NATIONAL SEMINAR ON WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING : FOCUSING BIODIVERSITY ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT February 8, 2020
PROGRAMME & ABSTRACTS
Organised by Social Environmental and Biological Association (SEBA) In collaboration with
West Bengal Biodiversity Board West Bengal Pollution Control Board Ballygunge Society for Environment & Development
at Auditorium Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, Jadavpur University Campus Jadavpur, Kolkata - 700 032 Organizing Committee
President : Dr. A. K. Sanyal (Chairman, WBBB, Kolkata / LM, SEBA) Vice President : 1. Dr. Supatra Sen (Ashutosh College, Kol., President, SEBA) 2. Dr. M. K. Dev Roy (Secretary, SEBA) Conveners : Dr. Maitri Bose Biswas (RPM College, Uttarpara / LM, SEBA) Dr. Mrinal Mukherjee (WBUTTEPA / LM, SEBA) Seminar Coordinator : Dr. N. C. Nandi (Vice President, SEBA) Dr. Rina Chakraborty (Vice President, SEBA) Treasurer : Dr. Anirudha Dey (Treasurer, SEBA) Advisors : 1. Prof. Amalesh Choudhury (Ex-Head, Dept of Marine Sci., C.U) 2. Prof. Sankar Kr. Ghosh (Vice Chancellor, K.U. / LM, SEBA) 3. Dr. D. R. Mandal (Ex-Vice Chancellor, SKBU / LM, SEBA) 4. Prof. Ambarish Mukherjee (Dept. of Botany, B.U./ LM, SEBA) Programme Coordinators : 1. Dr. Amalendu Chatterjee (LM, SEBA) 2. Dr. Sujit Pal, (Jt. Director, Govt. of West Bengal / LM, SEBA ) 3. Prof. A. K. Panigrahi (HoD, Dept. of Zool., K.U./ LM, SEBA) 4. Dr. R. P. Barman (Ex. Emeritus Scientist, ZSI / LM, SEBA) 5. Dr. Arun Mahato (Gujarat Inst. Ecology, Gujarat / LM, SEBA) 6. Dr. Biplab Modak (SKB University, Purulia, W.B /LM, SEBA) 7. Dr. Kaushik Mondal (Kalyani Univ. / LM, SEBA) 8. Dr. Mitu De (Gurudas College, Kolkata / LM, SEBA) Contact persons (Other than Conveners & Coordinators) : 1. Dr. Anirudha Dey (Mb: 09432260803 / 09830678483,
February 8, 2020
PROGRAMME & ABSTRACTS
Organised by Social Environmental and Biological Association (SEBA) In collaboration with
West Bengal Biodiversity Board (WBBB) West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) Ballygunge Society for Environment & Development (BSED)
at Auditorium Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, Jadavpur University Campus Jadavpur, Kolkata–700 032
1 NATIONAL SEMINAR ON “WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING : FOCUSING BIODIVERSITY ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT” PROGRAMME
8th February, 2020 ( Saturday)
INAUGURAL SESSION 9.30 am Reporting, Registration & Display of posters 10.00 am Inauguration by Kalyan Rudra, Chairman, WBPCB 10.10 am Welcome Adress Dr. A. K. Sanyal, President, Seminar Organisation Committee & Chairman, WBBB 10.20 am Introductory Addresses By Organiser & Collaborators
11.00 am Tea Break
TECHNICAL SESSION- I (WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING)
11.15 am Key Note Address Dr. Tapan Saha, Ex-Sr. Scientist WBIWM & Secretary, BBP 11.50 am Oral Presentations By Participants 11.50 am Poster Presentations By Participants
1.30 pm Lunch Break
TECHNICAL SESSION- II (BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT) 2.15 pm Oral Presentations By Participants 2.15 pm Poster Presentations By Participants 4.00 pm Valedictory Session By Resource persons 4.30 pm Distribution of Prizes & By Seminar Organising President, SEBA Certificates President & Conveners 4.55 pm Vote of Thanks By Convener
2 CONTENTS TECHNICAL SESSION-I
1. Dreadful demise of ponds and dobas in West Bengal—N.C. Nandi...... 1 2. Gangajal : The Holy water of the river Ganges—N.C. Nandi...... 1 3. Wetland Management: Geo-spatial analysis of issues and challenges—Biraj Kanti Mondal...... 2 4. Attitude of Hindustani raag sangeet system towards monsoon: The seed of philosophy of water conservation in society—Archan Bhattacharya and Aranya Bhattacharya...3 5. Gender, water resource management and sustainability: An overview—Supatra Sen.....4 6. Indigenous knowledge and practices on water conservation and management in Purulia District, West Bengal—Kailash Bauri, Partha Gorai and Biplob Kumar Modak...5 7. Waterbodies of urban Kolkata: An overview— Rina Chakraborty and N. C. Nandi...5 8. Impact of water on life and livelihood of people in Indian Sundarban— S. K. Pramanik and N. C. Nandi...... 6 9. Impact of acidification on heavy metal levels in a bheri of East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), A Ramsar site in the Indian Sub-Continent— Taparupa Dey...... 7 10. Water sustainibility project report—Shiv Shankar Roy (Teacher), Uttam Kumar Singh, Dristi Shah, Pratham Keshari...... 7 11. Rain water harvesting : Importance and potentialities at Sagar Island, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal—Rinku Das and Amales Misra...... 8 12. Water conservation and harvesting: Need for area specific strategy formulation—Rina Chakraborty and N. C. Nandi...... 9 13. Evaluation of contamination of groundwater using water quality indices—Arun Kumar Pramanik, Deepanjan Majumdar, Abhik Chatterjee...... 10 14. Water consumption context of Dhaniakhali village of Hooghly District in West Bengal: A case study of water use pattern by Survey and GIS—Subhasis Ghosh...... 10 15. Prospect of artificial recharge of ground water with non-conventional water resources in urban water management and conservation: A vision—Ipsita Chanda...... 11 16. Water budget and conservational strategies for its sustainable use in Govt. Model School, Gopiballavpur-I, Jhargram, West Bengal: A case study—Dayasankar Mahata, Supriya Mandi, Manisha Mahata, Dipen Roy and Sujit Pal...... 12 17. Water - Present scenario, demand and conservation—Tanusree Datta and Asish Kumar Panigrahi...... 13 18. Need of water conservation at the verge of climate change and global warming : the legal issues in India—Sangeeta Chatterjee...... 14 19. Changing water condition and its effects on life and livelihood—Anirban Mukherjee..15 20. Ground water conservation by rainwater harvesting unit in a school in Sundarban— Chandrima Sinha and Ajanta Dey...... 16 21. Potential zones: A case study of Joyponda river basin, Bankura, West Bengal—Manas Karmakar, Monali Banerjee, Debasis Ghosh and Mrinal Mandal...... 17
3 TECHNICAL SESSION-II
22. Role of plants in water conservation—Dwaipayan Sinha...... 21 23. Exploration of plant-based assays for the detection and estimation of aquatic genotoxins in natural environments—Dipan Adhikari...... 21 24. Integrated fish farming in Haldia areas of West Bengal - A case study of water resource based livelihood improvement—Suman Kumar Sahu...... 22 25. Will Avicennia alba sustain in climatic change induced salinity rise?—Harekrishna Jana...... 23 26. Invertebrate haemocyte: An effective bio-indicator for health of soil and aquatic ecosystem— Susraba Chatterjee and Srikanta Guria ...... 23 27. Mitigating climate change: Aquatic ecosystems and blue carbon—Supatra Sen...... 24 28. Diversity of fishes in Damodar river at Mejia, Bankura, West Bengal in a changing natural river habitat—Prabir Banerjee, Saugata Basu and Biplob Kumar Modak...... 25 29. Evaluation of biotic Index of macroinvertebrates in selected wetlands of West Bengal: Implications for conservation and biological control—Anshuman Pati, Soumya Dasgupta and Soumyajit Banerjee...... 26 30. Blood components and histological architecture of Hilsa Shad, Tenualosa ilisha in diverse habitats—Md. Faruque Miah, Md. Abdul Kader, Faria Jarin and M. Niamul Naser...... 27 31. Water footprints affecting biodiversity—An overview—Paramita Saha Sarkar...... 28 32. A brief review on effect of water scarcity on animals of protected areas in India—Mahuya Patra Purkait...... 28 33. Impact of alteration of wetland characteristics on migratory and aquatic birds - A case study of Bankura District, West Bengal—Susobhan Mondal, Mainak Sarkar, Asif Hossain and Biplob Kumar Modak...... 29 34. Study of zygopteran diversity across different land-use types in Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal—Pathik Kr. Jana and Priyanka Halder Mallick...... 30 35. Ornamental fishes of Damodar river system—Lina Sarkar ...... 31 36. An assumptive view of future of avifauna of Santragachi Jheel, West Bengal— Sobhana Palit (Paul)...... 31 37. Phytoremediatory role of Azolla pinnata R.Br. against 2,4-D herbicide contaminated water bodies—Arnab Kumar De...... 32 38. Status of aquatic macrophytes in ponds of West Bengal – A time scale evaluation—Subir K. Ghosh...... 33 39. Reporting of presence of the microplastic in the gut of estuarine fishes of Indian Sundarban Biosphere Reserve: A potential warning in global environmental changes effecting biodiversity—Shrayan Bhattacharjee, Ranjan Das, Banani Mandal, Arunava Mukherjee and Punarbasu Chowdhuri...... 34 40. Time management among the forest inhabitants for using a single water space—Rina Chakraborty...... 34 41. A study on impact of polluted aquatic ecosystem on the food chain of Fishing Cat’s (Prionailurus viverrinus) of Domjur, Panchla and Dankuni Wetland areas of Howrah District, West Bengal—Subhadip Mukhopadhyay...... 35 4 42. Checklist and distribution of endemic earthworm fauna of India— C. K. Mandal, Md. Nurul Hasan, Bithin Paul, Pritha Saha Poornima Nailwal...... 36 43. Distribution and checklist of endemic leeches in India—C. K. Mandal, Md. Nurul Hasan and Poornima Nailwal...... 37 44. Biodiversity sustainibility project report—Ahmed Reja, Ashish Tiwari, Kaushal Kumar Bari, Jyotish Yadav, Aliya Afreen...... 37 45. Climate change implications for fisheries and aquaculture: applying a poverty lens in India—Paramaa Raha...... 38 46. Barn Owl improving school environment for joyful learning: A case study of Kanchannagar High School, Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal—Subhas Chandra Datta...... 38 47. Chandipur beach in Odisha coast supporting spawning ground of molluscan species : A survey report—Mousumi Roy and Anirudhha Dey ...... 39 48. Insights into rhizospheric bacterial abundance of Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam. from the Indian Sunderbans—Rajdeep Das, Bidisha Mallick, Debleena Roy, Sucheta Sinha and Sayak Ganguli...... 40 49. Rhizospheric metagenome dataset of the terrestrial mangrove Nypa fruticans Wurmb. from Indian Sunderbans—Wrick Chakraborty, Paramita Nandy (Datta) and Sayak Ganguli...... 41 50. Functional annotation of pathogenesis proteins in Shigella flexneri using comparative genomics—Sarmishta Mukhopadhyay, Sayak Ganguli and Santanu Chakrabarti...... 42 51. Phytochemical, antimicrobial and computational assessment of Christella dentata crude extracts against multidrug resistant bacterial cultures and targets—Meesha Singh, Sayak Ganguli and Mahashweta Mitra Ghosh...... 43 52. Prenatal arsenic exposure causing gut microbial dysbiosis in juvenile mice—Mainak Chakraborty, Sayak Ganguli and Moumita Bhaumik...... 43 53. Biomonitoring of two wetlands using biodiversity indices involving aquatic insects— Priti Ranjan Pahari, Subhadeep Maiti, Niladri Prasad Mishra and Tanmay Bhattacharya...... 44 54. Impacts of global warming on insect pests in India—Manish Kanti Biswas...... 45 55. Aquatic plants of Jammu and Kashmir: Importance, threats and conservation—Mamta Bhat...... 45 56. A preliminary study on macrophyte diversity and physico-chemical characteristics of Pahar Dighi - A wetland in Mahishadal Raj Garh area, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal—Soma Chanda and Bhaskar Bhowmik...... 46 57. Coral bleaching and death: An overview with special reference to India—Sudeshna Ghoshal and Aoishik Roy...... 46 58. Study of the role of freshwater macrophytes, Hydrilla sp. and Vallisneria sp. in bioremediation—Chayanika Roy, Suchismita Medda, Santi Ranjan Dey and Mitu De...... 47 59. Role of aquatic insects in monitoring water pollution in Hatma Pond, Morabadi, Ranchi— Neetu Kumari...... 48
5 60. Perciform fish diversity of Berhampore Block, Murshidabad District, West Bengal with special reference to their conservation aspects—Susanta Kumar Chattopadhyay and Kousik Guria...... 49 61. Significance of wetlands in arid environment of Kachchh for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development—Arun Kumar Roy Mahato and Viral Vadodariya...... 49 62. Avifaunal diversity and ecological importance of small size wetlands in arid environment of Kachchh, Gujarat—Prapti J. Gohil and Arun Kumar Roy Mahato...... 50 63. Water birds in urban wetland environment- A study in Hamirsar Lake, Bhuj City, Gujarat— Pooja Gandhi, Anuja Gohil, Swati Das and Arun Kumar Roy Mahato...... 51 64. Analysis of plant animal association in aquatic environment: A case study of molluscs and algae association—Sulagna Roy, Chayanika Roy, Mitu De and Santi Ranjan Dey...... 52 65. Studies on amphibian population decline in and around Motijeel Wetland, Murshidabad District, West Bengal—Soumima Chattoraj and Santi Ranjan Dey...... 53 66. Effect of climate change on myxozoan parasite diversity of riverine fishes in West Bengal—Saugata Basu, Mugdha Basu and Biplob Kumar Modak...... 53 67. Study of the changes in aquatic environment caused by water soluble Chromium and Chromium induced changes of some physiological parameters in mice—Sarmishtha Chanda...... 54 68. Habitat preference of avifauna in two wetlands of Murshidabad, West Bengal, India—Santi Ranjan Dey and Mitu De...... 55 69. Climate smart tropical tuber crops for ensuring food, nutritional security under erratic climate and water related stresses—Archana Mukherjee...... 56 70. Use of Green Zinc-oxide nanoparticles as nanoantibiotics and water disinfectant in freshwater aquaculture—Puja Pati, Kausik Mondal, Madhusudan Mandal...... 57 71. Planktonic copepod diversity in Indian water—M. K. Dev Roy...... 58 72. A report on the freshwater snail diversity and seasonal variation at a sub-urban zone in southern West Bengal: Role as bioindicator—Adrita Chakrabarty, Swarnali Das, Sreemoyee Ghosh, Karabi Mahato, Priya Saha, Tunisha Das, Tapas Kumar Misra, Srinjana Ghosh...... 59 73. Unfocussed wealth of river Lohit of North-Eastern India: An overview—P. Nath, T. K. Pal and S. C. Dey...... 59 74. Effect of climate change on biodiversity: A review on national and global scenario— Hemanta Adhikary...... 61 75. Importance of small water bodies for conserving biodiversity with reference to India— Tanmoy Rudra and Arnesha Guha...... 61 76. Ecotoxicological impact of fluoride toxicity on neural function and nervous homeostasis of fish—Suvendu Ghosh and Sarmila Pal...... 62
6 ABSTRACTS OF NATIONAL SEMINAR ON WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING : FOCUSING BIODIVERSITY ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT
7 Edited by Dr. A. K. Sanyal Dr. N. C. Nandi Dr. Rina Chakraborty Dr. Supatra Sen Dr. T. K. Pal Dr. M. K. Dev Roy Dr. Debkumar Datta Dr. Maitri Bose Biswas Dr. Kausik Mondal Dr. Mrinal Mukherjee Dr. Arun Kumar Roy Mahato Dr. Amalendu Chatterjee
Published by Social Environmental and Biological Association (SEBA), Kolkata
In colloboration with West Bengal Biodiversity Board (WBBB) West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) Ballygunge Society for Environment & Development (BSED)
Websites http://seba2004.com
All articles submitted to this National Seminar on Water Conservation and Harvesting : Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Management are screened and reviewed but the opinion expressed by the author(s) are their own and the Seminar Organising Committee do not own any responsibility on this account.
