Investigation of Crop Damage Caused by Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) Based on Foraging Behaviour

Expansion of Indian peafowl from their traditional habitats into communal areas has become a serious economic, social and cultural issue. Objectives of the study was to investigate the type and intensity of crop damage done by peafowl based on their foraging behaviour and to understand how different ethnic groups reacted in controlling them. A survey was conducted in 4 Divisional Secretariat (DS) Divisions in Vavuniya district. Foraging behaviour was studied for 3 months covering morning (006-008 h), mid-day (1130-1330 h) and evening (1600-1800 h) by direct visual scans of male, female and juvenile bird categories. Opinion of a sample of (n=160) farmers and village level officials on peafowl habitat expansion and associated problems were collected using a structured type questionnaire. There were significant differences (p<0.05) between the time of peafowl attack, the sex, the stage of peafowl with type of plant damaged. Peak activity (63%) was recorded during morning while it was 36% in the evening and 1% during mid-day. The feed materials ingested consisted mainly of a variety of plants and, beetles, snakes, snails and worms. According the respondents observations, peafowl damage was most serious on paddy (83.5%) followed by other cereals (62.5), spicy crops (33%) and leafy vegetables (19.5%), plantation crops (14%), vegetables (12.5 %), legumes (11%) and tubers (6%). Young peafowl mostly attack (90%) lower level vegetation while adults mostly attack (67%) upper parts. Spreading of parasites (40%), disturbing noise (39.50%), damage to vehicles (29.7%) and damage to houses (6.5%) were among the other nuisances caused by peafowl. Irrespective of the ethnic group, all respected peafowl due to religious reasons. A majority of respondents suggested chasing out (63.50%) and hitting (9.50%) while a few opted trapping (2.25%) and death (1%) as controlling measures. It is concluded that damage caused by peafowl varies with the time of the day and the growth stage of the peafowl. Strategies that cause less harm to peafowl were preferred by the respondents. The study highlights the importance of adopting socially acceptable peafowl habitat expansion strategies.Keywords: Crop damage, Ethnic groups, Foraging behaviour, Peafow

Biodiversity, Historic Importance and Threats of Garanduwa Lagoon Situated in Mirissa Tourist Zone A Case Study

Out of 89 lagoons, Garanduwa is the only lagoon located nearly 3 km away from the sea thatcomes under atoll lagoon. The extent is approximately 65 km2. It is located in associationwith unexplored southern coast and belongs to five Gramaseva divisions; Udupila,Thanhagoda, Garanduwa, Henwala, and Thalaramba in Matara district. It is intermittentlyconnected to ocean by two restricted inlets; Mirissa, Udupila and Thalaramba. A case studywas conducted to investigate the biodiversity, historic background and the threats inassociation with the tourist industry. A reconnaissance survey was carried out in the morningand evening by a catamaran boat to identify fauna and flora. Thirty five villages wereinterviewed by a questionnaire to gather information on the history and prevailing threats.Garanduwa lagoon hosts rich assemblages of different species. Variation of muddy and sandysediments is home to a rich biodiversity. Different variety of trees, many insects, reptiles,amphibians, birds, mammals thrive in the habitat. More than 20 bird species were recorded.Wooly-necked storks, Indian pond heron, Ceylon blue magpies, common babler, Ceylon hillmynah, crimpson backed wood peckers, little egret, larger egret, spot billed pelican, Ceylongreen pigeon, purple coot, black robin, Southern common babler, scimitors, paradise flycatchers, orioles, chaffinchs and bats were prominent. Breadfruit and its wild species, Kirala,Kadol, Jak fruit, Cashew nut, Hog plum, Grosse sapota, Kekuna, Bael fruit were theprominent tree species. Variety of crab species were found among the roots, on the trunks andwithin the canopy. The name “Garanduwa” derived from a Sanscrit term because of thepresence of many crocodiles in the past. At present crocodiles became extinct. Ancient princenamed “Keerthi” (10th century), later became as the King 1 Wijayabahu built his palace in theisland within the lagoon. The king was adorned with the sword to the battle against Solli atthe palace was called as “Siribandala Palace” and still the ruins are remaining. Because o fclose proximity to many tourist hotels, there is a potential to build tourist hotels bydestructing the nature and will be a potential site for sewage accumulation. Therefore, it istimely important to save this wetland for a sustainable utilization and thereby encourage ecotourism.Keywords: Atoll lagoon, Biodiversity, Garanduwa, History, Threat

Applicability of Turmeric (Curcuma longa) for Minimizing Ammonia Emission Rates from Poultry Litter by Altering Some Physiochemical Properties

