Stochastic model for drought forecasting for Bundelkhand region in Central India

In the present study, standardized precipitation index (SPI) series at 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month and 24month time scale has been used to assess the vulnerability of meteorological drought in the Bundelkhand region of Central India. SPI values revealed that the droughts in the region over the study period vary from moderately high to extremely high. Suitable linear stochastic model, viz. seasonal and non-seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) developed to predict drought at different time scale. The best model was selected based on minimum Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Schwarz Bayesian Criterion (SBC). Statistical analysis revealed that non-seasonal ARIMA model was appropriate for 3-month SPI series while seasonal ARIMA models have been found promising for SPI series at 6-, 9,12 and 24-month time scale. Parameter estimation step indicates that the estimated model parameters are significantly different from zero. The predicted data using the best ARIMA model were compared to the observed data for model validation purpose in which the predicted data show reasonably good agreement with the actual data. Hence the models were applied to forecast drought in the Bundelhand region up to 3 months advanced with good accuracy

Exploiting open source 3D printer architecture for laboratory robotics to automate high-throughput time-lapse imaging for analytical microbiology

Growth in open-source hardware designs combined with the low-cost of high performance optoelectronic and robotics components has supported a resurgence of in-house custom lab equipment development. We describe a low cost (below USD700), open-source, fully customizable high-throughput imaging system for analytical microbiology applications. The system comprises a Raspberry Pi camera mounted on an aluminium extrusion frame with 3D-printed joints controlled by an Arduino microcontroller running open-source Repetier Host Firmware. The camera position is controlled by simple G-code scripts supplied from a Raspberry Pi singleboard computer and allow customized time-lapse imaging of microdevices over a large imaging area. Open-source OctoPrint software allows remote access and control. This simple yet effective design allows high-throughput microbiology testing in multiple formats including formats for bacterial motility, colony growth, microtitre plates and microfluidic devices termed ‘lab-on-a-comb’ to screen the effects of different culture media components and antibiotics on bacterial growth. The open-source robot design allows customization of the size of the imaging area; the current design has an imaging area of ~420 × 300mm, which allows 29 ‘lab-on-a-comb’ devices to be imaged which is equivalent 3480 individual 1μl samples. The system can also be modified for fluorescence detection using LED and emission filters embedded on the PiCam for more sensitive detection of bacterial growth using fluorescent dyes

Fungal systematics and evolution : FUSE 7

publishedVersio

Population Recovery of Nicobar Long-Tailed Macaque Macaca fascicularis umbrosus following a Tsunami in the Nicobar Islands, India

Natural disasters pose a threat to isolated populations of species with restricted distributions, especially those inhabiting islands. The Nicobar long tailed macaque.Macaca fascicularis umbrosus, is one such species found in the three southernmost islands (viz. Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal) of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, India. These islands were hit by a massive tsunami (Indian Ocean tsunami, 26 December 2004) after a 9.2 magnitude earthquake. Earlier studies [Umapathy et al. 2003; Sivakumar, 2004] reported a sharp decline in the population of M. f. umbrosus after thetsunami. We studied the distribution and population status of M. f. umbrosus on thethree Nicobar Islands and compared our results with those of the previous studies. We carried out trail surveys on existing paths and trails on three islands to get encounter rate as measure of abundance. We also checked the degree of inundation due to tsunami by using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) on landsat imageries of the study area before and after tsunami. Theencounter rate of groups per kilometre of M. f. umbrosus in Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal was 0.30, 0.35 and 0.48 respectively with the mean group size of 39 in Great Nicobar and 43 in Katchal following the tsunami. This was higher than that reported in the two earlier studies conducted before and after the tsunami. Post tsunami, there was a significant change in the proportion of adult males, adult females and immatures, but mean group size did not differ as compared to pre tsunami. The results show that population has recovered from a drastic decline caused by tsunami, but it cannot be ascertained whether it has reached stability because of the altered group structure. This study demonstrates the effect of natural disasters on island occurring species

Do males bond? A study of male-male relationships in Nicobar long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis umbrosus

In primates, males compete for a mate, which is a non-sharable resource. This makes the conditions less conducive for males to have stable relationships. One such special kind of relationship is a bond where the interactions are reciprocated, equitable and differentiated. Bonds in macaque societies are based on the degree of within-group contest competition for mates which is dependent on the synchronization of female fertile phase and reliability of fertility signals. Species of the Fascicularis group, including Nicobar subspecies, show intermediate reliability in the signals with mild peaks, and studies have shown reciprocity but no differentiation. We conducted a study on a group of wild Nicobar long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis umbrosus to understand the existing patterns of male-male relationships. We examined whether there is reciprocity in affiliation among the individuals and whether the rate of affiliation is balanced. We also measured the dominance linearity and steepness in the group to understand the monopolizability of females. We used social network analysis to understand whether the relations are differentiated based on hierarchical position and whether the high-ranking individuals are the most central individuals in the distribution of grooming in the group. We found that there is reciprocity among the males although that is not equitable. There was no rank-related differentiation of affiliation among the males of the group. Instead, the identities of individuals influenced affiliation patterns. Our results correspond to the existent strong relationships but lack of social bond otherwise found in the Fascicularis group of macaques