Funded by Ballygunge Society for Environment & Development (BSED), Kolkata
Printed by Calcutta Repro Graphics, 36/8B Sahitya Parishad Street, Kolkata-700 006
8 TECHNICAL SESSION : I WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING
DREADFUL DEMISE OF PONDS AND DOBAS IN WEST BENGAL
N. C. Nandi Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Email: [email protected]
The state of West Bengal supports substantial water and wetland resources. Of these, freshwater habitat resources assume appreciable importance in quantity and diversity. And, of these, small ponds and dobas less than two kathas (676 sq.m.) in size occupy the apex of the freshwater resources in number and also in origin. Most of them, presumably find their genesis for raising homestead land and household usage including temporary stocking and raising fishes by the rural folk for unforeseen requirements towards guests and/ or domestic occasions. But, these days, these small waterbodies are increasing encroached, filled and reclaimed for household extension work and for sale and development work. Waste disposal, solid construction wastes, plastic bottles and polythene carry bags as well as thermocol thalas and ritual wastes, to these water bodies have added to the agony of their existence on earth. These smaller waterholds, derelict, semi-derelicts or under day to day domestic use, are known to serve the important service of recharging of groundwater aquifers for human consumption and agriculture. As such, individual, administrative and governmental initiatives are needed towards water conservation and harvesting for sustainable utilization of aquatic wealth at the State and National level.
GANGAJAL : THE HOLY WATER OF THE RIVER GANGES
N. C. Nandi Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Email: [email protected]
In India water of some rivers, viz., Ganga, Godavari, Narmada, etc., are considered as sacred since ancient times. People all over India held these holy rivers with high respects. Among these, the river Ganges is revered with high holiness. Ganga Sagar Mela on the occasion of Makar Sankranti bears the testimony of this statement. People, especially aged and sanctified Indians, throng in more than a half-hundred thousand gather each year at Sagar Island, South 24-Parganas district, West Bengal for a holy dip, defying winter cold at the confluence of the river Ganges with the sea. Do they consider trouble or travel cost? Perhaps they are happy to earn ‘Punya’ or penance in the process of paying respect, dipping their heads in holy water.
1 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
Besides holy dip, people collect holy water along the course of the river for all puja purposes as well as purifying temple and puja pandal places, including clothes sprinkling water of the holy river Ganges known as “Gangajal”. The mud or ‘mati’, known as ‘Gangamati’ by the Bengalees are also kept for household puja purposes to purify in the same way as ‘Gangajal’. In my boyhood days my mother used to send me in 1950s with a coin of Eight Anna (50 paise only), to buy one ‘ghati’ (a small metal pitcher) about 250ml of holy ‘Gangajal’ from a person/ household, a kilometer away from our residence. Still, it is astonishing to note how people with so much ambiance of reverence dispose solid and ritual wastes, even though there is conflicting approach of immersion of idol in water including holy river, the Ganges. It is worth mentioning that people abroad without any attachment of holiness keep their rivers free from floating wastes and aesthetically clean. An in-depth observation/ information/ legislation/ approaches are presented to promote river water conservation context in this communication.
WETLAND MANAGEMENT: GEO-SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Biraj Kanti Mondal Department of Geography, Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata Email: [email protected]
Wetland management is an utmost imperative issue so far as the aquatic and environmental conservation is concerned and probably this was neglected as wetland covered area of the globe is dropped by almost 6% in last two decades. Wetland having immense importance to maintain biodiversity and ecological balance and considering as one of the most productive ecosystem of the earth, the need of the hour is to conserve and manage it properly. The present study concentrates on the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) which is extended up to the Bidyadhari and Matla River confluence, affected frequently by the human encroachment. This EKW (Ramsar Site) act as an absorber basin for huge amount of contaminants drained from the Kolkata Metropolitan City. The degradation and transformation of wetlands is a slow poisoning risk made us think about its past history and hopes and doubts about its future. Reclamation of land for agriculture, aquaculture and urban expansion occur which have threatened different sites of this wetlands and its immediate surroundings since last 20 years. Likewise, huge population pressure, rapid growth and their increasing economic demands, the wetlands area has been victimised by
2 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. different ways as an aftermath. Therefore, an in depth study was attempted for the geospatial analysis of the sustainability of the East Kolkata Wetland and wetlands of ten selected blocks of North and South 24 Parganas districts. Geoinformatics is the key solicitation technique to recognize the geospatial pattern of change detection, key issues and challenges of the Wetland.
ATTITUDE OF HINDUSTANI RAAG SANGEET SYSTEM TOWARDS MONSOON: THE SEED OF PHILOSOPHY OF WATER CONSERVATION IN SOCIETY
Archan Bhattacharya and Aranya Bhattacharya Darjeeling Govt College, Darjeeling-734 101, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Water, the matrix of life is valued since ancient times in India. People of this country congregated enormous traditional knowledge to manage water resource, at the same time they offered high honour and profound love to it. One form of this appraisal, respect and adoration of society to rain as well as water resource is the way of perception, celebration and appreciation of monsoon, a major form of water resource, in Hindustani Raag Sangeet system as India’s entire economy depends upon the timely arrival of monsoon. To admire monsoon, the Hindustani system has a distinctive heritage of Monsoon songs which spans numerous monsoon raags such as 30 types of Malhar Megh Malhar is associated with arrival of monsoon, Mianki Malhar with relentless rains, Gaud Malhar played amid well advanced playful monsoon, and Surdasi Malhar at the end of the season. Several varieties of Malkauns, varieties of Sarang such as Vrindavani Sarang, Goud Sarang, Baro Hansa Sarang, Rakta Hansa Sarang, Miyan Ki Sarang, Jaijaiwanti, Bhairavii, etc.¸ are other raags to commemorate the monsoon and to address different psychic states of Indian soul depending upon rain and its effect on biodiversity (frog, cricket, kadam, kamini, kunda, keya, juthi, bel, etc.). In dry parts of the country such as Rajasthan the music discipline is associated with inviting rain, rain water harvesting and fetching water. This attitude of the Hindustani system depicts the sense of gratitude towards nature as well as water resource; this sense is the seed of philosophy of water conservation.
3 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
GENDER, WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY: AN OVERVIEW
Supatra Sen Department of Botany, Asutosh College, Kolkata -700026. Email: [email protected]
It has become increasingly accepted that women should play a central role in water management and that could be enhanced through the strategy of gender mainstreaming. Women are important stakeholders in water management- including agricultural water and they play a key role in water and land conservation, rainwater harvesting, and watershed management. Women play an important role both in irrigated and non-irrigated agriculture and a larger percentage of women than men are engaged in rain-fed agriculture producing two thirds of the food in most developing countries. The sustainable development goals (SDG) made an important initial step in connecting water, sanitation and hygiene (SDG 6) and gender equality and empowerment (SDG 5) through target 6.2, which emphasizes access to equitable sanitation and hygiene, and the needs of women and girls. At the same time it is crucial to integrate water and environmental management. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) can be strengthened through the integration of Environmental Impact Assessment, water resources modeling and land use planning. IWRM is not an end in itself but a means of achieving the three key strategic objectives of allocation or efficiency to make water resources reach the farthest limit; equity, in the allocation of water across different social and economic groups and environmental sustainability, to protect the water resources base and associated ecosystems. A national water policy for the twenty-first century has to recognize water as a national resource for the purpose of national development goals and planning, although the management of water has to be done in a decentralized way in partnership between local communities and the concerned state governments with active support and participation of women in all spheres of decision-making. Strengthening these initiatives require the strengthening of the water rights of the community, rejuvenation of the traditional techniques in conservation and management (an aspect, where women excel) and recognition of water as a common property resource.
4 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES ON WATER CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT IN PURULIA DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL
Kailash Bauri1, Partha Gorai2 and Biplob Kumar Modak3* 1Raghunathpur High School (H.S), Purulia, email: [email protected] 2Panjania J.D.R. High School (H.S), Purulia, email: [email protected] 3*Dept. of Zoology, Sidho Kanho Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal, India. Pin: 723104; Email: [email protected]
All organisms depend on water to keep them alive. Most of the organisms, including human, are now facing water crisis either qualitatively or quantitatively or both. This ever increasing water crisis is mostly due to rapidly increasing human population and diverse anthropogenic activities which ultimately lead to global warming and climate change. Historically, Purulia is one of the draught prone districts of West Bengal. Local people and other organisms of this district suffer a lot to get requisite amount of water particularly during summer season. To cope up with this adverse situation, native people of this district adopted various indigenous techniques like Pitcher watering system, cultivation of sugarcane without irrigation, contour bunding, etc., since time immemorial. Such kinds of practices help them to manage their daily water requirement and conserve local biodiversity. These practices are also helpful to recharge ground water and play an important role for water conservation. The present study is an attempt to record various indigenous knowledge and practices for water conservation and management encountered in Purulia district, West Bengal.
WATERBODIES OF URBAN KOLKATA: AN OVERVIEW
Rina Chakraborty1 and N. C. Nandi2 Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata; Emails: *[email protected] ; *[email protected]
Urban water bodies in Kolkata are of paramount importance to man, micro- environment and biodiversity, irrespective of both aquatic and terrestrial life forms. Even then, herein it is mentioned that five species of both sponges and mollusks recorded earlier from Indian Museum Tank could not be detected in recent investigation (2007-2008) from this freshwater body. It is also evident that, in general, there is shrinkage of water bodies and loss of biodiversity especially water birds from lakes and ponds in Kolkata. Still, the existing water bodies continue to serve
5 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. as the rainwater receptors, recharge local groundwater level, and also provide cool and comfortable open space and micro-climate to the urban dwellers of this congested megacity. But, alarmingly, it is noted that this megacity has lost about 46% of its 3, 874 ponds, lakes and canals. The remaining ones are reported to seriously suffer from pollution and suffocation from urban wastes. As such, the present review is proposed to highlight the present state of art of the urban water bodies in Kolkata with a view to suggest developing of “People’s Pond, Lakes and Canals Register”. It is suggested to adopt mapping, monitoring and management of these water bodies at the local administrative level with an “Apex Body” to decide and develop ideal mission specific management plan towards wise use. It is heartening to note that Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will take up cleaning and beautifying of water bodies across the Kolkata city under “Green City Mission”.
IMPACT OF WATER ON LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE IN INDIAN SUNDARBAN
S. K. Pramanik and N. C. Nandi Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
Indian Sundarban is endowed with fresh, brackish and coastal waters. Barring freshwater, the importance of brackish, estuarine and coastal waters are viewed and discussed herein. People of Indian Sundarban depend much on these three water habitat categories, viz., brackish water for fisheries, and estuarine and coastal waters for river transport and fishing shrimps, crabs and fishes in monsoon and winter. Fishing in Sundarban estuaries suffers from pollution of upper reaches as well as oil spillage in the area. In brackish water fisheries sector, both horizontal and vertical shrinkages are noticed, while in estuarine fisheries sector receding of water affecting livelihood to a great extent. Crab fattening, locally known as ‘Chamber chas’ requires easy inflow and outflow of river water. Besides the above, crab fishers ofTardah and Protapnagar areas were forced to abandon crab fishing locally; started operating fortnightly fishing trips from Canning since long time ago. In coastal fishing sector, winter dry fish industry of immense socio-economic importance also suffers from carrying cost due to shrinkage of suitable estuarine khals for loading and unloading at winter dry fish camps. Thus, it is proposed to adjudge, analyze and bring out these adverse water related impact in the present paper with some suggestions for water conservation concern and care for people living in this part of Indian Sundarban.
