Morphological discrimination of female specimens of Pseudodiaptomus annandalei from Cochin estuary and Corbyn’s Cove Creek, India

302-308Pseudodiaptomus annandalei is a brackish water calanoid copepod first reported and described by Sewell in 1919 from Chilka lake. Preliminary information on morphological differences observed in the examination of female specimens of P. annandalei collected from two geographically separated locations namely, Cochin estuary in Kerala and Corbyn’s Cove Creek, in Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands are presented in this paper. The specimens collected from both localities showed variations in length of antennules, total body length, spinulation on Pdg segments, ornamentation on posterior corner of metasome, proportional lengths of Pr and Ur, length width ratio of P5, urosome spinulation, and size and shape of caudal setae. These intra-specific differences are described to expand the known morphological range of this species and to provide the first comparative analysis of P. annandalei from two locations, Cochin estuary and A&N islands in India

Very high resolution satellite-imagery-based agrosystems mapping : to help defining geographic indications for the Arabica Coffee in the Kintamani country of Bali

Very high resolution (0.65m) satellite imagery, field enquiry about cropping systems and other georeferenced information are analysed in order to provide with maps of interest for the definition of geographical indicators to help delimiting a "Terroir" Arabica in the region of Kintamani in Bali. lt results in the production of severa! maps including: a) map of the main agrosystems practiced in this region: food crops, forests, systems associated with dense shading by large trees (Erythrina, Leucaena and Albizia), systems based on perenn ial crops (Ciove, Cocoa, Citrus, associations of Citrus and Arabica coffee, Arabica coffee cropped without shade), b) map of the main agroregions distinguishable in this area (agriculture dominated by food crops, by large trees shading, by Citrus and associations with Citrus, and by Clove), and c) Digital Elevation Mode! (DEM) of the region. These different products allow to implement spatial analysis of the Arabica coffee-based agrosystems distribution in the region of Kintamani in Bali and to derive q uantitative data about the areas planted with Arabica in this region. These products constitute the basis of a Geograp hical lnformation System ( G IS), enabling the superimposition of various ancillary data l ike sensorial quality characteristics, location of Arabica coffee processing places or topographie levels, to lead a spatial analysis of the relationships between these independent factors. This approach shows that some characteristics are c learly l inked with the production of good Arabica coffees. They are located inside the central agro-region dominated by Citrus associations (and more precisely at West of the line U lian 1 Dausa), and cropped only above the altitude limit of I 1OOm. The agrosystem used for Arabica coffee growing (e.g. shading by large trees or by Citrus) seems to have no effect on its qual ity. Nevertheless, it seems that no trivial and restrictive limits can be extracted for the "Terroir" of Kintamani Arabica Coffee out of this first study. Propositions are made for additional information to be collected and correlated with these first results to help leading to a conclusion about the potential limits of the "terroir". Especially there is a strong need for a map of the Subak Abian (traditional Balinese social and rel igious structures) that w i l l be the area unit for any delimitation, a map of the soil composition, maps of crops management characteristics (e.g. use of terraces and fences, undercover nature, planting density, shading density and heterogeneity ...) that could be extracted out of further photointerpretation of the satellite image, and additional coffee berry sampling and cup quality analysis. Integration of all these data inside the GIS and their spatial analysis should largely improve the understanding of components of good coffee growing and their relationships with geographical indicators. (Résumé d'auteur

Unusual mass shoreward movement of bivalve (Mollusca) Donax scortum Linnaeus along the coastal waters off Calicut - South Eastern Arabian Sea

67-72Eutrophication and oxygen depletion are the major factors influencing the responses of benthic organisms in coastal ecosystems. Along the coastal waters of South Eastern Arabian Sea a mass shoreward movement of bivalve Donax scortum (locally referred as “eranthu”) occurred during end phase of summer monsoon upwelling. Possible reasons for this shoreward movement points to the low dissolved oxygen (0.25 ml L-1) in the bottom waters. Intense blooms of large dinoflagellate species, Noctiluca scintillans were observed a week prior to this event along these coastal waters and the crashing related decaying might have resulted in lower DO values in the region. The study discuss on the deleterious effects of hypoxic conditions caused by summer monsoon algal blooms on benthic fauna of South Eastern Arabian Sea

Winter monsoon phytoplankton community in the coastal waters of Northeastern Arabian Sea, with emphasis on harmful and non-indigenous species

989-999Phytoplankton community structure along the coastal waters of the Northeastern Arabian Sea (NEAS) was analysed for three years (2009, 2011 and 2012) during the winter monsoon season. The coastal waters of NEAS, especially Saurashtra coast are a region of high fishery potential. A total of 137 species of phytoplankton were identified. The community structure of phytoplankton showed significant inter-annual variability. The study highlights the persistence of certain non-indigenous phytoplankton species such as Scrippsiella trochoidea, Karenia mikimotoi and potentially harmful dinoflagellates mainly Gonyaulax polygramma, Dinophysis acuminata, D. miles and Tripos furca in the region that can raise probable threats towards the indigenous species and can cause harmful or toxic events. The increased abundance of diatom, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. that can produce toxins at certain threshold levels was also observed. The possible reason for the increased abundance of such groups can be suggestively due to the increased anthropogenic inputs into the coastal waters and intense fishing and maritime activity in the area

Spatio-temporal variation of microphytoplankton in the upwelling system of the south-eastern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon of 2009**This investigation was conducted under the Marine Living Resources Programme funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, New Delhi.