Does rank rule? Rank-related grooming patterns in Nicobar long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis umbrosus

Primates maintain social bonds with specific individuals in the group by directing grooming toward them. Social grooming is often targeted toward individuals with whom the most benefits can be exchanged, which are usually the high-ranking individuals. We used the Seyfarth model to investigate whether dominance rank alters the distribution of grooming in a group of Macaca fascicularis umbrosus at Great Nicobar Island. We investigated whether dominance rank predicted grooming rate in both males and females. We used social network analysis to examine whether high-ranking animals maintain a central position in the grooming network. We also investigated whether adult individuals exchange grooming for social tolerance, as indicated by physical proximity. We found that more social grooming was directed toward high-ranking females, but not high-ranking males. Social network analysis suggested that high-ranking animals are not central individuals in the distribution of grooming; rather, middle-ranking animals were major contributors to the distribution of grooming. There was no relation between the grooming rate and proximity in both males and females. Overall, our findings suggest that females prefer to direct grooming toward high-ranking partners, although the dominance hierarchy is less steep than expected for Macaca fascicularis. Thus rank-related grooming patterns may be a relatively conserved trait in this isolated island population

Not Available

Not AvailableIn the present study, standardized precipitation index (SPI) series at 3-month, 6-month, 9-month, 12-month and 24- month time scale has been used to assess the vulnerability of meteorological drought in the Bundelkhand region of Central India. SPI values revealed that the droughts in the region over the study period vary from moderately high to extremely high. Suitable linear stochastic model, viz. seasonal and non seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) developed to predict drought at different time scale. The best model was selected based on minimum Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Schwarz Bayesian Criterion (SBC). Statistical analysis revealed that non-seasonal ARIMA model was appropriate for 3-month SPI series while seasonal ARIMA models have been found promising for SPI series at 6-, 9,- 12 and 24-month time scale. Parameter estimation step indicates that the estimated model parameters are significantly different from zero. The predicted data using the best ARIMA model were compared to the observed data for model validation purpose in which the predicted data show reasonably good agreement with the actual data. Hence the models were applied to forecast drought in the Bundelhand region up to 3 months advanced with good accuracy.Not Availabl

Extractive foraging and tool-aided behaviors in the wild Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosus)

Macaques possess a repertoire of extractive foraging techniques that range from complex manipulation to tool-aided behaviors, to access food items that increase their foraging efficiency substantially. However, the complexity and composition of such techniques vary considerably between species and even between populations. In the present study, we report seven such complex manipulative behaviors that include six extractive foraging behaviors, and teeth flossing, in a population of Nicobar long-tailed macaques. The apparent purpose of these behaviors was an extraction of encased food, processing food, foraging hidden invertebrates, and dental flossing. Among these behaviors, three behaviors viz. wrapping, wiping, and teeth-flossing were tool-aided behaviors, where macaques used both natural and synthetic materials as tools. Occasionally macaques also modified those tools prior to their use. The substrate use patterns of leaf rubbing and teeth flossing were similar to that observed in other macaques. The spontaneous tool modification to perform wrapping was a first time observation. These observations suggest that Nicobar long-tailed macaques have a high level of sensorimotor intelligence which helps to evolve such innovative foraging solutions

Not Available

Not AvailableKinetic energy and intensity of rainfall are commonly used factors to predict soil erosion by water. The difficulty in measuring these parameters triggers the scientific community to use the kinetic energy–intensity relationship to compute soil erosion. Six kinetic energy–intensity relationships (three exponential, one linear, one logarithmic and one power law) were used to compute and compare rainfall erosivity of Eastern Ghats Highland region of India. The result showed that when the rainfall intensity was\6 mm h-1, there was a significant difference among the kinetic energy values computed using Brown and Foster, McGregor and Hudson relationships; however, no significant difference was observed for the values computed with van Dijk and Wischmeier and Smith. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in kinetic energy values computed with the different equations for rainfall intensity greater than 30 mm h-1. Highest and lowest rainfall erosivity was computed for Meshesha (6633.0 MJ ha-1 mm h-1 y-1) and Hudson (5503.2 MJ ha-1 mm h-1 y-1) equations, respectively. On an average, annual rainfall erosivity value was observed to be 23.4% lower when computed using I60 than that of I30. Therefore, use of I60 in place of I30 for the study area cannot be suggested. Instead of that, proper calculation of I30 is more important than choosing right kinetic energy–intensity relationship equation.Not Availabl