6 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
P. G. Student : Journal View
IMPACT OF ACIDIFICATION ON HEAVY METAL LEVELS IN A BHERI OF EAST KOLKATA WETLANDS (EKW), A RAMSAR SITE IN THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT
Taparupa Dey Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata; Email: [email protected]
As a part of Post Graduate study and with reference to an article of Dutta et al (2016) published in the Int. J. Adv. Res. Biol. Sci., vol. 3(1) it is viewed that East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) is the ‘Kidney’ of Kolkata, and is a declared Ramsar site of immense ecological importance. The fish pondsBheries ( ) of the EKW offer ecosystem services in terms of maintaining microclimate, temperature regulation, flood control, recycling municipal wastes and effluents,etc ., along with fish production. Waste products from industries and Municipal Corporation, contain heavy metals like Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Iron, Lead, etc., that oscillate as a function of monsoonal run-off, influencing environmental parameters. These waste materials trigger the phytoplankton growth leading to the secondary production. It has been reported that over more than three decades, dissolution of Zn and Cu has increased and has attributed to gradual increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. As CO2 dissolves in the aquatic phase to form carbonic acid, thus pushing the equilibrium towards acidic value. It causes a decrease in pH value. This phenomenon confirms the regulatory role of pH in the process of speciation that results in precipitation of metallic species of the underlying sediment/surface soil of the Bheri, resulting in high values of dissolved heavy metals under a low pH situation.
WATER SUSTAINIBILITY PROJECT REPORT
Shiv Shankar Roy (Teacher), Uttam Kumar Singh*, Dristi Shah, Pratham Keshari St. Soldiers Convent School (H.S.), Halisahar, North 24-Parganas, West Bengal (Affiliated by WBBSE); *Email: [email protected] Mother Nature has provided us everything and its all glory of Mother Nature that human existence persisted in this world and today we are surviving with development
7 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. day by day. Without her blessing, we are nothing. But we humans are violating the rules of Mother Nature each day just to fulfill our needs. But this fulfillment of small needs by affecting the nature and by violating her rules is decreasing the “sustainability” of nature and exploiting the natural resources which are required for our survival. Specially, now-a-days, the main problem for the whole world is deteriorating level of potable water. Main objectives of this project are as follows: 1. In this project, we will try to find out a solution to this problem.; 2. We will try to find to keep tabs uponsome aspects of water usage in our daily life; 3. We will also try to keep tabs on some records acquired from our activities which will describe that how much water we use in everyday life; 4.We will try to show, the state of water in today’s era and will try to show the effects that our recent activities have on water in the form of our creative dialogue writings and story.
RAIN WATER HARVESTING : IMPORTANCE AND POTENTIALITIES AT SAGAR ISLAND, SOUTH 24 PARGANAS, WEST BENGAL
Rinku Das and Amales Misra* Paribesh Unnayan Parishad, Phulbari, Sagar Island, South 24-Parganas, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Accessibility to safe drinking water is a gradually increasing problem. More so, in rural areas where underground water is fast depleting and contaminated with arsenic. One way to overcome this crisis is harvesting rain-water for drinking. This paper reports a very tragic picture of the underground water at Sagar Island, as the result of a school-based studies conducted at Sagar Island on the sources and use of water in schools, as well as the quality and quantity of rain-water harvested. The quantity of rainfall, measured at Phulbari in Sagar Island during August and September, 2018 was 356.2 mm. The quality of rain-water was analysed and it was observed that all parameters were within desirable limits. The values of TDS and hardness were quite low. It was also compared to supply water which revealed that rain water was free from bacteria, while supply-water (Kolkata) was contaminated with coliform bacteria. It has also been estimated that a roof of about 18 sq.m can harvest about 6411 litres of water which can be used by a family of three, for the next 10 months for drinking and cooking. Schools are mostly dependant on ground water, which could be replaced by Rain water if RWH System is adopted.
8 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
WATER CONSERVATION AND HARVESTING: NEED FOR AREA SPECIFIC STRATEGY FORMULATION
Rina Chakraborty¹ and N. C. Nandi² Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Emails: [email protected]); ²[email protected]
On the onset of human civilization, water conservation and harvesting was an usual practice. Rulers and Zaminders used to dig tanks, lakes, etc., for themselves as well as for common people and animals in the area. But from the last half of 20th century, a tendency of indiscriminate use of water was noted for both surface and ground water for industrial use and cultivation, and also for household use, resulting in an acute crisis of freshwater in the present century. Besides the above, promoting estate trade and reclamation of water bodies is now-a-days a common practice throughout India. People from lower economic back ground even today use urban, suburban and village tanks, lakes for bathing, washing and many other domestic needs. These water bodies have a great role in rain water storage and ground water recharge. In addition, Holy water bodies in and around temples, shrines, masjid, churches are of cultural significance, providing storage of water, holy dip and shelter to many water birds and aquatic animals. Religious fairs and festivals as well as social gatherings are arranged near tanks, lakes and holy water bodies in India including for immersion of idols. Water bodies are known to regulate local microclimate acting as climate controller and support suitable ecological niche. The open space around, and plantation along the bank provides free oxygen of million dollar value. Water bodies are widely used to boost pisciculture, fishing, water sports, swimming, ecotourism support, etc. Thus, in view of above, an area specific water conservation strategy is a must to meet the crisis of water, and towards harvesting of rain water, making storage water reservoir in the apartment, housing complex and big buildings in urban and suburban areas. Digging up of new ponds and reclamation of old ones in both urban and rural areas, adopting conceptually sound techniques of storage and utilization of excess rain water and flood water is suggested to ultimately ushering a better future for future generation.
9 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
EVALUATION OF CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER USING WATER QUALITY INDICES
Arun Kumar Pramanik1*, Deepanjan Majumdar2, Abhik Chatterjee1 1Department of Chemistry, Raiganj University, Raiganj-733134, West Bengal 2Kolkata Zonal Centre, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, i-8, Sector C, EKDP, EM Bypass, Kolkata-700107 Email: 1*[email protected]
Water is basic need of all lives in the world. The major source of drinking and irrigation water is groundwater in India. But in world the quality and quantity of groundwater is in crisis. Huge quantities of pollutants are continuously introduced into groundwater through various anthropogenic discharges which include home effluents, industrial and irrigational waste, etc. The consequences of consuming such contaminated water are evident in various water-associated diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, Cholera, etc., among others and even deaths. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the contamination of groundwater of Chandwara Block in India by using Water quality indices. Water Quality Index is a useful tool which generally indicates the overall quality of water for various beneficial uses in terms of index number and it is calculated from multiple water quality parameters. The Water Quality Index is a unit less number and it is placed on a relative scale that rates the water quality in categories from very bad to excellent. However, the values of water quality indices clearly indicate that the groundwater is suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes in that area.
WATER CONSUMPTION CONTEXT OF DHANIAKHALI VILLAGE OF HOOGHLY DISTRICT IN WEST BENGAL: A CASE STUDY OF WATER USE PATTERN BY SURVEY AND GIS
Subhasis Ghosh Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, Kolkata-700 019 Email: [email protected]
Every locality has its own pattern of water use. People of any locality use water for various purposes and from various sources. Depending on the sources and amount of used water, the using pattern varies. In this study a survey of Dhaniakhali village in Hooghly district of West Bengal was made to study the water use pattern. From this study it is clear that the major source of water is ground water, and a least amount of surface water is used. In general about 600 ml.- 2 lit. of water is used 10 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. for drinking purposes by each member of the families, while 500 lit.- 800 lit. water is used by families of this locality. Also, different diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid etc. indicate water contamination in the area. Source of ground water are marked by GIS. It has been found that the distribution of water bodies in this area is uneven. Most of the surface water bodies are used for agriculture, being situated near agricultural farms. It is revealed that the distribution pattern of surface water sources and attachment with agricultural firms influenced the use of ground water.
PROSPECT OF ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE OF GROUND WATER WITH NON-CONVENTIONAL WATER RESOURCES IN URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION: A VISION
Ipsita Chanda Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, 10, Raja Naba Krishna Street, Kolkata-700 005 Email: [email protected]
Surface and natural ground water are the conventional sources for water supply for domestic, industry, agriculture purpose which are burdened by waste disposal and overuse, respectively. Sewage effluents and rain water are the non-conventional water resources used for natural groundwater recharge for centuries. Artificial recharge of groundwater with these non-conventional water resources is becoming the effective alternative in water supply management nowadays. The indirect reuse and recharge of groundwater with sewage effluent has become popular and this method improves the quantity and quality of wastewater aquifer by removal of inorganic/organic contaminants and pathogens in significantly large amount. The limitation of this method is the possibility of contamination of the adjacent potable aquifer. However, citizens have conservation for utilization of restored water from wastewater aquifers for domestic and drinking purpose. Urban civilization is built on concrete constructions including paved roads. This causes less exposure of land/soil for natural groundwater recharge and also enhances the loss of water. This scenario of urban area makes artificial recharge of groundwater with wastewater and reuse of restored water from wastewater aquifer an effective method for water conservation. Wastewater can be categorized as sewage wastewater (SW) and non-sewage wastewater (NSW) derived from bathing, washing, etc. The vision for water management and conservation at urban area using artificial recharge of groundwater includes: 1. Construction of underground tank per building in a given Municipal area to collect NSW. The measurement of the tank would depend on the member of that
11 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. building. The tank would recharge groundwater with infiltration or injection well. The type of input well would depend on hydrogeological criteria of the site. 2. SW would be delivered via sewage pipes to the SW treatment plants for partial or complete treatment before recharge of groundwater at a site that would be distantly placed from potable aquifers to avoid contamination. 3. Restoration of NSW groundwater would be used for supply as potable and domestic purpose. 4. Restoration of SW groundwater would be used to fulfill demand for irrigation and industrial water supply. The rain water harvesting at each building and artificial recharge by underground tank would also add to potable aquifer. This vision has twofold benefits: fulfillment of demands for water in different sectors and reduction of sewage load of city.
WATER BUDGET AND CONSERVATIONAL STRATEGIES FOR ITS SUSTAINABLE USE IN GOVT. MODEL SCHOOL, GOPIBALLAVPUR-I, JHARGRAM, WEST BENGAL: A CASE STUDY
Dayasankar Mahata1, Supriya Mandi2, Manisha Mahata3, Dipen Roy4 and Sujit Pal5 1,2,3 Students of Govt. Model School, Gopiballavpur-I, Jhargram, West Bengal 4 Head Master, Govt. Model School, Gopiballavpur-I, Jhargram, West Bengal 5 Deputy DPI (Training), Department of Higher Education, Govt. of West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Water is a precious resource and its demand increases with the rise of human population. Hence sustainable use of water resource requires a balance between water demand and water supply. Awareness and related action about the sustainable use of water resources at the very early age of our future citizens is the only way to get rid of the present environmental crisis. Accordingly, we selected the Govt. Model School, Gopiballavpur as our study area which is located in a drought prone area of Jhargram district, West Bengal. Students have conducted a qualitative and quantitative survey on the available water resources in the school campus, usage pattern, loss of water by means of leakage from the tap, analysis of drinking water quality and rainwater harvesting potential. Study revealed that tube well and submersible pumps are the only available water sources in the school campus. Water is used mainly for the purpose of drinking, hand washing, brushing, bathing, toiletry purposes, washing
12 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. of clothes, gardening, dish washing, moping, etc. The quantity of water uses per month in school building measured as 33.45 kL whereas in girls’ hostel 133.74 kL and in boys’ hostel 37.24 kL. Total amount of leakage per month from different taps of school building is amounting 20.304 kL whereas from hostels 7.78 kL. Chemical analysis revealed that both tube well and submersible pumps are safe for drinking purposes. It is interesting to observe that the total rainwater harvesting potential of the school campus is 291.56 kL which is alone sufficient to meet the demand of school around nine months besides other water resources. So a planned management strategy can help us to conserve drinking water for our future generation.
WATER-PRESENT SCENARIO, DEMAND AND CONSERVATION
Tanusree Datta and Asish Kumar Panigrahi* Eco-toxicology, Fisheries & Aquaculture Extension Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, India *Email: [email protected]
Water is the most crucial aspect for country's natural and economic wealth. Presently, demand of water increases due to development of society in many angles including expansion of modern aquaculture and agriculture. Therefore, efficient use of water gains importance to combat with the grave situation of water. Further, degrading of aquatic environment is also of great concern. Annual rain fall in the country estimates at 400 million hectare-metre (ha-m) of which hardly 20% is utilized. In regard to water quality, India ranks 122 out of 130 nations and 132 out of 180 nations for its water availability. Our national target for per capita water availability has been marked as 135 and 180 lpcd in smaller and larger cities respectively. Against the target figure, present water available in various areas is estimated at 27 lpcd in urban areas, 165 lpcd in few larger towns and 50 lpcd in smaller towns. Therefore, a clear scenario is focused about the crisis of water at present leaving aside the future. Overexploiting and misuse is another concern for water crisis. Water stress is a situation whereby issues turn up in an area due to water scarcity which refers to water shortage where a big gap exists between demand and availability. On the other hand, water scarcity refers to the volumetric abundance or lack thereof for water supply in a given area and water stress denotes to the ability or lack thereof to meet the demand. Still whatever water is available at the moment, is needed to conserve rightly for safe use. Availability of healthy water especially for human use directly or indirectly through horticulture and aquaculture fields need immediate attention to keep the society heatlhy for the sake of our future. Aquaculture is another very important sector for the growth of country and
13 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. support the nutritional security as well. This field is under threat due to degradable water, caused by irrational use of fertilizers, in taking of untreated sewage water, pouring of contaminated water from many sources especially from industrial belts, etc. Freshwater cultivable area is estimated at 2.38 million hectare. If all areas are brought under culture system with an average depth of 1.5m, the water requirement will be 3.57 million ha-m focusing a clear scenario about the gap between availability and requirement. Therefore, a separate policy is urgently needed to conserve our natural water resources healthy to build stressless life and harmless biosphere. The present communication throws light in detail on the aspect of water demand and availability besides projected demand of water in various sectors, viz., domestic, irrigation, industry, energy and others. Possible way to conserve the aqua-resource is also discussed.
