Journal of Applied and Natural Science
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Study on digestive tract contents of fish : Preliminary step for identification of indigenous species in mosquito larval control
Get PDFThe present study is based on screening of food preference by the indigenous fish under its natural condition. The gastrointestinal contents as an indicative of effective bioregulatory activity envisage the selection of a larvivorous fish. As many as 32 species of fishes were collected from their natural habitats at Imphal and Bishenpur districts in Manipur State between August 2007 to February 2008. Faecal drops of active fishes revealed remains of larvae / pupae of mosquitoes. However, the food types in 26 species of fish comprised larvae / pupae of mosquito, algae, weeds, tadepole fishes, crustaceans, insects, gastropods, worms and detritus / debris. On the basis of food preference Aplocheilus panchax, Polyacanthus fasciatus and Puntius manipurensis have been considered as most potent larvivorous fish of the study area
Metabolic changes during hibernating period in Indian common toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider, 1799)
Get PDFThe present investigation reports the effect of hibernation on different blood-plasma biochemical parameters viz. plasma protein, plasma glucose and blood urea, thyroid hormone and cholesterol in the Indian Common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus). The study indicated that the total plasma protein is decreased significantly in hibernating toads. The decline in thyroid hormone concentration had its behavioral and physiological response that leads to increase and sustain cholesterol level in serum. But plasma glucose was significantly decreased in hibernating toads. During the hibernating phase increased urea concentration in blood acts as cryoprotectant agent, which helps the hibernating animals to sustain in winter. Thus during hibernation these altered metabolic changes appear to be essential for survival
Adhesive properties of food and faecal potential probiotic lactobacilli
Get PDFIn the present investigation, total four isolates of Lactobacillus species i.e. L. casei, L. helveticus, L. brevis and L. fermentum were examined for the cell surface hydrophobicity by bacterial adherence to hydrocarbons assay in LAPTg broth and hydrophobicity was calculated as percentage decrease in Optical Density at 600 nm. The general range of hydrophobicity in Lactobacilli was found in between 6-73%. Remarkably, L. helveticus and L . fermentum showed 73% hydrophobicity in xylene. Higher value of hydrophobicity could point toward a better ability of lactobacilli to adhere to epithelium cells. The outcome of present study concludes that L. helveticus and L. fermentum have good adhesive properties which may help them to adhere to surface epithelium of host cell and further screening with other probiotic attributes could be designated as probiotics
Organic matter depositional microenvironment in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi river, Andhra Pradesh
Get PDFQuantitative and qualitative variations in microscopic plant organic matter assemblages and its preservation state in deltaic channel deposits of Mahanadi River was correlated with the depositional environment in the ecosystem in order to prepare a modern analogue for use in palaeoenvironment studies. For this, palynological and palynofacies study was carried out in 57 surface sediment samples from Birupa river System, Kathjodi-Debi River system and Kuakhai River System constituting Upper, Middle and Lower Deltaic part of Mahanadi river. Theapex of the delta shows dominance of Spirogyra algae indicating high nutrient, low energy shallow ecosystem during most of the year and recharged only during monsoons. The depositional environment is anoxic to dysoxic in the central and south-eastern part of the Middle Deltaic Plain (MDP) and Lower Deltaic Plain (LDP) indicated by high percentage of nearby palynomorphs, Particulate Organic Matter (POM) and algal or fungal spores. The northern part of the delta show high POM preservation only in the estuarine area in LDP but high Amorphous Organic Matter (MOA) in MDP. The sediment here is deposited under dysoxic to oxic fluvial conditions. Thus, the monsoon intensity, direction of fluvial discharge, and the landward extent of sea water incursion through river mouths inducing bottom water salinity play an important role in defining the magnitude of POM and its preservation in the shallow Mahanadi deltaic ecosystem
Community structure and diversity of a tropical dry deciduous forest of Hastinapur region, India
Get PDFThe present study deals with quantitative analysis of vegetation of forest area in Hastinapur, India. A total 3 sites were selected for the study. The values of density and total basal area for different species ranged from 0.5 Ind100m-2 to 2.2 and 16.50 cm2tree-1 to 1055.0cm2tree-1. Most of the species on different sites were randomly and regularly distributed, none of the species were found with contagious distribution. The values of Cd and H’ were ranged from 0.003 to 0.035 and 0.000 to 0.014