AbstractThe phytoplankton standing crop was assessed in detail along the South Eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) during the different phases of coastal upwelling in 2009. During phase 1 intense upwelling was observed along the southern transects (8°N and 8.5°N). The maximum chlorophyll a concentration (22.7mgm −3) was observed in the coastal waters off Thiruvananthapuram (8.5°N). Further north there was no signature of upwelling, with extensive Trichodesmium erythraeum blooms. Diatoms dominated in these upwelling regions with the centric diatom Chaetoceros curvisetus being the dominant species along the 8°N transect. Along the 8.5°N transect pennate diatoms like Nitzschia seriata and Pseudo-nitzschia sp. dominated. During phase 2, upwelling of varying intensity was observed throughout the study area with maximum chlorophyll a concentrations along the 9°N transect (25mgm−3) with Chaetoceros curvisetus as the dominant phytoplankton. Along the 8.5°N transect pennate diatoms during phase 1 were replaced by centric diatoms like Chaetoceros sp. The presence of solitary pennate diatoms Amphora sp. and Navicula sp. were significant in the waters off Kochi. Upwelling was waning during phase 3 and was confined to the coastal waters of the southern transects with the highest chlorophyll a concentration of 11.2mgm−3. Along with diatoms, dinoflagellate cell densities increased in phases 2 and 3. In the northern transects (9°N and 10°N) the proportion of dinoflagellates was comparatively higher and was represented mainly by Protoperidinium spp., Ceratium spp. and Dinophysis spp

Unusual mass shoreward movement of bivalve (Mollusca) Donax scortum Linnaeus along the coastal waters off Calicut - South Eastern Arabian Sea

Eutrophication and oxygen depletion are the major factors influencing the responses of benthic organisms in coastal ecosystems. Along the coastal waters of South Eastern Arabian Sea a mass shoreward movement of bivalve Donax scortum (locally referred as “eranthu”) occurred during end phase of summer monsoon upwelling. Possible reasons for this shoreward movement points to the low dissolved oxygen (0.25 ml L-1) in the bottom waters. Intense blooms of large dinoflagellate species, Noctiluca scintillans were observed a week prior to this event along these coastal waters and the crashing related decaying might have resulted in lower DO values in the region. The study discuss on the deleterious effects of hypoxic conditions caused by summer monsoon algal blooms on benthic fauna of South Eastern Arabian Sea

Retting Of Coconut Husk - A Unique Case Of Water Pollution On The South West Coast Of India

The extensive backwaters of Kerala are the sites for a flourishing cottage industry - the coir industry. This enterprise almost exclusively located along the 590 km coastal belt of Kerala, provides direct employment to over half a million people in the state and produces nearly 90% of the total coir goods in the world. The shallow bays and lagoons of the 30 backwater systems of the state are traditional areas for the retting of coconut husk for the production of the coir fibre. The paper examines the environmental status of the retting grounds in Kerala, in relation to the biotic communities. The study revealed that retting activity has caused large scale organic pollution along with the mass destruction of the flora and fauna, converting sizeable sections of the backwaters into virtual cesspools of foul smelling stagnant waters. High values of hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, BOD5 associated with anoxic conditions and low community diversity of plankton, benthic fauna, fish, shell fish, wood boring and fouling organisms were the outstanding feature of the retting zones.Intern. J. Environmental Studies, 1997, Vol. 52, pp. 335-35

Length-weight relationship, relative condition factor (Kn) and morphometry of Arius subrostratus (Valenciennes, 1840) from a coastal wetland in Kerala

The length – weight relationship and relative condition factor of the shovel nose catfish, Arius subrostratus (Valenciennes, 1840) from Champakkara backwater were studied by examination of 392 specimens collected during June to September 2008. These fishes ranged from 6 to 29 cm in total length and 5.6 to 218 g in weight. The relation between the total length and weight of Arius subrostratus is described as Log W = -1.530+2.6224 log L for males, Log W = - 2.131 + 3.0914 log L for females and Log W = - 1.742 + 2.8067 log L for sexes combined. The mean relative condition factor (Kn) values ranged from 0.75 to 1.07 for males, 0.944 to 1.407 for females and 0.96 to 1.196 for combined sexes. The length-weight relationship and relative condition factor showed that the well-being of A. subrostratus is good. The morphometric measurements of various body parts and meristic counts were recorded. The morphometric measurements were found to be non-linear and there is no significant difference observed between the two sexes. From the present investigation, the fin formula can be written as D: I, 7; P: I, 12; A: 17 – 20; C: 26 – 32. There is no change in meristic counts with the increase in body length.Cochin University of Science and TechnologyIndian J. Fish., 57(4) : 39-44, 201

Length-weight relationship, condition factor and morphometry of gold spot mullet <i style="">Liza parsia</i> (Hamilton, 1822) from Cochin estuary

567-571Length-weight relationship was studied in Liza parsia collected from the Champakkara region of Cochin estuary during the year 2009. Slope value (b) estimated for Liza parsia male was found to be 3.1545, for female 3.0094 and for combined was 3.1938. The regression equation calculated for male was Log W = -2.2147 + 3.1545 Log L, for female was Log W = -2.0315 + 3.0094 Log L and for combined was Log W = -2.2596 + 3.1938 Log L. Length weight relationship and condition factor showed that the growth of L. parsia is quite satisfactory. Morphometric measurements of various body parts and meristic counts were recorded. There is no change in meristic counts in increase in body length. Thus from the study it could be inferred that, Liza parsia showed a satisfactory growth in the Cochin estuary