NEED OF WATER CONSERVATION AT THE VERGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING : THE LEGAL ISSUES IN INDIA
Sangeeta Chatterjee Department of Law, Bankura University, Bankura, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Climate change means changing of earth’s climate system resulting into new weather conditions for a significant period of time. Though earth had witnessed climate changes several times since its inception, but all of those were natural. Present climate change in the earth’s surface is quite different from all the previous instances, because it is thoroughly human created and is the result of global warming owing to human activities. Such global warming has been started from the industrial revolution and has been continued with the increase of urbanisation as well as with the development of modern technologies. Scarcity of water, rising of sea levels, threats to marine lives, decrease of aquatic resources, all are direct consequences of climate change and global warming. The issue of water conservation at the verge of climate change and global warming has become very serious. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 to address the issue. In 2010 the United Nations Climate Change Conference has been organised and in 2015 Action for Climate Empowerment is adopted by UNFCCC in order to build public participation and international cooperation for solving these problems. India is also concerned with these issues and apart from passing the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution)
14 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
Act, 1974, it has taken the National Action Plan on Climate Change in 2008. This plan has eight missions, among which one is the National Water Mission, it is taken to combat with the problem of scarcity of water. In this backdrop, the present study would like to find out the loop holes of existing national and international legal instruments as well to provide suggestions for betterment of contemporary social and environmental scenario.
CHANGING WATER CONDITION AND ITS EFFECTS ON LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD
Anirban Mukherjee Department of Zoology, Vivekananda College, Kolkata Email : [email protected]
India receives annual precipitation of about 4000km3 but it shows a great amount of variability both temporally and spatially. Some amount of water accumulates as underground water, while some accumulates in ponds, lakes and river. With the increased population, per capita water consumption for livelihood increases. According to GoI report at least 22 cities are facing huge water crises in context of water security, quality of service delivery and water safety. People are used to take surface waters from rivers and lakes for their drinking water. Due to high level of bacteriological contamination especially Total Coliform, Fecal Coliform and E. coli contamination in water makes the water unfit to drink and subjected to various health hazards including diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, jaundice, etc. Also, plastics pose a greater threat to water bodies. Chlorinated plastic can release harmful chemicals into the surrounding soil, which can then percolate into groundwater or other surrounding water sources, and also into the ecosystem. Further, one of the main sources of microplastic is our clothing. Minuscule fibers of acrylic, nylon, spandex, and polyester are shed each time we wash our clothes and are carried off to wastewater treatment plants or discharged to the open environment. More than 700,000 microscopic plastic fibers could be released into the environment during each cycle of a washing machine. From agricultural lands, every time it rains, fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste from farms and livestock operations wash nutrients and pathogens—such bacteria and viruses—into our waterways. Nutrient pollution, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water, is the number-one threat to water quality and can cause algal blooms, a toxic soup of blue-green algae that can be harmful to people and wildlife. This current paper deals with the several processes that pose threat to water quality and its effect on life and livelihood issues.
15 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
GROUND WATER CONSERVATION BY RAINWATER HARVESTING UNIT IN A SCHOOL IN SUNDARBAN
Chandrima Sinha* and Ajanta Dey Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, 10 Chowringhee Terrace, Kolkata *Email: [email protected]
Freshwater is a scarce resource in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve area, particularly on the Indian side of the delta though it is crisscrossed by numerous creeks and rivulets and receives a huge amount of precipitation during monsoon. The groundwater is also saline in shallow aquifers. Fresh groundwater is only available at a depth of more than 250 meters. This makes it very difficult for the people to secure a decent livelihood in this area. Powerful pumps and shallow wells used for drawing groundwater are taking a heavy toll on the only source of safe sub soil drinking water on several islands in Sundarban spread across the two districts of South and North 24 Parganas in West Bengal. Large scale rainwater harvesting (closure dam) and roof-top rainwater harvesting could be effective options for water conservation in Sundarban. The schools in Sundarban generally depend on groundwater extraction to meet the demand for various water use like drinking, arrangement of the mid- day meal, washing of hands, washing of utensils, watering of plants in the garden, cleaning the building, water supply in toilets, etc. They generally use tube wells or hand pumps for this purpose. To showcase an alternative model that can be replicated elsewhere, a rainwater harvesting model has been set up in a Bali Nimna Buniyadi School in Sundarban. With this simple model, rooftop runoff is being collected and stored in two storage tanks. A nearby pond in the school premises collects and stores surface runoff naturally during rain and also receives overflowing water from the rooftop storage tanks with the help of a PVC pipeline during the peak monsoon months. During the dry season, pond water is pumped to the tanks with the help of a solar-driven Tulu pump. Rainwater is used for washing and all other purposes except for drinking. This system is functional for 8 months and it is estimated that annually about 36% of groundwater use has been reduced by the installed rainwater harvesting unit.
POTENTIAL ZONES: A CASE STUDY OF JOYPONDA RIVER BASIN, BANKURA, WEST BENGAL
Manas Karmakar1, Monali Banerjee1*, Debasis Ghosh1 and Mrinal Mandal2 1Department of Geography, University of Calcutta, West Bengal 2Department of Geography, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, West Bengal *Email: [email protected]
The ever-increasing population has been producing a huge demand for water day by day. Thus, delineation of groundwater potential zones is one of important parts
16 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. of planning and management for sustainable uses of water. In hard rock terrain, it becomes difficult to identify aquifers without proper investigation. With the help of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS), the task of groundwater exploration can be done more effectively and easily. The Joyponda river basin of Bankura district, West Bengal is manly consisted of two geological formations: soft quaternary sediment in the lower part and hard granite gneiss of Chottanagpur Gneiss Complex in the upper part. The study tries to identify the groundwater potential zones across the river basin. To do this, a total number of 10 thematic layers are used for analysis, such as, geology, geomorphology, landuse and land cover, lineament density, drainage density, soil, slope, rainfall, topographic wetness index and curvature. Weightage of each thematic layer and their sub-classes is calculated adopting the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) technique based on their water potential capacities. Finally all thematic layers are integrated into a single layer i.e., groundwater potential zones map, which is classified into five distinct zones based on availability of groundwater. Water level fluctuation map is also prepared to compare and validate the applied model. The study reveals that about 29.21% of total basin area is found to be very good groundwater potentiality followed by good (15.17%), moderate (14.40%) and very poor (12.01%) potentiality.
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17 JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIOBIOLOGY An Official Publication of Social Environmental and Biological Association
Chief Editor Executive Editors Dr. T. K. Pal, Ex-Emeritus Scientist, ZSI/SEBA Dr. M. K. Dev Roy, SEBA 49-C, Gobindapur Road, Lake Gardens Email: [email protected] Kolkata-700 045 (Mob.-9433016738) Dr. K. Mondal Email: [email protected] Dept. of Zoology, Kalyani University
Managing Editors Editorial Secretary Dr. Anirudha Dey, SEBA Dr. Mousumi Roy, KBBN College, Kolkata Dr. N. C. Nandi, ZSI/SEBA Email: [email protected] Dr. Debkumar Datta Suresh Shah, ZSI/SEBA, Kolkata RKMVCC/SEBA. Email : [email protected] Email: [email protected]
Associate Editors Dr. R. Chakraborty : Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Dr. A. Chatterjee : Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Dr. F. B. Mondal : Bankura Christian College, Bankura, West Bengal Dr. Sankar Kr. Ghosh : Kalyani University, Kalyani, West Bengal Dr. Tapan Chatterjee : ZSI/Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Dr. Swapan Kr. Ghosh : Dept. of Botany, RKMVC College, Rahara, Kolkata-700 118 Dr. A. Mukherjee : Dept. of Botany, Burdwan University, West Bengal
Co-editors Dr. M. S. Malhotra : National Institute of Malaria Research, ICMR, New Delhi Dr. C. Balasundaram : Dept of Animal Science, Bharatidasan University, Tiruchirapalli Dr. Neera Srivastava : Formerly Dept. of Zoology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur–302 004 Dr. S. Mukherjee : National Institute of Public Finance & Policy, New Delhi Dr. Abhijit Mitra : Dept. of Marine Science, Calcutta University, Kol-700 019 Dr. S. Chattopadhyay : Faculty of Forestry, Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi Dr. S. Bandyopadhyay : Formerly Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata
Editorial Advisors Dr. A. Choudhury : Ex-Head, Dept. of Marine Sci., Calcutta University, Kol-700 019 Dr. K. Venkataraman : Ex-Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata Dr. Kailash Chandra : Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata-700 053 Dr. Richard C. Smardon : SUNY College of Environmental Science, Syracuse, USA Dr. Sudhendu Mandal : Dept. of Botany, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan-731235 TECHNICAL SESSION : II BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ISSUES AND MANAGEMENT
Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
ROLE OF PLANTS IN WATER CONSERVATION
Dwaipayan Sinha Department of Botany, Government General Degree College Mohanpur, Paschim Medinipur-721436, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Ever since the advent of civilization, humans have been using water as their chief medium to sustain livelihood and physiological processes. With increase in population, the dependence on water has also increased. In last couple of centuries, with the explosion of human population and exponential increase in urbanization along with popularization of industries, the uses of water has also increased. This has resulted in rapid decline in water table accompanied by scarcity of water. To make the scenario worse, rapid decline in forest coverage also resulted in decrease of rainfall and perturbance of hydrological cycle. Plants have played a major role in water cycle and conservation of water. Their unique morphology and physiology helps them to retain water in their body and also in the soil in which they grow. Various groups of plants have various adaptive measures through which they can preserve water. Some helps to retain water in their stem whereas some lower group of plants absorb and retain water in their thalloid tissues. Some plants also help to maintain the water table in the soil through their elaborate rooting system. The roots penetrate deep into the soil and in the process make way for water to percolate down from the earth’s surface thereby maintaining the water table. Thus, conserving plants and phytodiversity is an effective means to preserve water and maintain balance of hydrological cycle.
EXPLORATION OF PLANT-BASED ASSAYS FOR THE DETECTION AND ESTIMATION OF AQUATIC GENOTOXINS IN NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS
Dipan Adhikari P.G. Dept of Botany, Cell and Molecular Genetics Research Laboratory, Hooghly Mohsin College, Chinsurah, Hooghly, 712101, West Bengal Email:[email protected]
Owing to heavy anthropogenic interferences the chemistry of water (both in surface and ground) has been constatly changing owing to increasing concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids, pesticides, organomercurials, textile dyes, run offs from agricultural fields, excreta from households etc. A preventive measure to detect the environmental hazards that infringe the human health should be established. Since humans are ultimately a part of the ecosystem, ecosystem health encompasses human
21 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. health. There is a concern related with the precision of established tolerated levels, as for certain parameters, even low values may be associated with genotoxic effects. Aquatic pollutants with mutagenic and cytotoxic potentials produce effects such as DNA fragmentation, induction of chromosome aberrations, inhibition of cellular divi sion and cellular cycle. Plant bioassays, which are mostly sensitive for the detection of genotoxicity, may provide a warning of environmental hazards in the water for detection of mutagenicity, genotoxicity, cytotoxicity and clastogenicity had proven to be sensitive, cheap, and effective. In this investigation seeds of Lathyrus sativus L were imbibed in water with different concentrations (ppm) of copper sulphate and Lead Chloride (as sources of variant chemical pollution) to see their mutagenic effect (if any) on germinating seeds. Seed germination, root length inhibition, electrolyte leakage, root viability assay, proline content, histochimcal detection of ROS generation in roots and frequency of chromosomal aberrations (CAs) and nucleolar (AgNOR protein) frequency were performed to elucidate the action of heavy metal-contaminated water on seedling growth and determination of suboptimal tolerance levels. We could see that up to 5 ppm doses different physiological and biochemical changes could account for the depreciative health of this model plant could act as a sensor of genome loss for other cash crops (bioresources) leading to occupational hazards for farmers.
INTEGRATED FISH FARMING IN HALDIA AREAS OF WEST BENGAL - A CASE STUDY OF WATER RESOURCE BASED LIVELIHOOD IMPROVEMENT”
Suman Kumar Sahu* 10, Birangana Block, Sahid Kshudiramnagar, PO-Hatiberia, Dist-Purba Medinipur, Pin-721657, West Bengal; Email: [email protected]
Due to the increasing impact of human activities, water conservation has become a primary aim of environmental management policies. The present case study is based on the field survey in different villages of Haldia Block of Purba Medinipur District of West Bengal. In this context, fish biodiversity represents a good measure of water quality because changes in ecological factors involve qualitative modifications in species composition. Rain-fed pond, the potential of water resources is utilized through scientific diversified pisciculture of integrated fish base agri-livestock farming system and the resulting reduce soil erosion and floods, which in turn beneficial effect human life, animals and other natural resources including fishes immensely in the Haldia region. Integrated fishery management practices related to proper resource utilization, species diversification with new fish species introduction i.e. Amur Common Carp, Pengba, Milk fish, Pabda, GIFT Tilapia rearing as per scientific recommendations has helped in long-term rural livelihood improvement for the fish farmers.
22 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
WILL AVICENNIA ALBA SUSTAIN IN CLIMATIC CHANGE INDUCED SALINITY RISE?
Harekrishna Jana Dept. of Microbiology, Raja N. L. Khan Women’s College, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal; Email: [email protected]
The effect of salinity on chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid and proline content of hydroponically grown seedlings of Avicennia alba was studied to observe its tolerance to changing salinity. The selected seedlings were exposed to five different salinity levels (2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 psu) for a period of 30 days and observations were done at a regular interval of 7, 14, 21 and 30 days respectively. The concentrations of chlorophyll exhibited significant positive correlations with salinity (p < 0.01). The chlorophyll a:b ratio in the plant varied between 3.04 to 3.56 throughout the period of investigation. The salinity fluctuation did not affect the carotenoid level and proline content in the leaves of the species as evidenced from the insignificant r values. The results show that Avicennia alba of Indian Sundarbans region can tolerate and adapt to high saline condition as witnessed in the central sector of the deltaic complex around the Matla River.
