Nematocysts in four species of corals

The types and d istribution of homatocysts in four coral species were studied. Of the 20 maj or categories or nematocysts recognized in the phylum enidaria, five types were encountered in these four corals. They were holotrichous isorhizas , atrichous isorhizas, microbasic mastigophore, micro basic amastigophore and macrobasic mastigophore. The type of nematocysts and their abundance varied from coral to coral and even within a single species, the relative distribution of a given type of nematocyst varied in different parts of a polyp. It is suggested that the differences im the nematocysts could be used in the classification of corals

Primary productivity of some sea grass beds in the Gulf of Mannar

Primary productivity of two seagrass beds and one algal bed in the Gulf of Mannar was studied by diurnal curve method. The sea grass bed close to Mandapam Camp was found to be autotrophic, with P/R ratios ranging from 1.65 to 3.90. The seagrass and algal beds around Kurusadai island were heterotrophic. Production of oxygen by individual sea grasses equalled or exceeded their consumption

Physicochemical and biological cycles in a tide dominated, nitrogen-polluted temperate estuary

Spatio-temporal variations in the physicochemical and biological parameters in the Morlaix estuary on the Brittany coast of France were studied. Hydrographically, the estuary can be classified into 3 segments: the upper estuary where stratification always persists, the lower estuary where vertical homogeneity is permanent, and a middle estuary where there is a regular oscillation of stratification and homogeneity during every tidal cycle, stratification being associated with slack waters and homogeneity, with ebb and flood. Nitrogen pollution in the estuary is very intense

IndOBIS, an Ocean Biogeographic Information System for assessment and conservation of Indian Ocean biodiversity

Compilation of inventories of components of coastal and marine biodiversity of Indian Ocean is hampered by several factors: low effort by some countries, preference to certain taxon, dwindling taxonomic expertise, low infrastructure of Information Technology, databases that are scattered and often non-interoperable, inconsistent reporting and a marked reluctance to share data and information. The creation of the Indian Ocean node of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System is meant to overcome some of these constraints. Benefiting from progress in Information Technology and building on the global efforts on understanding what lives in our seas, the IndOBIS aims to grow into a self-sustaining and collectively supported process of information collation, analysis and dissemination, serving the countries of the region and the international scientific community

Effect of dietary supplementation of ensiled rice straw with molasses on the performance, nutrient digestibility and haematology of Yankasa rams

A study was carried out to determine the effect of feeding ensiled rice straw with molasses as supplement on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of Yankasa rams. Fifteen Yankasa rams with average weight of 17k±0.5g and aged between 7-9 months were used for 90days feeding trial. The straw was ensiled with 5% urea and was fed as a basal diet. Five graded levels of molasses; 0, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5% were used as supplement and were designated as treatments 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. Fifteen Yankasa rams were then allotted to five treatments in a completely randomized design and were replicated three times with one animal per replicate. Results shows that all parameters evaluated for growth performance were significantly (P<0.05) influenced by dietary treatments. Average Daily feed intake was significantly (P<0.05) in animals on treatment 5(454.42g), while those on the control diets T1 (372.43g) had the lowest average daily feed intake. Similarly, animals on T5 (108.11g) had the highest average daily weight gain when compared to those on T2 (69.11g) and the control T1 (73.33g). Feed conversion ratio was better in animals fed T3 (4.14) and T4 (4.14) and followed by those on T5 (4.20). The result of Nutrient intake though significantly different across the treatment groups, did not followed any particular pattern. The rumen pH and ammonia concentration before and after feeding were similar across the treatments. The haematological measurements were all similar across the treatments, while the serum biochemical indices were significantly different (P<0.05) across the treatments except for glucose. Keywords: Intake, Weight gain, Haematology, Yankasa rams, Ensiled rice stra

Reactive Nitrogen in Coastal and Marine Waters of India and Its Relationship With Marine Aquaculture

India is bordered in the soutii, south-west, and south-east with Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea (AS), and the Bay of Bengal (BOB), respectively. Indian coast is 7517 km long comprising 5423 km in the peninsular India and 2094 km in Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands. The Indian exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is spread in 2.02 million sq km (0.86 million sq km in west coast, 0.56 m illion sq km in east coast and 0.6 million sq km in Andaman and Nicobar Islands). The Indian marine environmentconsisting of adjoining coastal areas and EEZ directly sustains useful habitats and suppons the livelihood of 3.9 million fishers. Nearly 25% of the country’s population resides in these areas and about 340 communities are primarily occupied in marine and coastal fisheries (MoEF, 2009; SACEP, 2014). Nitrogen (N) exists in various chemical forms, produced by marine biota through several chemical transformations during their growth and metabolism in the marine environment. Nitrogen as N2 is generally unavailable in marine conditions and thereby, the equilibrium of the processes of N2 fixation (conversion of atmospheric N2 to organic nitrogen) and denitrification (conversion of nitrate to N2) decides the bioavailable nitrogen supply and productivity (Gruber, 2008)

Comparison of Marine Spatial Planning Methods in Madagascar Demonstrates Value of Alternative Approaches

The Government of Madagascar plans to increase marine protected area coverage by over one million hectares. To assist this process, we compare four methods for marine spatial planning of Madagascar's west coast. Input data for each method was drawn from the same variables: fishing pressure, exposure to climate change, and biodiversity (habitats, species distributions, biological richness, and biodiversity value). The first method compares visual color classifications of primary variables, the second uses binary combinations of these variables to produce a categorical classification of management actions, the third is a target-based optimization using Marxan, and the fourth is conservation ranking with Zonation. We present results from each method, and compare the latter three approaches for spatial coverage, biodiversity representation, fishing cost and persistence probability. All results included large areas in the north, central, and southern parts of western Madagascar. Achieving 30% representation targets with Marxan required twice the fish catch loss than the categorical method. The categorical classification and Zonation do not consider targets for conservation features. However, when we reduced Marxan targets to 16.3%, matching the representation level of the “strict protection” class of the categorical result, the methods show similar catch losses. The management category portfolio has complete coverage, and presents several management recommendations including strict protection. Zonation produces rapid conservation rankings across large, diverse datasets. Marxan is useful for identifying strict protected areas that meet representation targets, and minimize exposure probabilities for conservation features at low economic cost. We show that methods based on Zonation and a simple combination of variables can produce results comparable to Marxan for species representation and catch losses, demonstrating the value of comparing alternative approaches during initial stages of the planning process. Choosing an appropriate approach ultimately depends on scientific and political factors including representation targets, likelihood of adoption, and persistence goals