Some lichens from Kashmar, NE Iran
Get PDFThe present paper is based on recent collection of lichens made between 2007-2008 on Kashmar in the central part of the Razavi Khorasan province. A total of 31 taxa of lichens are reported from three localities in the investigated area. Two species are new to Iran, eight species are new to the province
Preliminary phytochemical studies for the quantification of secondary metabolites of medicinal importance in the plant, Acalypha fruticosa Forssk
Get PDFThe medicinal plant, Acalypha fruticosa Forssk for the treatment of dyspepsia, stomachache, fever, jaundice, skin diseases and even as an antidote is generally distributed in different environments of tropical region in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. However, its occurrence is more common in lower hills of Western Ghats and other habitats in this region where the soil is stony with low moisture. So far, there was no study on the influence of habitat conditions on the change in the content of secondary metabolites of medicinal importance in this plant. Hence to know the changes in the content of such secondary metabolites in the leaves of A. fruticosa, the present study was undertaken in three different habitats. Thin layer chromatography revealed the presence of phytochemical compounds viz., alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins in the leaves of all the three populations. Further the content of all these compounds are found to be higher in the population of dry habitats
Best fitting probability distributions for annual maximum discharge data of the river Kopili, Assam
Get PDFIn this study our main objective is to determine the best fitting probability distribution for annual maximum flood discharge data of river Kopili, Assam. Various probability distributions i.e. Gumbel (G), generalized extreme value (GEV), normal (N), log-normal (LN3), generalized logistic (GLO), generalized pareto (GPA) and Pearson type-III (PE3) have been used for our study. The L-moments methods have been used for estimating the parameters of all the distributions. The root mean square error (RMSE), model efficiency and D-index (fit in the top six values) together with L-moment ratio diagram is used for goodness of fit measure. It has been observed that Generalized Pareto is the best fitting probability distribution for annual maximum discharge data of river Kopili
Impact assessment of heavy metals pollution of Vartur lake, Bangalore
Get PDFThe unscientific disposal of wastes and pollution in urban water bodies has caused immense problems not only to human beings but also to the aquatic biodiversity. Assessment of heavy metals in Vartur Lake, Bangalore, revealed that Cadmium (Cd), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), and Lead (Pb) all exceeded drinking water standards. Nevertheless, Chromium (Cr) exceeded the CPCB’s tolerance limits for water bodies subjected to effluent discharge. In Eichornia crassipes, Cd, Co, Cr, and Ni were critical. In the sediments, Cadmium (Cd) and Nickel (Ni) exceeded the Probable Effect Level (PEL). Sediment Geo-accumulation Index of the lake showed moderate contamination with Mn, Cu, and Pb. Cr had the highest plant/sediments metal concentration factor even though its bioavailability in plants (71.5 ppm) was lower compared to Manganese (192.3 ppm). This calls for immediate action to be implemented to carry out necessary environmental mitigation measures for the lake
Water quality indices and abiotic characteristics of western Yamuna canal in Yamunanagar, Haryana
Get PDFThe present paper deals with the monthly variations of physico-chemical characteristics of western Yamuna canal water, Yamunanagar which is polluted with industrial effluents and domestic sewage. Three sampling points i.e. station-1: Upstream of the river; station-2: Point of influx of industrial effluents and domestic sewage; Station-3: About 6 kms downstream from station 2 were selected for the investigation. Studies revealed high values of turbidity, conductivity, free CO2, alkalinity, calcium, hardness, magnesium, chloride, orthophosphate, phosphate, sulphate and ammonia and low values of DO at station-2. The differences in various parameters were statistically significant (P<0.05) when compared from upstream and downstream stretches of the river particularly in summer. DO and BOD were found to be two important parameters which showed strong correlation with other parameters and hence can serve as good indices of river water quality. Water Quality index designated station-1 as highly polluted and station-2 and 3 as severely polluted. Thus the hydro biological conditions were not congenial/ optimum for the survival/ production of sensitive fish fauna, therefore, proper and efficient treatment of the effluents and sewage should be carried out before discharging these into the canal