INVERTEBRATE HAEMOCYTE: AN EFFECTIVE BIO- INDICATOR FOR HEALTH OF SOIL AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
Susraba Chatterjee*and Srikanta Guria** 1 P. G. Dept. of Zoology, Barasat Govt. College, Barasat, Kolkata-700124, West Bengal; Email address- [email protected], [email protected] *Presenting Author; **Corresponding author
Pesticides, insecticides and heavy metals released into the environment accumulate in soils and water. These can be dangerous to all kinds of organisms. Haemocytes are reported as chief immune effector cells of invertebrates. As such, the objective of present study was to experimentally detect the impact of pesticides and toxicant on the invertebrate immunity, affecting the ecological food chain in nature. Insects (Grasshoppers) were collected from Navegaon and Tadoba National Park areas of Maharashtra, while both grasshoppers and freshwater molluscs (Lamellidens and Pila species) were sampled from agricultural fields and selected aquatic habitats in
23 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
West Bengal. Haemocytes isolated from insects of Navegaon and Tadoba National Parks showed normal cytomorphology. Grasshoppers collected from agricultural fields of North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly districts in West Bengal showed significant percentages of cells with apoptosis, necrosis and paraptosis (vacuolation). Control specimens of bivalve molluscs (Lamellidens species) were exposed to 50 mg/L of Lead Nitrate in water medium and maintained for 20 days in laboratory. Gastropod molluscs (Pila species) maintained in aquariums were exposed to 0.025 mg/L of NaAsO2 (Sodium arsenite) for ten days. Haemolymph collected under experimentally treated haemocytes study showed trypan blue positive response along with cytoplasmic hypervacuolation, nuclear degeneration, membrane rupture and membrane blebbing. Thus, it is suggested to adopt invertebrate haemocyte study to determine the health of soil and aquatic ecosystems and to protect bioresources of the country.
MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE: AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS AND BLUE CARBON
Supatra Sen Department of Botany, Asutosh College, Kolkata-700026 Email: [email protected]
The capacity of mangroves, sea grasses and salt marshes to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is becoming increasingly recognized at an international level. Of all the biological carbon, also termed as ‘green carbon’, captured in the world, over half (55%) is captured by mangroves, sea grasses, salt marshes and other marine living organisms, known more specifically as ‘blue carbon’ and sometimes as marine and coastal carbon. The UNFCCC has called for the sustainable management, conservation, and enhancement of ‘sinks and reservoirs of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol including … oceans as well as … other coastal and marine ecosystems.’ It is therefore possible to integrate coastal ecosystems into UNFCCC mechanisms that already exist, but this is yet to happen in a major way. Mangroves have the potential to adapt to sea level rise, catch runoff from soil erosion leading to accretion of coastal areas, and are of course impressive ‘blue carbon’ sinks. Mangroves, salt marshes, and sea grasses form much of the earth’s blue carbon sinks. Blue carbon has been defined as “the carbon stored, sequestered or released from coastal ecosystems of tidal marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows.” These marine and coastal ecosystems store large amounts of carbon in the plants and the sediment below them. When these ecosystems are degraded or destroyed - which is
24 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. occurring at annual rates of 0.7% to 2.1% for mangroves, 1% to 2% for salt marshes, and 1.2% to 2% for sea-grass meadows - significant amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change risk. Carbon offsets based on the protection and restoration of coastal vegetation could therefore be far more cost effective taking into consideration the enormous additional benefits to fisheries, coastal protection, and the livelihoods of coastal inhabitants. Therefore, cutting down mangroves means releasing larger amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. This in turn causes the wet soil to dry up, leading to the release of even more stored carbon into the atmosphere. Estimates suggest a range of between
150 million to 1 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted annually due to the destruction of mangrove forests globally. Thus, at the global scale, coastal wetland destruction could account for 1-3% of industrial emissions; a number that is on the rise as more and more coastal wetlands are destroyed every year around the world. Thus, aquatic ecosystems offer a unique and highly efficient approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation requiring further analysis and exploration.
DIVERSITY OF FISHES IN DAMODAR RIVER AT MEJIA, BANKURA, WEST BENGAL IN A CHANGING NATURAL RIVER HABITAT
Prabir Banerjee1,Saugata Basu2 and Biplob Kumar Modak3* 1Bhara Madhyamik Vidyaniketan (H.S.), P.O. Bhara Kalibari, Mejia, Bankura, West Bengal 2Department of Biology, Uttarpara Govt. High School, Uttarpara, Hooghly, West Bengal 3Department of Zoology, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]
Fishes of Damodar River in the Mejia Block of Bankura district, West Bengal are facing problems in recent years. In addition to various anthropogenic activities, discharges of effluent from several small industries and coal mines lead to deteriorate the water qualities of the river. The survey sites at Mejia are positioned downstream of the river, in between the Panchet and Durgapur barrage, receiving effluents of Burnpur-Asansol industrial complex. A three years survey has been conducted to record the impact of water qualities on fish diversity and distribution. Seventeen species of fishes belonging to nine different families, viz., Cobitidae, Ambassidae, Channidae, Gobiidae, Bagridae, Mastacembelidae, Cyprinidae, Belonidae and Cichlidae, were collected during surveys conducted in between 2015 and 2018 from four sites of Mejia region. The fish family Cyprinidae comprises of maximum number
25 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. of species, while Ambassidae, Mastacembelidae and Belonidae consist of minimum number. Fish population of different families fluctuates in accordance with the water flow during different seasons. It is noticed that fish population has been declined gradually and some fish species are facing threats in last few decades.
EVALUATION OF BIOTIC INDEX OF MACROINVERTEBRATES IN SELECTED WETLANDS OF WEST BENGAL: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
Anshuman Pati*1, Soumya Dasgupta2 and Soumyajit Banerjee1# 1Ecology and Vector Biology Research Unit, Department of Zoology for UG and PG Studies, Serampore College, Serampore, Hooghly, West Bengal 712201 2DST-NMSHE, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand-248001; *Email: [email protected]
Biological assessment of freshwater habitats aims at characterizing and monitoring the conditions of aquatic resources. Assessment of species assemblage in these habitats will indicate the possible variations in resource exploitation and trophic interactions. Macroinvertebrates are the best indicators of the health of aquatic ecosystem and play an important role in freshwater ecosystem functioning through their differential response to environmental variables, nutrient cycling, primary production, decomposition and biological control of mosquitoes. In the present study eight different wetlands and six different temporary pools and ditches of varying size located in four districts were considered. A total of 15 orders of macroinvertebrates were noted. Cumulative predatory taxa encompassing Coleoptera, Odonata, Hemiptera and Orthoptera accounted to 67.02% as compared to 51.16% of dipteran prey individuals. Based on the biotic index, rice fields at Panskura ranked ‘Good’ to ‘Fair’, while all others ranked ‘Fair’ or ‘Poor’. Trichopterans being the ‘pollution indicator’ was noted at Chandannagar only. During the post monsoon and winter the representative individuals were most abundant. The result of three- way factorial ANOVA also supported this variation. Pearson correlation matrix for the abundance of different macroinvertebrates and water parameters were found to significant (P<0.05), highlighting the relationship between them. In sustenance or restoration of wetlands, the predatory insects are being considered as a flagship species or umbrella species enabling the preservation of the biotic community on the whole. Thus in true sense, these are considered as the service providing units in elaborated ecosystem services like biological control and the shaping the aquatic community.
26 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
BLOOD COMPONENTS AND HISTOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURE OF HILSA SHAD, TENUALOSA ILISHA IN DIVERSE HABITATS
1Md. Faruque Miah, 1Md. Abdul Kader, 1Faria Jarin and 2M. Niamul Naser 1Fisheries and Marine Biotechnology Research Unit, Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh, 2Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh Corresponding Author: [email protected]
The migratory fish Tenualosa ilisha is one of the unique species considering edible and economic aspects. This fish faces many physiological changes at body fluid, cell and tissue level during the time of migration from salt water to freshwater and vice-versa. A comprehensive assay of the blood components of hilsa was investigated considering marine (Kuakata) and brackish (Barisal) habitats, and this knowledge may provide the opportunity to know its physiological requirements among different environments. Different blood parameters, such as, RBC, WBC, platelets, WRR, PWR, Zn, Fe, Ash, Lymphocyte, Neutrophil, Monocyte, Eosinophil, AST, ALT, etc., were observed. The observation of blood indices and biochemical parameters of this study varied between the populations and generally majority of the blood parameters were found in favor of marine fish than the brackish fish. In addition, the tissue of gill, kidney and intestine of hilsa fish was investigated which is mostly related to osmoregulation. The fish samples were collected from river, salt and brackish water of Barisal, Kuakata and Bhola respectively. Tissue of gill, kidney and intestine demonstrates that Barisal individuals show the model migratory structure whereas Kuakata samples shows deviated architectural views and Bhola samples were quiet similar as Barisal. This is base line study of tissue level whereas the findings of this research will be helpful to understand osmoregulation of this fish for freshwater adaptation and sustainable production.
27 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
WATER FOOTPRINTS AFFECTING BIODIVERSITY— AN OVERVIEW
Paramita Saha Sarkar Department of Zoology, Vivekananda College for Women, Barisha, Kolkata-8, West Bengal; Email: [email protected]
Water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business. Animals need freshwater for all physiological activities of the body. Study shows that agricultural and industrial sector has a large impact of water footprint. Dairy and poultry industry share the major onus of water footprint. It is found that among land mammal which consumes the water most per body weight is the cow. Blue, green or grey water footprint determines the status of a country in relation to the water it is consuming, using or polluting due to various uses. Other major mammals which need substantive water for survival are elephants and hippopotamus. With the rise in global climate change and water scarcity, annual freshwater supply is becoming a major challenge and this will severely affect the faunal habitat. Various factors, such as, hydrology, climate, geology, topography, population and demographics, and regional water scarcity should be taken into account when interpreting water footprint. As the water footprint of any animal is always larger, so sustainable use of water is required, involving rigorous assessment of all sources of freshwater to establish the current and future rates of use.
A BRIEF REVIEW ON EFFECT OF WATER SCARCITY ON ANIMALS OF PROTECTED AREAS IN INDIA
Mahuya Patra Purkait Department of Zoology, Sonarpur Mahavidyalaya, South 24-Parganas, West Bengal; Email :
India is not a water deficit country but the country’s water scarcity is due to neglect and poor monitoring of water resources, says a government report. In the present paper the scarcity of water effects on wildlife of protected area of India is briefly reviewed and communicated. The Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, spanning over three districts in southern Karnataka, points to the similar crisis of water that unfolded in the Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves in southern Karnataka. Most watering holes are empty, with even lakes and ponds drying up. Desperately in need of
28 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. water and fodder, the dehydrated animals, especially the elephants are wandering into human territories. On April 18, 2018 three elephants reportedly wandered into Kolathur in Tamil Nadu, in search of water. They ended up damaging crops. A similar incident happened in Pannavadi Parisal Thurai near the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. In February 2017, two wild elephants died due to dehydration within Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in Tamil Nadu’s Udhagamandalam district. The Pench River, which is the major source of water for the rich fauna of the Pench Tiger Reserve, usually experiences shortage of water around the end of April and mostly, dries up during this time. The recently built Chaurai dam in Madhya Pradesh creates water shortage during summers in Totladoh dam and in the Kamthikhairy dam in Maharashtra, just outside Pench. Last winter, acute scarcity of water affected wild animals in the reserve forests near Mettur and Kolathur on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. As a matter of fact it was evident that, in general, the animals were usually straying into the villages around reserve forests in search of drinking water, causing much anxiety to the local residents as well as the forest and revenue officials.
IMPACT OF ALTERATION OF WETLAND CHARACTERISTICS ON MIGRATORY AND AQUATIC BIRDS - A CASE STUDY OF BANKURA DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL
1Susobhan Mondal*, ²Mainak Sarkar, ³Asif Hossain and ³Biplob Kumar Modak 1Sonamukhi College, P.O.-Sonamukhi, Dist.-Bankura, Pin-722207, West Bengal, India ²Bankura Christian College, P.O.-Bankura, Dist.-Bankura, Pin-722101, W. B., India ³Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, P.O. & Dist. Purulia, PIN 723101, W. B., India *Email: [email protected]
Bankura district is mostly a drought prone area, but the presence of some wetlands attracts a number of water-birds from ancient times. To record the impact of anthropogenic activity on migratory and aquatic birds a three years based survey has been conducted at Bankura district. During the study period, 21 wetlands of the district are screened, which documented 9095 individual of water-birds belonging to 48 species under 12 families. During the study, it has been observed that the count of water-birds has been declined to a great extent due to pollution, developmental activities and various other social amusements like boating, picnic near water bodies, etc. Among the 21 wetlands, conditions of 7 wetlands, viz., Bonkati bandh, Chattna bandh, Poabagan bandh, Jamuna bandh, Nityanandapur dam, Sal bandh, and Lal bandh are worsen for migratory and aquatic birds.
