Influence of mangrove ecosystem on the biological resources and fishery of Kakinada

Since there are no records of detailed investigation on the ecology of the mangrove Kakinada around Kakinada and keeping in view of the vastness, fertility and biological resources of the Kakinada Bay and the adjacent sea, the Institute took initiative to conduct a study on the ecology of mangrove areas around Kakinada during 1982-'85 to understand the various ecological aspects connected to the water, soil/ sediment and mangrove-associated fauna and their influence on fisheries

Studies on the mangrove ecosystem

Mangrove ecosystem is one of the most specialised and productive coastal habitats in the world. Due to human interference in many ways, most of the mangrove forests are on the verge of destruction and disappearance. The main causes for the degradation of Indian mangroves are land reclamation, pollution and overexploitation of the resources. A proper understanding of this specialised ecosystem and careful implementation of the conservation measures would alone save the ecosystem from further destruction and extinction. The present account deals with the ecological aspects of the mangrove habitats covering their extent, distribution, zonation, biological assemblage, hydrography and productivity, and giving importance to their role, man-made impacts and conservation aspects with emphasis on the approaches for the sustainable use of this ecosystem to the mankind with special reference to the mangroves of India

Occurrence of giant male and female groupers with a note on sex change in groupers

Serranid fishes are popularly known as 'Groupers' or 'Rock cods' and locally 'Kalava'.In view of their importance in the capture and culture fisheries, the present account on the record of giant female groupers [Epinephelus tauuina (Forskal), Epinephelus malabaricus (Bloch and Schneider) and Promicrops lanceolatus (Bloch)] of more than two metres in total length and their sex ratio] in the natural population from the Indian coast (Table 1) deserves special attention

Mariculture in India, its potentialities and practical applications

India is passing through a very critical period of food crisis and consequentiy calling for the necessity of adopting various techniques and methods to augment the food production. Among them , mariculture is an important means of getting additional source of human food

In silico molecular docking and in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of phytochemical compounds of Lantana camara Linn.

The rise of multi-drug resistant bacteria and the extensive use of antibiotics has become a serious threat worldwide. The side effect of antibiotics swirled the researchers towards traditional medicine to find a therapeutic agent with antibacterial activity. The phytochemical compound from medicinal plants paves a way for the novel antibacterial agent.  In the present study, in silico molecular docking of phytochemical compounds identified through GC-MS analysis and in vitro antibacterial efficacy of ethanolic leaf extract of Lantana camara were evaluated. In silico docking studies of 11 Phyto-ligands were carried out against 4 motifs- 1PHO, 5I5H, 5UW2 and 6NTW of Escherichia coli to estimate the binding energy and to know the protein-ligand interaction. Amongst all the phyto-ligands studied, 4,8,13-Cyclotetradecatriene-1,3-diol,1,5,9-trimethyl-12-(1-methylethyl) showed good affinity towards 1PHO, 4a(2H)-Phenanthrenecarboxaldehyde,1,3,4,9,10,10a-hexahydro-6-methoxy-1,1-dimethyl-7-(1-methylethyl) exhibited highest affinity with 5I5H motifs of  E. coli, 4,8,13-Cyclotetradecatriene-1,3-diol, 1,5,9-trimethyl-12-(1-methylethyl) showed better affinity towards motif 5UW2 of  E. coli and (Z)-4-Nitro-alpha-(p-nitrophenyl)cinnamic acid showed good affinity towards 6NTW motif of  E. coli. The ethanolic leaf extract of L. camara L. showed concentration dependent activity against E. coli

Greenhouse evaluation of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin against Aphis craccivora (Das) on Fenugreek

The bioassay studies were carried out to determine the LC50 and LT50 of Beauveria bassiana against Aphis craccivora on fenugreek under greenhouse conditions. The results revealed that, the cumulative corrected mortality (CCM) was 43.50% at higher concentration (1×1010 spores/ml) and it was 20.85% at lowest concentration (1×104 spores/ml) at one day after treatment (DAT). The CCM decreased with decreasing conidial spore concentration. Likewise, at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 DAT, almost same trend was observed. At 7 DAT, the CCM was 85.04% and 55.21% at 1×1010 spores/ml and 1×104 spores/ml, respectively. The LC50 value of B. bassiana against A. craccivora was 1.2×108 spores/ml. Mean lethal time (LT50) values were worked out 73, 89, 97, 112, 126, 138 and 157 hours for 1010, 109, 108, 107, 106, 105 and 104 spores/ml, respectively. By testing the field efficacy of B. bassiana against A. craccivora, this insect pathogenic fungus can be used as potential biocontrol agent for the sustainable management of aphid in fenugreek crop

OPTIMIZATION OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF AISI 304 AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL IN DRY TURNING OPERATION USING TAGUCHI DESIGN METHOD

The present work is concentrated with the dry turning of AISI 304 Austenitic Stainless Steel (ASS). This paper presents the influence of cutting parameters like cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut on the surface roughness of austenitic stainless steel during dry turning. A plan of experiments based on Taguchi’s technique has been used to acquire the data. An orthogonal array, the signal to noise (S/N) ratio and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to investigate the cutting characteristics of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel bars using TiC and TiCN coated tungsten carbide cutting tool. Finally the confirmation tests that have been carried out to compare the predicted values with the experimental values confirm its effectiveness in the analysis of surface roughness

Notes on the juveniles of the rock cod Epinephelus tauvina (Forsskal)

The occurrence of the very young juveniles of the rock cod Epinephelus tauvina (Forskal) in Cochin backwater during February-June is reported here with brief notes on the morphometric variations between juveniles and adults and food and feeding habits of juveniles

Sediment and water characteristics of selected prawn farming sites at Cochin during premonsoon months

This paper deals with the studies on sediment and water characteristics of selected shrimp farming ponds located at Puthuvyppu and Valappu villages of Vypeen in the vicinity of Cochin carried out during premonsoon period (March-May 2001). Areawise distribution of sediment and water characteristics revealed that smaller and medium sized ponds were relatively more fertile than the larger sized ponds. Overall mean values of nutrients in sediment and water indicated that ponds at Puthuvyppu village (with high tidal influence) were relatively more fertile than those ponds at Valappu. TSS and primary productivity values also showed the same trend. Highly significant positive correlation was observed between clay and silt, organic carbon and available potassium, nitrite-N in sediment and water, salinity and TSS and water pH and dissolved oxygen

Some observations on primary production and plankton biomass along the continental shelf and slope off the northeast coast of India during January 1989

The present study deals with the quantitative aspects of chlorophyll pigments, primary productivity and plankton biomass from the continental shelf and slope off the northeast coast of India between 16° and 20°N latitudes towards the end of northeast monsoon season. In surface waters, the mean values of chl-a, -b, and -c were 0.249,0.275 and 0.837 mg/m^ along the shelf and 0.246,0.260 and 0.805 mg/m^ in the slope respectively while the net primary productivity values were 0.074 and 0.081 g C/m /d for the shelf and slope waters respectively. Column productivity in the upper 0-50 m water in the shelf and slope regions were 2.9 and 3.25 g C/m /d with an average production of 3.08 g C/m /d. Higher rate of production was observed around 18° and 20°N latitudes. Zooplankton biomass exhibited progressive increase in volume from 16° to 20°N. The estimated mean zooplankton biomass volume of the study area was 28.83 ml/m . The mean transfer coefficient from primary to secondary production was found to be 14% when 50% of the zooplankton biomass was considered as the daily rate of production. From the mean primary and secondary productivity values, potential tertiary production of pelagic fishery resources in the upper 0-50 m water column of the study area for the month was assessed