Turmeric(TM) is a natural antiseptic which shows antimicrobial activity against bacteria,fungi, viruses, yeast, and round worms. Objective of the study was to investigate theapplicability of TM to diminish ammonia emission rates from poultry litters by wiping outthe conditions favourable for microbes. Three months old paddy husk based layer litter wasthe subject for the study. A litter sample (2 kg) was taken using a spade and mixed by hand ina sealed black poly bag. From the mixed litter, samples were taken for the determination ofpH and moisture. Litter was mixed with TM powder in 5 different levels; 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%and 8% (w/w). After mixing with TM, 4 replicated samples (150 g each) were placed incontainers for all levels of mixed litter. Then samples were incubated for 5h, and the emittedNH3 was trapped with boric acid and then titrated with HCl to determine the NH3 emissions.The emission rate was calculated as milligrams of NH3 emitted/ /kilogram of fresh litter/hour.The pH was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced with the increment of TM level showing thehighest (9.34) and the lowest (9.07) which is a considerable drop with control (0%) and 8%application level respectively. Moisture (%) was also significantly increased in 1% (44.53%)and 8% (45.18%) applications. There was a trend in reducing ammonia emission with allapplications but not significantly different among treatments. Application of TM (>3%) waseffective in reducing pH (towards acidic) and the NH3 emission of poultry litter. It wasconcluded that by mixing TM powder with poultry litter, there is a possibility to reduceammonia emission by altering favourable conditions for microbes in the litter such as pH andmoisture.

Bivariate Test for Testing the EQUALITY of the Average Areas under Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (Test for Comparing of AUC's of Correlated ROC Curves)

Abstract Methodology developed for comparing correlated ROC curves are mainly based on nonparametric methods. These nonparametric methods have several disadvantages. In this paper the authors propose an asymptotic bivariate test for comparing pairs of AUCs for independent data based on the Dorfman and Alf maximum likelihood approach. The properties of the test are examined by using simulation studies. The method is illustrated on an example of angiogram results from Sri Lanka. The test applied to the example found that there was a significant difference in the predictive power of three different cut-offs examined

EFFECT OF"F'ORESTFIRE ON LIVESTOCK PRODUCnON··· IN THE PELWATTE AREA OF MONERAGALA DISTRICT

Sugar-cane cultivation has been a predominant agricultural activity in the district ofMoneragala in addition to paddy and chena cultivation. Nevertheless, dairying has.become a viable family industry for many fanners in this area. Mainly cattle andbuffaloes are allowed to graze freely in adjacent forest lands but due to frequent forest fireoccurring during certain period/s of the year, the level of milk production is badlyaffected. Therefore the objectives of this study were to gather baseline information toassess the type of forest fire, their frequency of occurring, the purpose of setting forestfire and the impact of forest fire on dairy industryMajority of fanners (>80%) were involved in the cultivation of sugar cane and other cashcrops under rain-fed condition. Women and children playa major role (74%) in livestockrearing. Main genotypes of cattle and buffaloes found were local and non-descriptivetypes.Animals are sent for grazing in nearby forestlands and feed shortages were observedduring the dry period. It was observed at the same time of occurring forest fire, there wasa drastic decline of forages and other available feed resources such as tree fodder,legumes etc.90% of the forest fire that occur once a year during the period of June to August.Sometimes it occurs twice a year during the periods of June to August and February toMarch where the most of the forest fire are crown fire and creeping fire. Purposes ofsetting fire are to obtain tender shoots as an animal feed (90%) and also for chenacultivation, for hunting specially undergrowth is burnt to search for animals and at thetime of harvesting the weedy sugarcane lands (under poor management) are beingsubjected to setting fire (10%). Feed shortages can be observed due to forest fire as wellas the prevailing dry spell during the periods of June to end of September and February toMarch. As a result of this a drastic decline of average milk yield (from 1.52 I± 0.326 to0.22S±0.162 1) can be observed. Visual observations proved that the body conditions ofthe animals are also badly affected during forest fire occurring periodsGunia spp., Ipil Ipil, Acasia, Illuk and Gliricidia are the main herbage species that areused to feed animals. As they are susceptible to fire, a severe shortage of animal feed canbe observed during these periods. On the other hand forest fire as well as buffaloes/cattlegrazing in forests causes a significant competition among wild animals in finding feedrecourses.The main impact, which is reduction of milk yield during the periods of forest fire can bereduced by introducing low inputs and particularly by training the farmers to prepareanimal feeds out of sugar cane by products such as molasses, bagasses and other wastematerials which are available in this area.