29 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
STUDY OF ZYGOPTERAN DIVERSITY ACROSS DIFFERENT LAND-USE TYPES IN PASCHIM MEDINIPUR, WEST BENGAL
Pathik Kr. Jana and Priyanka Halder Mallick* Dept. of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Paschim Medinipur-721102, West Bengal *Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Damselflies are the quintessence of the health of freshwater. Their sensitivity to structural habitat features and amphibious habits make them well-suited for evaluation of long and short term environmental changes. In order to test whether these have specific habitat requirements of damselflies, we performed diversity analysis of prevailing insects at selected sites, primarily aquatic or semi-aquatic ecosystems with varying vegetation types over three seasons – pre-monsoon, monsoon and post- monsoon ranging from March 2018 to February 2019. The study sites were categorized into seven land-use types: Fish Pond (L1), Eutrophic Pond (L2), unmanaged Wetland (L3), Grassland (L4), Paddy Field (L5), Wetland-forest Interface (L6) and Riparian zone (L7). A total of 20 species of damselflies belonging to 10 genera from two families (Coenagrionidae and Platycnemididae) were recorded from PaschimMedinipur. Considering the survey period of one year, Riparian zone of Kangsabati River (L7) was found to harbor the highest species richness (15) and Wetland-forest interface (L6) possessed the lowest species richness (5) in comparison to other land-use types. Taking into account seasonal data, the richness and abundance of damselflies in all land-use types were found to be highest during pre-monsoon. Riparian zone (H7) exhibited maximum richness and abundance over all three seasons. There were certain species that were recorded only from the riparian zone. Therefore, it is evident that the species composition and abundance of damselflies vary significantly with heterogenic habitats. Of the many factors that affect population stability, spatial variation in environmental heterogeneity is commonly identified as a factor that is particularly relevant to conservation.
30 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
ORNAMENTAL FISHES OF DAMODAR RIVER SYSTEM
Lina Sarkar Department of Zoology, Sree Chaitanya College, North 24 Pargana, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
Biodiversity and its conservation are regarded as one of the major issues of enabling sustainable use of natural resources. Ornamental fish diversity is one of the most lucrative fields of fishery due to their magnificent coloration andhigh economic value. Damodar River is one of the major East flowing tropical river and the most important tributaries of River Ganga. Although substantial study on fish diversity of the Damodar has been undertaken, however, current pattern of diversity of ornamental fishes and fisheries has not been explored systematically. Therefore, to find the ornamental ichthyofaunal diversity of Damodar river system detailed explorations were conducted for a period of 4 years. The analysis of data reveals altogether, 37 indigenous ornamental fish species belonging to 26 genera, 15 families and 4 orders. Among all the collected fishes order Cypriniformes shows the maximum species variation, followed by Perciformes and Siluriformes. The present study shows that a good number of ornamental fishes are found in this river system which are listed as threatened under IUCN category and are needed to bring under proper conservation immediately. The study also shows that several ornamental ichthyofauna can breed in the natural breeding grounds of the river despite habitat alterations. Among threats, river regulation, industrialization, habitat destruction, irrational fishing practice, water pollution and lack of proper awareness were recorded. As such, the study advocates for setting priorities for conservation activities of the important riverine resources and sustainable utilization of the fish diversity at national as well as local levels.
AN ASSUMPTIVE VIEW OF FUTURE OF AVIFAUNA OF SANTRAGACHI JHEEL, WEST BENGAL
Sobhana Palit (Paul) Department of Zoology, Sree Chaitanya College, North 24 Pargana, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
In West Bengal, Santragachi jheel is an abode of various migratory as well as resident birds. Considering this scenario, an effort has been made to study and to inventorise the avian faunal diversity of this wetland. This paper reports a total of
31 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. twenty five species of birds classified as abundant, moderate or of rare occurrence. Various anthropogenic activities have influenced the structure and function of this as well as water body of various wetlands of our country. So it is very important for us to make a check list or inventory of faunal diversity of wetlands (avifauna in this case) in order to conserve them. A management strategy has also been put forward as a conservatory effort.
PHYTOREMEDIATORY ROLE OF AZOLLA PINNATA R.BR. AGAINST 2,4-D HERBICIDE CONTAMINATED WATER BODIES
Arnab Kumar De Department of Botany, Ramsaday College, Amta, Howrah, West Bengal Email: [email protected]
The significance of environment including ecosystem to sustainability of water is often ignored. The present work provides evidence that environmental quality depends on the area’s ecosystems which now-a-days are being highly contaminated by different xenobiotics. It can be through effluents of industries or residual contaminants from cultivated land fallows. We should realize that the relationships among the ecosystem and water are dynamic and interactive. Based on these circumstances, the present study has been focused on the phytoremediatory role of an aquatic fern Azolla pinnata R.Br. for detoxification of the contaminants (specially a herbicide: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid). Azolla is a free floating aquatic fern which can double its biomass in just 5 to 10 days. Besides this, it is also evident as a potent hyperaccumulator of different xenobiotics such as heavy metals present in the waste water bodies. In the present study, A discussion, is made about the biotechnological implication of this aquatic fern to quench auxin metabolism as marked with IAA- oxidase activity under simulated 2,4-D concentrations. As a consequence of oxidative stress, Azolla recorded significant moderation with lipid and protein oxidation along with significant variations in antioxidative enzymes against herbicidal toxicity. On more studies Azolla is also evident with in-vitro and in-vivo characterisation for ROS - (O2 and H2O2) sensitivity with respect to regulations of oxidative stress imposed due to herbicidal toxicity. As a consequence, plants still showed it’s tolerance to herbicidal stress despite of nuclear disintegration through release of DNA as detected by comet assay. Therefore, Azolla species with its tolerance to herbicidal toxicity would be a good source for phytoremediation technology for soil and water decontamination.
32 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
STATUS OF AQUATIC MACROPHYTES IN PONDS OF WEST BENGAL –A TIME SCALE EVALUATION
Subir K Ghosh Centre for Sustainable Development, Calcutta & Society for Eco-Aquaculture and Better Environmental Development (SEABED), Kolkata Email: [email protected]
Ponds are usually characterized by natural or manmade shallow and small still fresh water body having considerable aquatic lives with minimum difference of water temperature between bottom and surface. An intensive study was carried out with respect to pond vegetation during last three decades in more or less 100 selected ponds in different geographical locations of West Bengal. The study reveals that Lentibulariaceae, Aponogetonaceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Butomaceae are most threatened families in pond habitat of West Bengal. Population of Potamogeton spp. has been shifted from its earlier habitat. Aquatic macrophytes in fresh water ponds in Sundarban areas has been declined due to mixing of saline water in freshwater ponds during Aila in 2009. Population of Mimulus orbicularis – a salinity sensitive species, became vulnerable due to increase in salinity and change in settlement pattern in the Sundarban belt. Populations of Caldesia oligococca and Caldesia parnassifolia in perennial ponds in semiarid region have been shrinking due to anthropogenic activities in ponds. Increase in pollution load in fresh water wilderness ponds has already resulted in extinction of submerged species like Aldrovanda vesiculosa. Over exploitation, unsustainable fishing activity coupled with lack of awareness about ecology of aquatic macrophytes have collectively resulted in loss of persistent seed bank in many ponds particularly in the Gangetic plains. State level policy is urgently needed for conservation of pond vegetation under the purview of wetland management programme. Conservation of at least one model pond or larger water body in each district in the state is needed for restoring macrophytic diversity.
33 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
REPORTING OF PRESENCE OF THE MICROPLASTIC IN THE GUT OF ESTUARINE FISHES OF INDIAN SUNDARBAN BIOSPHERE RESERVE: A POTENTIAL WARNING IN GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES EFFECTING BIODIVERSITY
Shrayan Bhattacharjee1, Ranjan Das2, Banani Mandal3*, Arunava Mukherjee4 and Punarbasu Chowdhuri2 1Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygaunge Circular Road, Kolkata-700019 2Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygaunge Circular Road, Kolkata-700019 3Department of Zoology, Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College, Kolkata-700033 4Department of Zoology, RKMVC College, Rahara Kolkata-700118 Email: [email protected]
Accumulation of plastic products in estuarine environment is due to improper and continuous waste disposal leads to potential threat to ecosystem structure. According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Microplastic” (fragments of plastic smaller than 5 mm in diameter) generated from primary source of plastic and enter directly into the system. Plastic products are widely found in aquatic zone and gets organismal physiological, behavioural alteration, finally death. The present study reports the presence of microplastics in the gut of various estuarine fishes in Indian Sundarban Biosphere Reserve. The microplastics in general passively consumed by fishes and be a part of their feeding niche, probabilistically hamper the growth and development of organism vis-à-vis damage the integrity of the detritus based system. Study focuses on the alarming situation in respect to increasing pollution level and habitat destruction causing global environmental changes in turns affecting biodiversity.
TIME MANAGEMENT AMONG THE FOREST INHABITANTS FOR USING A SINGLE WATER SPACE
Rina Chakraborty Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Email: [email protected]
There are so many natural or man-made (dug out by Forest Dept. or old days maharajas) water bodies are present in the Indian forests as well as adjacent areas.
34 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
Other than these water bodies there are number of natural streams, falls, rivers and rivulets occur in forest zones. It has been noted that in general there are time space adjustment among the animal species throughout day and night. At dawn several aquatic birds visit the forest water sources; ducks, geese, cormorants used to take food during the morning and afternoon but the birds like kingfishers, storks, herons, cranes are much active mostly in between 9.00 am to 3.00 pm. The herbivores like deer, bovine, hogs use the same water space during dawn and dusk. Using of the same water space for wallowing is a common practice at the day time for rhinos and wild buffaloes and the primates use the same water space in the morning and late afternoon but in the hot summer days both diurnal and nocturnal animals may visit at any time other than their resting period. Elephant bathing in the same water space at dusk is a common practice. Small carnivores usually visit the area at dusk or first quarter of the evening and the large carnivores during mid-night. During the summer months while tiger like large carnivore rests in or near the pool, then all the animals avoid the same water space. It has been noted that due to time management among the animals for using a single water space, usually do not coincide with one another. Not only that, villagers residing in or adjacent to forest use the same water body for their day to day work and ritual activities at noon, when the time is due for rest to the forest inhabitants. The sense of water space time management among the wild animals as well as native people is much more than to-days so called civilized people.
A STUDY ON IMPACT OF POLLUTED AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM ON THE FOOD CHAIN OF FISHING CAT’S (PRIONAILURUS VIVERRINUS) OF DOMJUR, PANCHLA AND DANKUNI WETLAND AREAS OF HOWRAH DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL
Subhadip Mukhopadhyay Dept.of Chemistry, BSN for Boys. Bally, Howrah, West Bengal Email : [email protected]
The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is the state animal of West Bengal and is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List. This piscivorous species is closely associated to the marshlands of Howrah district and they are the most important scavenger of wetland ecosystem. This study examines the impact of water pollution on their food chain. Study area is having industries which emit acidic oxides with other toxic materials which are predicted to increase the acidity of the nearby aquatic
35 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. ecosystem. Samples from the study area show high TDS value with lower DO level. Also, presence of Nitrate and Phosphorous is confirmed by qualitative analysis. Turbidity of the study area samples are also measured through Secchi disc. Water temperature is also measured and it is seen that thermal water lowers the dissolved oxygen concentration at the sediment-water interface, releasing phosphorus from the sediment which increases nutrient concentration, influencing the proliferation of invasive plants and algal blooms indicating eutrophication. This, in turn, often creates foul-smelling water in the marshy lands suggesting “dead zones”. This low DO, high nutrient content area affects on many species of freshwater fish, and the interactions between them, pushing the whole ecosystem into imbalance.
CHECKLIST AND DISTRIBUTION OF ENDEMIC EARTHWORM FAUNA OF INDIA
*C. K. Mandal1, Md. Nurul Hasan2, Bithin Paul, Pritha Saha *Poornima Nailwal * Zoological Survey of India, Northern Regional Centre, Dehradun-248195, India Zoological Survey of India, FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, Kolkata-700016 Authors’ Email: [email protected]; 2 [email protected]
Earthworms are mostly dependent on soil moisture. In all, 242 species of earthworms are endemic in India and not so far reported from any other countries of the world. Out of these 242 endemic earthworms, 6 species are freshwater oligochaetes. A number of researchers worked on Earthworm Fauna of India including endemic species, while workers on Freshwater Oligochaeta are remarkably less in the Indian context. Type locality-wise distribution with number of endemic earthworm species recorded in different States and Union Territories in India are as follows : Karnataka 39 species, Tamil Nadu 38, Kerala 32, West Bengal 30, Andhra Pradesh 13, Madhya Pradesh 12, Meghalaya 11, Odisha 8, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal 5 in each, Himachal Pradesh and Goa 4 in each, Manipur 3, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar and Andaman 2 in each, Assam, Punjab, Gujarat Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir 1 in each. However, due to habitat alteration, pesticide problem, draught, scarcity and pollution in water, distribution, occurrences and diversity of endemic earthworms are decreasing for which needs for water conservation and management are emphasized at the country level.
36 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
DISTRIBUTION AND CHECKLIST OF ENDEMIC LEECHES IN INDIA
*C. K. Mandal1, Md. Nurul Hasan2 and *Poornima Nailwal *Zoological Survey of India, Northern Regional Centre, Dehradun-248195, India Zoological Survey of India, FPS Building, Indian Museum Campus, Kolkata-700016 Authors’ Email: 1 [email protected]; [email protected]
Out of more than 700 species of leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) in the world, 74 species have so far been recorded from India. Due to unique ecological diversity 46 species are endemic in India. The number of endemic leech fauna of India is remarkable in the world because of its natural habitat diversity. Out of 46 endemic leech species, 32 species occur in freshwater, 4 species marine coastal waters and 10 endemic species are recorded from humid terrestrial habitats. Among these, 9 species have been described from West Bengal, 8 Species from Tamil Nadu, 6 species from Bihar, 5 species from Jammu & Kashmir, 3 species from each Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, 2 species each five States, namely, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh and only one species each from Punjab and Maharashtra States. A classified checklist along with State and habitat-wise distribution of endemic leech fauna of India is prepared and communicated in the present paper. The impact of habitat diversity and water ecology on endemism is highlighted.
BIODIVERSITY SUSTAINIBILITY PROJECT REPORT
Ahmed Reja*, Ashish Tiwari, Kaushal Kumar Bari, Jyotish Yadav, Aliya Afreen St. Soldiers Convent School (H.S.), Halisahar, North 24-Parganas, West Bengal (Affiliated by WBBSE); Email: [email protected]; *Teacher
The term biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms. This diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, but also includes genetic differences within species and the variety of ecosystems. The conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity are helpful for sustainable development and human well-being and hence essential to solve a range of societal challenges. In this project work we did a survey in our surrounding area and find out different organisms which are present inthe local area’s biodiversity. We have also tried to find out their special features also.
