Estimations of maximum sustainable fish yields and stocking densities of inland reservoirs of Sri Lanka

The Maximum Sustainable Yields of all fish species for 9 man-made reservoirs in Sri Lanka were calculated by the simplified version of Schaefer Model. The relationship between the Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) and Morpho-edaphic Index, (MEI) for Sri Lankan reservoirs was found to be: Log sub(e) MSY = 0.9005 log sub(e) MEI + 1.9220. MSY for these reservoirs were estimated using this relationship. The number of Tilapia) juveniles needed to be recruited to the fisheries of some reservoirs in addition to the present recruitment to increase the fish production to the level estimated by MEI relationship were calculated mathematically

an account of best practices

Quality assurance activities that are carried out in the Sri Lankan university system since 2002 were introduced to the alternative higher education sector in 2010. External quality assessment reviews of Higher National Diploma (HND)programme offered in eleven Advanced Technological Institutes (ATIs) located in different regions of the country were carried out to identify the best practices, strengths and weaknesses and make suitable recommendations to improve the quality of those programmes. The aspects reviewed were curriculum design, content and review; teaching, learning and assessment methods; quality of students, their progress and achievements; use of student feedback; peer observation; skills development; and academic guidance and counseling. The objective of the present study was to determine whether there are regional differences among ATIs when best practices that are in place in different HND programmes are considered. Best practices identified by the reviewers in external quality assessment review reports of HND programmes in Accountancy, Agriculture, Business administration, English, Information Technology and Management conducted in Ampara, Dehiwala, Jaffna, Kandy, Kegalle, Kurunegala, Labuduwa and Trincomalee ATIs were analysed using Principal Component Analysis to determine whether there are regional differences among ATIs with respect to best practices that are in place in each programme. Results indicated that the good practices identified by reviewers in different HND programmes do not depend on the location of the ATI, the ethnicity of the majority community and prevalence of deterrent factors such as armed secessionist conflicts in the area. Differences in the resources available and the motivation and dedication of the staff may have contributed to the differences in the good practices that are in place in different ATIs

Macrophytes as indicators of the ecological status of a tropical rehabilitated wetland ecosystem: Application of multivariate statistics and Ecological State Macrophyte Index (ESMI)

The present study used the Ecological State Macrophyte Index (ESMI) and the multivariate statistical methods to assess the ecological status and the variation of macrophytes in a tropical wetland system. Six sites were selected from rehabilitated and non-rehabilitated areas of an urban tropical wetland and the water quality parameters (water pH, temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS),  dissolved oxygen (DO), visibility, biological oxygen demand 5 days after incubation (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrate, chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus concentrations), sediment quality parameters (pH, organic matter content, percentage sand, silt and clay content) and abundance of aquatic macrophytes were measured. Shannon Weiner diversity index, percentage vegetation under anthropo-pressure, macrophyte settlement rate and ESMI were calculated. Significant variations in the water and sediment quality parameters were observed and ten species of aquatic macrophytes were recorded. Salvinia melosta and Cypreus iria were recorded only from the non-rehabilitated sites. Although there was no significant difference in the percentage anthropo-pressure among study sites, the rehabilitated sites were displayed low anthropo-pressure. The sites in the non-rehabilitated area showed a significantly lower macrophyte settlement rate. ESMI and macrophyte abundance showed significant correlations with water quality parameters. Based on the results, it can be recommended that applications based on ESMI and multivariate statistics can be used to assess the ecological status of tropical wetlands.

Aspects of the leishmaniases with emphasis on socio-economic considerations : a discussion paper

Meeting: UNDP / WORLD BANK / WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, Meeting on Economics of Tropical Diseases, Sept. 1986, Manila, P

Control of disease vectors : a current perspective

In IDL-1003

Development and application of wetland zooplankton index to assess the degree of eutrophication in Sri Lankan reservoirs

Wetland Zooplankton Index (WZI) was developed for the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka using 20 reservoirs located between latitudes 7°20'22.081"N - 7°48'33.558"N and longitudes 80°1'44.55"E - 80°9'51.509"E. WZI ranged from 1.56 in Anukkane reservoir which is located in a low flat terrain in the midst of agricultural lands to 3.69 in Tampana reservoir which is located in a hilly area with a watershed mainly covered with forests. WZI showed a significant negative correlation with the Nitrate-N content (r = -0.797) and cumulative content of Nitrate-N and total phosphorus (r = -0.795) indicating that it can be used as an indicator of the degree of eutrophication of inland reservoirs in the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka