Distribution of hydro-biological parameters in coastal waters off Rushikulya Estuary, East Coast of India: A premonsoon case study

The hydro-biological parameters of coastal waters off Rushikulya estuary was investigated during premonsoon 2011. Important hydro-biological parameters such as water temperature, salinity, pH, DO, NO2, NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO4, TSM, Chl-α, phytoplankton and zooplankton were measured during the present study. Temperature established a strong positive correlation with salinity and pH during the present study. Chl-α found in positive relation with NO3, SiO4 and TSM. Analysis of variance revealed significant monthly variation in pH, salinity and TSM. Significant station wise variation was observed in DO and most of the nutrients i.e., NO3, NH4, PO4, SiO4. A total of 119 species of phytoplankton were identified of which 84 species are of diatoms, 22 species of dinoflagellates, 7 species of green algae, 5 species of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) and 1 species of cocolithophore. Phytoplankton abundance varied between 25543 (Nos. L-1) and 36309 (Nos. L-1). Diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community followed by dinoflagellates in all the months. Diatoms contributed to 82-89 of the total phytoplankton population density whereas dinoflagellates contributed to 6-12. The regression between Chl-α and phytoplankton abundance resulted with weak relation (R2 = 0.042). Zooplankton fauna composed of 134 species of holoplankton and 20 types of meroplankton were encountered during the study period. Zooplankton population dominated by copepod during all months and accounted for 74 to 85 to the total zooplankton. The population density ranged from 6959 to 35869 Nos./10 m3. Analysis of variance explained no significant variation in total zooplankton abundance and also for different groups of zooplankton

New initiatives in fisheries extension

Improved communication and information access is directly related to social and economic development. However, the rural population still have difficulty in accessing crucial information in forms they can understand in order to make timely decisions. There is a concern that the gap between the information rich and information poor is getting wider. New information and communication technologies are generating possibilities to solve problems of rural poverty, inequality and giving an opportunity to bridge the gap between information-rich and information-poor and to support sustainable development in rural and agricultural communities. However remote rural communities still lack basic communication infrastructure. The challenge is not only to improve the accessibility of communication technology to the rural population but also to improve the relevance of information to local development. The article focuses on innovations in technology dissemination with particular focus on aquaculture

Mass beach stranding of blue button jellies (Porpita porpita, Linnaeus, 1758) along Odisha coast during summer season

1093-1096Beach stranding of the jelly Porpita porpita (Linnaeus 1758) was observed in stretches from Astaranga to Puri (Odisha) during May 2016. A study was carried out by taking environmental parameters to decipher the possible causes. These jellies were abundant in the coastal waters during this period. It was found out that this jellyfish was observed in large numbers in this coast during March-May (summer season). From the satellite derived current and wind data, it was observed that the beach stranding was due to drifting of the jellyfishes favoured by shoreward current and wind.

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: HI;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold" lang="EN-US">First record of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Desmoscolex falcatus</i> (Nematoda: Adenophorea: Desmoscolecida: Desmoscolecidae) from Rushikulya estuary, Odisha, India</span>

487-489<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Desmoscolex falcatus<span style="font-size:9.0pt;mso-ansi-language: EN-US" lang="EN-US"> (Nematoda: Adenophorea: Desmoscolecida: Desmoscolecidae) is reported for the first time from Rushikulya estuary. </span

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language: HI" lang="EN-US">Occurrence of a new species of toxic Cnidaria (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Pelagia noctiluca</i><b> </b>Forskål, 1775) from estuarine waters of Rushikulya River, Western Bay of Bengal</span>

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Sequential-Anaerobic and Sequential-Aerobic bioleaching of Metals (Ni, Mo, Al and V) from spent petroleum catalyst in stirred tank batch reactor: A comparative study