37 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS FOR FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE: APPLYING A POVERTY LENS IN INDIA
Paramaa Raha Department of Zoology, Bethune College, Kolkata-700006 Email: [email protected]
The warming of the climate system has diminished the amounts of snow and ice with a subsequent sea level rise. The uptake of additional energy in the climate system is caused by the increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Aquatic systems that sustain fisheries and aquaculture are undergoing significant changes as a result of global warming and projections indicate that these changes will be accentuated in the future. The impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture will affect individuals of fishing and fish farming communities in the world as well as in India. Thus, efforts to adapt to and mitigate climate change must be made human-centred. The strategies for adaptation to climate change should emphasize the need for poverty eradication and food security, in accordance with the relevant international agreements. To address the vulnerability of climate change, management systems must create opportunities for fish farming communities to remain flexible, and to be able to sustainably utilize diverse livelihood opportunities. Climate change adaptation should also empower local stakeholders to allow for active participation of the poor and vulnerable to safeguard their human rights. As such, the present state of art report in the Indian context is collated and communicated in the present paper. However, active support for adaptation is required at national, regional and local levels of governance as well.
BARN OWL IMPROVING SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FOR JOYFUL LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF KANCHANNAGAR HIGH SCHOOL PURBA BARDHAMAN, WEST BENGAL
Subhas Chandra Datta Eco-club, Kanchannagar D. N. Das High School (HS), Kanchannagar, Purba Burdhaman-713102, West Bengal; Email: [email protected]
Environment of Kanchannagar D. N. Das High School is an ecosystem complex with landscaping by trees, garden, play area and with pond ecosystem. The environment
38 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. of this school depends on both plants and animals in the school compound in which keeping and caring of Barn owl apparently acts as a keystone species in the food chain relationships. Rats which happen to spoil food items of mid-day meal, rooms and documents are controlled by Barn owl keeping in the school. Bats which inhabit in the big banyan tree and make the school building dirty by their excreta are also controlled by this owl species. Different pests which are found to significantly reduce food production in the kitchen garden in the school are also appreciably kept in control. Barn owl breeding project in the school premises also helps to escalate the vegetation profile of the school area and even keeps the pond ecosystem viable. It is worth mentioning that the Barn owl in this school environment plays the role of top carnivore, predating on mongoose juveniles and bats which are partially dependent on fishes and aquatic animals in the ponds. And, as such, an improved midday meal is possible conserving aquatic biodiversity. In fact, it is observed that Barn owl keeping help improve school environment, arouse interest of students on ecology and food chain relationship as well as biodiversity issues. And, this ultimately contribute to sustainable pond and kitchen garden management, microlimate issues, and also students' health and awareness development including joyful learning experiences.
CHANDIPUR BEACH IN ODISHA COAST SUPPORTING SPAWNING GROUND OF MOLLUSCAN SPECIES : A SURVEY REPORT
Mousumi Roy and Anirudhha Dey* Kishore Bharati Bhagini Nivedita College, Department of Zoology, 148, Ramkrishna Sarani, Vivekananda Pally, Behala, Kolkata-700 060 Email: [email protected] *Social Environmental and Bilogical Association, Kolkata-700034; Email: [email protected]
Chandipur beach of Odisha is one of the most unique sea beaches in the world, because of its strange tidal fluctuation over the flat sea shore. The tidal mudflat with clayey sand here always holds at least knee deep water even at low tide. The unique hide-and-seek of sea water supports a varied range of biodiversity and especially different species of malacofauna. These mollusks use this beach as their spawning ground; the phenomenon was observed in the year 2012 and 2017 and herein communicated. It was revealed that egg masses of 5 gastropods, namely, Natica sp., Thais sp., Neritina sp., Nassarius sp. and Pugilina sp. and one cephalopod Sepia sp. were abundantly encountered on the mid littoral stretch of the beach at low tide among the total 20 molluscan species recorded at the site. The shape, size, colour, attachment site of the egg clutch and number of eggs per clutch differed according to the species. Firm but not hardy sand flat, sufficient moisture content
39 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. on the sand flat as sea water always holds at least 1cm depth during lowtide. Besides, protected and less disturbed ground, low tidal wave and wind, abundance of attachment sites like crab shell, logs, rocks, etc., sufficient amount of planktonic food, more or less steady temperature and water salinity throughout the year are the main factors which help support Chandipur beach as a spawning ground for different marine molluscan species.
INSIGHTS INTO RHIZOSPHERIC BACTERIAL ABUNDANCE OF BRUGUIERA GYMNORHIZA (L.) LAM. FROM THE INDIAN SUNDERBANS
Rajdeep Das*†, Bidisha Mallick†, Debleena Roy†, Sucheta Sinha and Sayak Ganguli†† † Department of Botany, Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata-700 017, West Bengal ††Theoretical and Computational Biology Unit, AIIST, Palta-743122, W. B., India *Corresponding author’s Email: [email protected]
The Sunderbans remain the largest continuous mangrove forest in the world, despite being almost half the size of the area that existed in the late 1800’s. According to the last report of IUCN in the year 2017, Sunderban is considered to be fast deteriorating mangrove recorded to have 40% declined vegetation due to anthropogenicity, natural calamities (cyclone Aila, Sidr, etc.), changed tidal inundation, global climatic change, etc. Being a true mangrove and an important species in the process of succession, Bruguiera gymnorhiza (L.) Lam is one of the most vital members of such ecosystem. The rhizosphere is a zone of active interchange between plants and soil bacteria. Large quantities of organic carbon are released by plant roots resulting in an enrichment of the signature bacterial population and their associated functions. The sturdiness of mangrove plant, such as, B. gymnorhiza (L.) Lam has been related to their inherent physiological resistance and beneficial interactions with associated and specific microbial communities. Development in metagenomics provides a more complete picture of rhizosphere microbiome. In this work we analysed bacterial community of root rhizosphere of B. gymnorhiza using 16s rRNA metagenome next generation sequencing (Oxford Nanopore minion platfrom) and found Candidatus, Ectothiorhodospira, Holophaga, Nitrospira, Pelagibius, Sulfitobacter, Thioalkalivibrio, Vicinamibacter, Woeseia to be most abundant genera, which provides a new insight into the functional and microbial diversity of the rhizospheric assemblage of the plant under study.
40 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
RHIZOSPHERIC METAGENOME DATASET OF THE TERRESTRIAL MANGROVE NYPA FRUTICANS WURMB. FROM INDIAN SUNDERBANS
Wrick Chakraborty1, Paramita Nandy (Datta)1 and Sayak Ganguli2 1Department of Botany, Sister Nibedita Government General Degree College for Girls, Hastings House, 20B, Judges Court Road, Kolkata-700027, West Bengal, India 2Theoretical and Computational Biology Unit, AIIST - Palta 743122, India Corresponding author: Wrick Chakraborty: [email protected]
The Sunderbans or the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is the world’s largest delta which got its name coined from the local name of Heretiera fomes (Beng. Sundari). This delta used to sustain a number of mangrove species, some of which are decreasing day by day and are under imminent threat. As per reports the global annual loss of mangrove cover ranges from 0.16% to 0.39% whereas the annual loss of Indian mangroves is reported to be 0.18%. Nypa fruticans Wurmb. is moderately salt tolerant species and suffers if exposed to pure sea water. In recent years there has been reported decline in their population in the Indian Sunderbans at an alarming rate. The major causes related to the decline being the sea-level rise and seaward anthropogenic encroachment which is narrowing down the habitation zone of the species. Also increasing freshwater demand, rising salinity, global climate change and spatio-temporal variability in precipitation adds to the causes that are responsible for its decline. Microorganisms that colonize the rhizosphere help plants to cope with infection, toxic compounds, and other sources of stress. This work attempts to analyse the rhizospheric abundance of microorganisms around Nypa fruticans Wurmb. to characterise the optimum microbial content for proper survivality of the mangrove species. This is the first study which reports Nypa fruticans Wurmb. rhizospheric association of microorganisms.
41 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
FUNCTIONAL ANNOTATION OF PATHOGENESIS PROTEINS IN SHIGELLA FLEXNERI USING COMPARATIVE GENOMICS
Sarmishta Mukhopadhyay1, Sayak Ganguli2 and Santanu Chakrabarti1* 1Department of Zoology, Government General Degree College, Singur, West Bengal 2Theoretical and Computational Biology Unit, AIIST, Palta-743122, India *Corresponding author Email: [email protected]
The first decade of this century has witnessed depletion of ground water levels at a rate twice that between 1960 and 2000. The increasing human population and overexploitation of water in India, will impact on scarcity of ground water in significant parts of the country by 2040. The exhaustion of ground water aquifers will culminate in increased usage of surface water for drinking and other household chores. Easy contamination of surface waters by filthy sanitation practices, serve as breeding ground and foster spread of an umpteen number of pathogens like Shigella. Diarrheal diseases have always been a proverbial scourge to human welfare since the dawn of civilization and accounts for roughly 1 million annual cases worldwide. The Gram-negative bacteria, Shigella sp., is a predominant diarrheal pathogen and itself accounts for 15% of the diarrheal episodes occurring globally, with the majority of victims being infants and children below five years of age. Shigella is endowed with a very low infectious dose, typically 10-100 individuals of the pathogen are enough to infect a healthy person, producing symptoms within 1-4 days. Shigella enters the human body through ingestion of contaminated food and water and on reaching the intestine, dismantles the epithelial barrier, generating symptoms varying from mild to severe bloody diarrhoea, fever, nausea, abdominal cramps, tenesmus and vomiting. Widespread diversity of Shigella species and the emergence of multi-drug resistant strains in recent years have made it extremely enigmatic to design a successful drug to combat shigellosis. WHO has pinpointed Shigella as a potential target pathogen against which new drugs need to be formulated immediately. This work focusses on comparative genomics methods to identify and annotate hypothetical proteins from the Shigella flexneri genome in quest of identifying novel druggable targets.
42 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
PHYTOCHEMICAL, ANTIMICROBIAL AND COMPUTATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CHRISTELLA DENTATA CRUDE EXTRACTS AGAINST MULTIDRUG RESISTANT BACTERIAL CULTURES AND TARGETS
Meesha Singh1, Sayak Ganguli2 and Mahashweta Mitra Ghosh1* 1 Department of Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata 2 Theoretical and Computational Biology Unit, AIIST, Palta-743122, West Bengal *Email: [email protected]
There has been an abrupt increase in the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and related infections throughout the globe, especially in hospital effluents. There is a dire need to explore novel botanicals with the purpose of identifying potential antibacterial compounds effective against such drug resistant bacteria. This study focuses on the screening of crude ethanolic extracts of an important soil moisture dependent edible fern, Christella dentata. The biochemical tests and antibacterial efficacy assay against cultures of E. coli, Salmonella, Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Lactobacillus indicate the potency of the crude extracts. The study was further extended by text and literature-based identification of active principles from the plant under study. The identified compounds were then tested for their druggabilities and docked against reported targets of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. Results indicate that some of these active compounds can be explored as potential leads for inhibiting the protein targets and preventing the spread of these MDR strains.
PRENATAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE CAUSING GUT MICROBIAL DYSBIOSIS IN JUVENILE MICE
Mainak Chakraborty1, Sayak Ganguli2 and Moumita Bhaumik3* 1ICMR- National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata 2Theoretical and Computational Biology Unit, AIIST – Palta, West Bengal and The Biome, Kolkata-700 064 3ICMR-National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, P-33, C.I.T. Road, Scheme XM, Beleghata, Kolkata-700 010 Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Exposure to arsenic is a major public health concern. As arsenic is reported to cross placenta, achild is exposed to arsenic in utero. Since, gut microbiome colonizes after birth, it is important to understand how arsenic exposure shapes a neonatal microbiome. Dysbiosis in gut microbial population can affect biological processes
43 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. including improper development of immune system, nervous system and metabolic functions that can have long lasting pathologic consequences. The study has been undertaken with the objective of assessing gut microbial dysbiosis in the progenies having arsenic exposure during their uterine development in an experimental mice model. BALB/c pregnant mice were exposed to arsenic trioxide supplemented with drinking water during the period of gestation and lactation. The pups were not being exposed to arsenic supplemented water after its birth. The fecal pellet was collected from the juvenile mice of 4 weeks’ age to study gut microbial population. Our study using metagenomics, highlight the unappreciated colonization of the microbiome in the juvenile mice exposed to arsenic prenatally. These effects may have consequences for susceptibility to various other metabolic and immunological dysfunctions later in life, and thus these findings are of high public health relevance.
BIOMONITORING OF TWO WETLANDS USING BIODIVERSITY INDICES INVOLVING AQUATIC INSECTS
Priti Ranjan Pahari1, Subhadeep Maiti2, Niladri Prasad Mishra3 and Tanmay Bhattacharya4 1,2,3PG Department of Zoology, Tamralipta Mahavidyalaya, Tamluk, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, 721636 4 Formerly Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Paschim Medinipur, West Bengal, 721102 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
Health of two wetlands of Purba Medinipur district, viz., Rajar Dighi (RD) and Khudiram Colony Jheel (KCJ) was investigated on the basis of aquatic insect diversity. RD, a perennial pond with scant macrophytes, subjected to huge anthropogenic interference and cultural eutrophication, is used for commercial fisheries. KCJ in contrast is subjected to little human intervention and is rich in aquatic weeds. RD has less number of insect species (23 species) belonging to Hemiptera (9 spp.), Coleoptera (7 spp.), Odonata (6 spp.) and Diptera (1 sp.) as compared to KCJ which has 30 species under Odonata (13 spp.), Coleoptera (9 spp.), Hemiptera (7 spp.) and Ephimeroptera (1 sp.). RD with higher HB index (7.18) and lower Signal index (3.12), BMWP score (28) and ASPT value (2.8) indicates poor quality water, severe pollution, unstable and poor quality of habitat as compared to KCJ with lower HB index (5.18) and higher Signal index (4.82), BMWP score (45), and ASPT value (5.31), which are suggestive of fair water quality, moderate pollution, relatively stable and average quality of habitat.
