Differentiation of two Chlorophthalmus species Chlorophthalmus corniger (Alcock, 1894) and C. acutifrons (Hiyama, 1940) based on otolith morphometry

489-497A comparative morphometric analysis of otoliths was done to understand the major morphometric characters responsible for differentiating two species of Green-eyes (Chlorophthalmus corniger and C. acutifrons) which is one of the dominant fish groups caught in the deep-sea trawling during the exploratory surveys as well as in the by-catch of trawlers targeting deep-sea shrimps at a depth range of 300 – 500 m in the Indian waters. A total of 53 intact, right otoliths (25 and 28 for C. corniger and C. acutifrons, respectively) were considered for the morphometric analysis to differentiate species collected from Andaman Sea. The study extracted four otolith morphometric measurements and five shape indices measured from the otoliths using image analysing software including otolith weight. The otolith morphometric parameters and shape indices showed significant relationship with the fish size were scaled with standard length to remove the influence of fish size from the data. Principal component analysis using scaled otolith morphometric measurements indicated that the first two axes described 84.78 % and 11.80 % of variation, respectively. The PC1 differentiated the species based on ellipticity and otolith weight followed by area and perimeter. C. acutifrons is differentiated from their congener with a more elliptic, heavy otolith with more otolith surface area. One-way PERMANOVA confirmed significant difference in otolith morphology between the species. Present study confirmed the suitability of otolith morphometric analysis in differentiating Chlorophthalmus species which are quite inevitable for taxonomic studies as well as for the better understanding of the species resolution in diet studies

Differentiation of two Chlorophthalmus species Chlorophthalmus corniger (Alcock, 1894) and C. acutifrons (Hiyama, 1940) based on otolith morphometry

A comparative morphometric analysis of otoliths was done to understand the major morphometric characters responsible for differentiating two species of Green-eyes (Chlorophthalmus corniger and C. acutifrons) which is one of the dominant fish groups caught in the deep-sea trawling during the exploratory surveys as well as in the by-catch of trawlers targeting deep-sea shrimps at a depth range of 300 – 500 m in the Indian waters. A total of 53 intact, right otoliths (25 and 28 for C. corniger and C. acutifrons, respectively) were considered for the morphometric analysis to differentiate species collected from Andaman Sea. The study extracted four otolith morphometric measurements and five shape indices measured from the otoliths using image analysing software including otolith weight. The otolith morphometric parameters and shape indices showed significant relationship with the fish size were scaled with standard length to remove the influence of fish size from the data. Principal component analysis using scaled otolith morphometric measurements indicated that the first two axes described 84.78 % and 11.80 % of variation, respectively. The PC1 differentiated the species based on ellipticity and otolith weight followed by area and perimeter. C. acutifrons is differentiated from their congener with a more elliptic, heavy otolith with more otolith surface area. One-way PERMANOVA confirmed significant difference in otolith morphology between the species. Present study confirmed the suitability of otolith morphometric analysis in differentiating Chlorophthalmus species which are quite inevitable for taxonomic studies as well as for the better understanding of the species resolution in diet studies

Statistical evaluation of the effect of secondary municipal wastewater and solid waste leachate on ground water quality at Lawspet in Puducherry, India

At Lawspet area in Puducherry, India, a unique situation of co-disposal of solid waste dumping and secondary wastewater disposal on land, prevails simultaneously within the same campus. So an attempt is made to assess the combined effect of this co-disposal on the environmental quality and pollution effects on groundwater quality with a view to correctly monitor the situation. Multivariate statistical analysis like hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) were employed. HCA was performed on borewells, physiochemical parameters and seasons. Borewell clustering identified four clusters illustrating varying degree of groundwater contamination. In parameter clustering, two major clusters were formed indicating hardness and anthropogenic components. Temporal clustering identified three major clusters indicating pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon. Discriminant analysis revealed nine significant parameters which discriminate four clusters qualitatively affording 86% correct assignation to discriminate among the clusters. Also three major components viz. anthropogenic, hardness and geogenic responsible for groundwater quality in the study area were identified. Conclusively the investigation revealed that the direction of the contaminant transport is towards the southeast direction of the study area, where all the borewells (100%) are affected

New record of Bembradium magnoculum (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Plectrogeniidae) from the north-eastern Indian Ocean

The presence of the deep-water flathead, Bembradium magnoculum Kishimoto, Kawai, Tashiro et Aungtonya, 2019, from the north-eastern Indian Ocean is reported for the first time. The species was previously known only from a single specimen collected off Phuket, Thailand, eastern Andaman Sea. One specimen measuring 101 mm SL was collected by the Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV) Sagar Sampada with a demersal trawl (HSDT crustacean version) on the insular shelf north of Car Nicobar Island, Nicobar Islands, at 362 m depth. The specimen is described, and the new distributional record from the north-eastern Indian Ocean is confirmed