important chemical components of turmeric are called cucerminoids. Important constituent of pepper is piperine. It is

these chemicals which may be controlling the adhesion of foulers.

Observations of the study suggested that the secondary metabolites of terrestrial plant extracts are potential

candidates for the development of nontoxic antifouling substances. Further investigations were needed to identify the

active compound in terrestrial plants which will lead to the development of economically cheeper and ecofriendly antifouling

compounds.

Selected for publication of summary PG

STUDY ON BUTTERFLY DIVERSITY AND IT’S HOST PLANT INTERACTION IN

SUVARNODHAYANAM BIODIVERSITY PARK NEAR COCHIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,

NEDUMBASSERY

Smitha Dominic guided by Sunu N. V.

Marthoma College for Women, Perumbavoor October 2014, Mahatma Gandhi University

Summary

The present study was carried out during October 2013 to May 2014, in Suvarnodhayanam Biodiversity Park,

Nedumbassery – a newly proposed biodiversity park of the Kerala forest department. The total area of the park is 10

acres.

The data was collected by observing the butterflies and their host plants. Line transect method was used for the

study. Observations were made during the morning hours.

A total of 15 species of butterflies belonging to five families were noticed during the study period. Among these

two species like Papilio polytes (Blue Mormon) Pachlioptra hector (Crimson Rose) (family – Papilionidae) were

noticed as endemic and the rest were resident species. Butterfly species like common Four Ring and common Bush

Brown were noticed regularly in the study area. Maximum number of butterflies were noticed during January and maximum

during the month of May. This may be due to the climatic variations and the availability of host plants.

Maximum number of species of butterflies was represented by family Nymphalidae and minimum by family

Lycaemidae. Among the different species of butterflies observed, Common Four Ring showed maximum relative frequency

in the park.

Fourteen species of plants associated with the butterfly species were also identified in the park. These plants

provide food and shelter for the butterflies. It was also noticed that the diversity of butterflies were based on the

availability of food, shelter and favourable climatic condition. The study recommends to plant more plants in the park so

that they can attract more butterfly species.

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