Prediction models for the development of COPD: A systematic review

Early identification of people at risk of developing COPD is crucial for implementing preventive strategies. We aimed to systematically review and assess the performance of all published models that predicted development of COPD. A search was conducted to identify studies that developed a prediction model for COPD development. The Checklist for Critical Appraisal and Data Extraction for Systematic Reviews of Prediction Modelling Studies was followed when extracting data and appraising the selected studies. Of the 4,481 records identified, 30 articles were selected for full-text review, and only four of these were eligible to be included in the review. The only consistent predictor across all four models was a measure of smoking. Sex and age were used in most models; however, other factors varied widely. Two of the models had good ability to discriminate between people who were correctly or incorrectly classified as at risk of developing COPD. Overall none of the models were particularly useful in accurately predicting future risk of COPD, nor were they good at ruling out future risk of COPD. Further studies are needed to develop new prediction models and robustly validate them in external cohorts

Behaviour of cattle in an agro-forestry system

Objective of the present study was to understand the behaviour of dairy cattle tethered underagro-forcstry systems. Three genetically uncharacterized, indigenous, non-lactating cows and twobulls (mean live weight 199±29) were tethered close to a water stream in an agro-forestry system.The vegetation of the agro-forestry system comprised of teak, coconut, mahogany and shrubs. Animalshad enough foraging materials around the place they were tethered. One observer was assigned toeach animal. The behaviour of the animals was observed for five hours from 1000 1500 hrs. Themean temperature and the relative humidity of day of the study were 28°C and 79% respectively.Frequency and the duration of the time spent on nine behaviours were recorded. The behaviouralactivities studied were drinking, feeding (ground level and upper level), lying, standing, walking,urination, defecation, vocal ization and interactions (cattle-cattle and cattle-other an irnals ). Feedingwas the most prominent behaviour of the animals. The time spent on feeding and the frequency offeeding during the 300 minutes study period were 252 min and 23, respectively and thus the feedingbehaviour accounted for 84% of the total time budget. The frequency (15) and the time spent onground level grazing (234 min) were significantly higher (p<O.OOI) than the frequencies and the timespent on upper level feeding. Though not statistically significant, animals spent more time on standing(18.9min or 6.3% of the total time) than on Laying (14.6 min or 5% of the total time). The frequencyof standing (5) was also significantly (p<O.OO I) higher than that oflying (I). May be due to tethering,cattle spent less time (8.3 minutes or 2.7% of the total time) on walking. The frequency of drinking(2) and the time spent on drinking were (3 min or 1% of the total time) unexpectedly low. Cattledefecated and urinated twice during the five- hour study period. Vocalization was the least prominentbehavioural activity. It is concluded that cattle highly engage with feeding particularly, on groundlevel when they are tethered under agro-forestry systems. Further researches are needed to determineas to why the drinking behaviour is suppressed when tethered in agro-forestry systems

Behaviour of cattle in an agro-forestry system

Objective of the present study was to understand the behaviour of dairy cattle tethered underagro-forcstry systems. Three genetically uncharacterized, indigenous, non-lactating cows and twobulls (mean live weight 199±29) were tethered close to a water stream in an agro-forestry system.The vegetation of the agro-forestry system comprised of teak, coconut, mahogany and shrubs. Animalshad enough foraging materials around the place they were tethered. One observer was assigned toeach animal. The behaviour of the animals was observed for five hours from 1000 1500 hrs. Themean temperature and the relative humidity of day of the study were 28°C and 79% respectively.Frequency and the duration of the time spent on nine behaviours were recorded. The behaviouralactivities studied were drinking, feeding (ground level and upper level), lying, standing, walking,urination, defecation, vocal ization and interactions (cattle-cattle and cattle-other an irnals ). Feedingwas the most prominent behaviour of the animals. The time spent on feeding and the frequency offeeding during the 300 minutes study period were 252 min and 23, respectively and thus the feedingbehaviour accounted for 84% of the total time budget. The frequency (15) and the time spent onground level grazing (234 min) were significantly higher (p<O.OOI) than the frequencies and the timespent on upper level feeding. Though not statistically significant, animals spent more time on standing(18.9min or 6.3% of the total time) than on Laying (14.6 min or 5% of the total time). The frequencyof standing (5) was also significantly (p<O.OO I) higher than that oflying (I). May be due to tethering,cattle spent less time (8.3 minutes or 2.7% of the total time) on walking. The frequency of drinking(2) and the time spent on drinking were (3 min or 1% of the total time) unexpectedly low. Cattledefecated and urinated twice during the five- hour study period. Vocalization was the least prominentbehavioural activity. It is concluded that cattle highly engage with feeding particularly, on groundlevel when they are tethered under agro-forestry systems. Further researches are needed to determineas to why the drinking behaviour is suppressed when tethered in agro-forestry systems

Role of salicylic acid in acclimation to low temperature

Low temperature is one of the most important limiting factors for plant growth throughout the world. Exposure to low temperature may cause various phenotypic and physiological symptoms, and may result in oxidative stress, leading to loss of membrane integrity and to the impairment of photosynthesis and general metabolic processes. Salicylic acid (SA),phenolic compound produced by a wide range of plant species, a may participate in many physiological and metabolic reactions in plants. It has been shown that exogenous SA may provide protection against low temperature injury in various plant species, while various stress factors may also modify the synthesis and metabolism of SA. In the present review, recent results on the effects of SA and related compounds in processes leading to acclimation to low temperatures will be discussed