Spent petroleum catalyst as a repository of several toxic metals is recommended for metal removal before safe disposal. To evaluate an effective biotechnological approach for metal removal, a comparative study between sequential-aerobic and sequential-anaerobic bioleaching processes was conducted for the removal of metals from crushed-acetone-pretreated spent petroleum catalyst. The SEM–EDX and XPS analysis confirmed the presence of Ni, Al, Mo and V in their oxidic and sulphidic forms in spent catalyst. The bioleaching experiments were performed in stirred tank batch reactors (2.5 L), temperature 30 °C, pH 1.4 and stirring speed 250 rpm for the period of 160 h. Sulfuric acid acted as lechant for both sequential-aerobic (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans oxidised sulfur to sulfuric acid aerobically) and sequential-anaerobic (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans oxidised sulphur to sulfuric acid coupled with the ferric reduction to ferrous anaerobically) bioleaching studies. The higher Ni and V extractions compared to Al and Mo for all the studies were due to increased solubility of Ni and V, and supported by XPS which showed marginal signs of Ni and V peaks in leach residues compared to feed spent catalyst. At the end (320 h), sequential-aerobic bioleaching was resulted to 99% Ni, 65% Al, 90% Mo and 99% V extraction quite more effective than sequential-anaerobic bioleaching (88% Ni, 28% Al, 33% Mo and 77% V) and sequential-control leaching (94% Ni, 20% Al, 40% Mo and 57% V). Although anaerobic bioleaching a possible approach, aerobic condition was found to be more suitable for sulfuric acid generation by A. ferrooxidans and high yield. So aerobic bioleaching is recommended to be favourable approach compared to anaerobic counterpart for future study and extrapolation

Seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton in response to environmental variables in contrasting coastal ecosystems

Seasonal distribution of phytoplankton community and size structure was assessed in three different tropical ecosystems of the western Bay of Bengal viz. estuary (Mahanadi), lagoon (Chilika), and coastal waters (off Gopalpur) in response to ambient hydrobiology. Salinity regimes differentiated the study regions as contrasting ecosystems irrespective of seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon). Taxonomic account revealed a total no of 175, 65, and 101 phytoplankton species in the estuary, lagoon, and coastal waters, respectively. Prevalence of marine, brackish, and fresh water types in the coastal waters, lagoon, and estuary, respectively, characterized the contrasting nature of the study regions in hosting the phytoplankton community. In general, phytoplankton abundance was observed in increasing order of coastal waters > estuary > lagoon during post-monsoon and pre-monsoon, while lagoon > coastal waters > estuary during monsoon. Bacillariophyta dominated the phytoplankton community in the estuary and coastal waters during all the seasons. In contrast, the lagoon exhibited a diverse array of phytoplankton group such as cyanophyta, dinophyta, and bacillariophyta during monsoon, post-monsoon, and pre-monsoon, respectively. Over the seasons, microphytoplankton emerged as the dominant phytoplankton size class in the coastal waters. Diversely, nanophytoplankton contributed to major fraction of chlorophyll-a concentration in the estuary and lagoon. Interestingly, pre-monsoon dinophyta bloom (causative species: Noctiluca scintillans with cell density 9 × 104 cells·l−1) and monsoon bacillariophyta bloom (causative species: Asterionellopsis glacialis 5.02 × 104 cells·l−1) resulted decline in species diversity. Multivariate statistical analysis deciphered salinity as a major environmental player in determining the distribution, diversity, and composition of phytoplankton communities in the three contrasting environments. Trophic state indices signified the lagoon and estuary as hypereutrophic during all season. The coastal water was marked as highly eutrophic through trophic state index during monsoon and pre-monsoo

Seasonal variation of phytoplankton community in Gopalpur Creek: a tropical tidal backwater ecosystem, East Coast of India

Present study consists of phytoplankton community of Gopalpur creek in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season There was a significant seasonal variation in water temperature (p < 0.01). Salinity and pH varied significantly (p < 0.05) among the stations. Chlorophyll a and phytoplankton density found to vary significantly (p < 0.01) among seasons rather than the stations. A total of 99 phytoplankton species were identified. Diatoms formed 77, dinoflagellates 14, green algae five, blue green algae two and cocolithophore one species. Phytoplankton species composition was found dissimilar in the three seasons. In pre-monsoon Noctiluca scintillans, Thalassiothrix longissima, Odontella sinensis, Thalassionema nitzschioides, Coscinodiscus gigas, Rhizosolenia alata formed the dominant species. In monsoon, Rhizosolenia alata, Pleurosigma elongatum, Melosira sulcata, Amphora coastatum, Rhizosolenia setigera dominated the phytoplankton population. In post-monsoon Odontella sinensis, Rhizosolenia setigera, Coscinodiscus gigas, Thalassiothrix longissima, Noctiluca scintillans, Oscillatoria spp. dominated. Univariate diversity indices showed maximum diversity during post-monsoon. Pielou’s evenness (J’) and Simpson’s dominance have shown little variation among the season