44 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON INSECT PESTS IN INDIA
Manish Kanti Biswas Department of Zoology, Surendranath College, M. G. Road, Kolkata-700 009; Email: [email protected]
Global warming is a great concern to both aquatic and terrestrial life forms throughout the world. Rising temperatures and elevated CO2 could result in insect pest range expansion and increased insect outbreaks. Insect-Plant interaction in aqua- terrestrial environs and in agricultural sectors are of prime concern since integrated pest management programs are affected by global warming. The impact of climate change on insect pests may be reflected in their distribution, phenology, activity, number of generations, increasing epizootics of harmful insects and, indirectly, through impact on their natural enemies. Some of the possible effects of global warming on insect pests are presented.
AQUATIC PLANTS OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR: IMPORTANCE, THREATS AND CONSERVATION
Mamta Bhat Department of Botany, School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, BGSB University, Rajouri-185 234 (J&K); *Email: [email protected]
The aquatic ecosystems are the most productive, species rich ecosystem with high socio-economic value. The aquatic plants thriving in these ecosystems not only contribute to the rich diversity but also perform many ecological functions such as minimizing floods, controlling soil erosion, obstructing and isolating various pollutants, providing rich organic matter, nutrient cycling, food, shelter and breeding sites to various aquatic animals. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is endowed with rich biodiversity both terrestrial as well as aquatic in nature. Many rivers and lakes support the diversity of aquatic vegetation in the region. Numerous scientific investigations have been carried out on the aquatic plants which led to report of 164 macrophytes from Kashmir and 72 from Jammu region. However, the aquatic ecosystems which are home to aquatic plants are sensitive to human influences and are degrading day by day. The various factors which pose threat to the existence of these aquatic ecosystems
45 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. are river valley projects, soil erosion, siltation, industrial and urban pollution. Keeping in view the rapid urbanization, increasing population pressure coupled with the global warming, it is necessary to conserve such important group of our ecosystem well in time otherwise it will be lost forever. Thus, the present communication will focus on the diversity and utility of aquatic plants of the region with emphasis to the threats faced by them and the proposed conservation strategies for their sustenance.
A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON MACROPHYTE DIVERSITY AND PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PAHAR DIGHI - A WETLAND IN MAHISHADAL RAJ GARH AREA, PURBA MEDINIPUR, WEST BENGAL
Soma Chanda1 and Bhaskar Bhowmik2 Department of Botany, Mahishadal Raj College, Purba Mediniupur, West Bengal1, 2 Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
Wetland ecosystem forms an important environment for aquatic, semi-aquatic and moisture-loving floral and faunal association. The present work deals with a preliminary survey of Pahardighi, a wetland of Mahishadal Raj Garh area, Purba Medinipur district in West Bengal. A good quantity of water remains present in this wetland throughout the year. As such, the present documentation has been made about its macrophytic diversity in different seasonal basis. As many as 38 plant species of different families have been documented. Different physic-chemical parameters of water have been analysed during the course of study. However, various diversity indices of macro-flora indicate towards its stability of ecosystem.
CORAL BLEACHING AND DEATH: AN OVERVIEW WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA
Sudeshna Ghoshal1 and Aoishik Roy2 1Dept of Zoology, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, Jadavpur, Kolkata-700 032 2Dept. of Zoology, Maulana Azad College, Kolkata Email: [email protected] ; [email protected]
Coral bleaching is the whitening of corals due to loss of its symbiotic algae zooxanthelle and/or their pigments. The coral reefs are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, as extensive reef areas across the globe are affected by this
46 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. event over the past few decades. In most cases bleaching has been attributed to the consequence of a steadily rise in sea temperature caused by unprecedented global warming. Anthropogenic emission of Greenhouse gasses not only increased sea water temperature but it also changes the tropical weather patterns worldwide, which expose corals to an increasingly hostile environment in near future that ultimately ensures its death and destruction. In this way, the world’s most fascinating bio- diversified coral reef ecosystem is now faced with a serious challenge. Despite being covering nearly 0.1% of the ocean floor, reefs host more than one quarter of all marine fish species, in addition to many other marine animals and, as such, often designated as rain forest of the ocean. Additionally, reefs provide a wide variety of ecosystem services such as subsistence food, protection from flooding and sustaining the fishing and tourism industries in India and abroad. So, their disappearance will therefore have economic, social and health consequences besides ecological loss. If the earth’s coral reefs along with its other ecosystems are to have a future, immediate mitigation measures must have taken and it should be towards the direction of reducing CO2 emissions. Only after that, the next decades will witness the reefs along with its all components and will hopefully continue to exist for millennia. In this context, the present state of coral reef ecosystem is reviewed with special reference to India.
STUDY OF THE ROLE OF FRESHWATER MACROPHYTES, HYDRILLA SP. AND VALLISNERIA SP. IN BIOREMEDIATION
Chayanika Roy1, Suchismita Medda2, Santi Ranjan Dey1 and Mitu De3* 1Department of Zoology, Rammohan College, Kolkata-700 009, India 2M.R.K.C. Balika Vidyalaya, Domjhur, Howrah, West Bengal, India 3Department of Botany, Gurudas College, Kolkata-700 054 *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]
Surface water eutrophication can lead to algal and cyanobacterial blooms, die-off of indigenous vegetation, and a serious decrease in biodiversity. Recovery of water quality and the repair of ecosystems damaged by increased nutrient runoff is a research area of importance. Aquatic ecosystem is composed of aquatic flora, fauna and other aquatic organisms. The presence and distribution of each component of an aquatic ecosystem is dependent on the presence and distribution of the other components. Together, all these components maintain the physicochemical parameters of a water body. Macrophytes of freshwater ecosystems have diverse roles to play in the structure and functioning of these aquatic ecosystems. Hydrilla sp. and Vallisneria sp. are predominant freshwater aquatic vegetation of West Bengal. These are source of dissolved oxygen. In this preliminary study role of these macrophytes on two 47 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. other important parameters of water, viz., pH and TDS were observed. The pH restricts as well as promotes growth of some aquatic organisms selectively. TDS (Total dissolved solids) is responsible for osmolarity. The semi-natural setup for Hydrilla and Vallisneria show significant influence in maintaining the pH and TDS of water. The pH of water is stabilized by these two components whereas TDS is decreased by these two macrophytes. Decrease in TDS helps in the removal of pollutant from water. More studies are required to realize the full potential of these two common macrophytes. Initial results indicate that these two plants have potential in the bioremediation of water.
ROLE OF AQUATIC INSECTS IN MONITORING WATER POLLUTION IN HATMA POND, MORABADI, RANCHI.
Neetu Kumari University Department of Zoology, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India Email: [email protected]
Aquatic insects are very versatile biotic components of water bodies in the lithosphere. They play important role in monitoring water pollution. Unfortunately, very little attention has been given to these creatures in understanding their vital role related to the dynamics of water bodies. In general, these are helpful in management of health and water quality bio-assessment through their qualitative and quantitative existence in terms of species rechness and aboundance which are the integral components of species diversity. In other words, species diversity of other insects has been found to be directly related with the health and hygiene of water bodies. In the present paper, the results of statistical computation of species richness and abundance have been inferentally by the application of some advanced statistical software like BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party). FBI (Family Biotic Index) and ASPT (Average Score Per Taxon) in relation to the prevailing physico-chemical parameters of water samples drawn from a very popular and perennial water body called Hatma pond situated behind Ranchi College Campus Building presently known as Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee University. Morabadi, Ranchi, Jharkhand (India). Different values of satistical indices reflected very exciting corelationship, between the species diversity of eight sampled aquatic insects and eleven physico-chemical parameters of water samples of Hatma Pond, Morabadi Ranchi predictive of the qualitative health of water body, helpful in monitoring the water pollution.
48 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
PERCIFORM FISH DIVERSITY OF BERHAMPORE BLOCK, MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR CONSERVATION ASPECTS
1Susanta Kumar Chattopadhyay and 2Kousik Guria 1Formerly Krishnath College, Berhampore, West Bengal-742101 2Ex Department of Zoology, Ballygunge Science College, Kolkata-700 019 Email: [email protected]
India is an exceptional hotspot of freshwater fish diversity with a high degree of endemism contributing to the World’s biological resources. Zoogeographically, the freshwater fish fauna of India as well as West Bengal is quite interesting and offers exceptional opportunity to study the diversity of forms and their distribution. However, the main causes of the decline of native fish species of West Bengal are habitat loss and species introductions. Moreover, the conservation of the freshwater fishes has never been adequately addressed due to lack of scientific dataand perception for the characterization and designating conservation status of threatened fishes. As such, knowledge of the species composition and distribution patterns of fishes are fundamental for conservation and management of native fish fauna. Thus, the present investigation encompasses the different water resources of Berhampore Block of Murshidabad District, West Bengal and the work is restricted to fish fauna of three families, namely, Gobidae , Nandidae and Cichlidae of the Order Perciformes.
SIGNIFICANCE OF WETLANDS IN ARID ENVIRONMENT OF KACHCHH FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Arun Kumar Roy Mahato* and Viral Vadodariya Terrestrial Ecology Division, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj, Gujarat *Email: [email protected]
In spite of desert environment, Kachchh district supports rich biodiversity consisting of 987 species of plants, 44 species of mammals, 374 species of birds, 37 species of herpetofauna and numerous invertebrate species. The district’s has unique wildlife includes flamingos, bustards, wild ass, caracal, desert cat and many more. Considering the rich biodiversity and important wildlife’s, one Biosphere Reserve, four (4) Wildlife Sanctuaries and one Conservation Reserve were established. The Protected Areas (PAs) of the district spread in 13133.18 km2, which is 76.8% of the total PAs of Gujarat state. 49 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
Rann of Kachchhan marshy saline wetland spread in more than 23000 km2 and is the largest wetland of the country provide feeding and breeding ground for large number of migratory water birds. Chharidhandh is a seasonal freshwater wetland located along the fringe of the Banni grassland and is one among the four Conservation Reserves of the country which is the wintering ground for large number of migratory birds coming from many parts of the world. In addition to these major wetlands, the district has coastal wetlands along 400 km coastline and more than 300 seasonal inland wetlands are distributed in the district which are important habitats for dryland biodiversity. However, in spite of rich biodiversity, the arid parts of the district is facing several challenges from ongoing climatic change, desertification, land degradation and various anthropogenic activities which impact upon various natural ecosystem of the district including vital wetland ecosystems. Thus, comprehensive conservation and management measures are required to save the wetlands in arid land for the ecological functioning and sustainability.
AVIFAUNAL DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF SMALL SIZE WETLANDS IN ARID ENVIRONMENT OF KACHCHH, GUJARAT
Prapti J. Gohil1 and Arun Kumar Roy Mahato2* 1Shree Ramkrishna Institute of Computer Education and Applied Sciences, Surat, Gujarat 2Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Mundra Road, Bhuj, Kachchh-370001 Gujarat, India *Email: [email protected]
Wetlands in arid and semi-arid regions are globally recognized as priority environments for conservation because of unusually high endemism rates, migration habitat, and its ecological importance. Small size wetlands in dry and sub-humid lands are often of crucial importance for large number of avian species. Kachchh district of Gujarat despite falling in arid region is rich in terms of wetlands and dependent avifauna. Except the popularly known larger wetlands, the avi-fauna of small size seasonal wetlands are poorly documented. Therefore, a study was carried out in winter month of 2017 on three selected small wetlands (Ishwarsagar lake, Devisar lake and Vandh lake) around Bhuj city of Gujarat to document avian diversity and importance of these wetlands for avi-fauna and human being. A total of 25 species, 51 species and 35 species of avi-fauna, altogether 64 species were recorded respectively from these wetlands. Among the recorded birds, 19 species under 16 genera, 14 families and 7 orders were terrestrial while rest 45 species under 34 genera, 18 families and 6 orders were water birds. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’) of recorded avi-fauna were calculated as 2.29, 2.79 and 2.56
50 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. respectively for these wetlands. The species diversity of these wetlands represents moderate level of bird species diversity. The wetlands are seasonal and support avi-fauna for three to six months depending upon the rainfall. Small wetlands are considered a refuge for biodiversity, but the importance of natural and man-made wetlands for the maintenance of bird diversity in human-dominated landscapes is not well-known in the arid landscape. In conclusion, small size wetlands are vital feeding and breeding habitat for the diverse avi-faunal species. However, negligible attentions are given for these wetlands. Thus, the small size fragile wetlands of arid areas need conservation attention to avoid irreversible loss of biological diversity.
WATER BIRDS IN URBAN WETLAND ENVIRONMENT- A STUDY IN HAMIRSAR LAKE, BHUJ CITY, GUJARAT
Pooja Gandhi, Anuja Gohil, Swati Das and Arun Kumar Roy Mahato* ARIBAS, New Vidyanagar-388121, Gujarat Zoological Survey of India, New Alipore, Kolkata *Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj-370001, Gujarat *Email: [email protected]
A study was conducted on the flock size and composition of eight (8) selected bird species, which are commonly found in Hamirsar Lake, situated in the centre of Bhuj city, Gujarat. This is a historic lake and an important recreational place for the city people. This lake attracts large number of aquatic birds from the nearby areas of Bhuj city. Systematic survey and scan sampling made during summer season to observe the flock size and population composition of water birds which includes; Black-winged Stilt, Greater and Little Cormorant, Indian Shag, Little Egret, Painted Stork, Lesser whistling Duck and Spot billed Duck. It was found that the mean flock size of Spot billed Duck (92.17±7.51) was largest among the selected species of birds while smallest flock size recorded in Indian Shag (8.72±0.8). It was also recorded that the mean flock size of Greater Cormorant (23.11±6.38) was larger than little cormorant (10.28±1.24) even after comparatively big body size. The analysis of population composition of selected bird in the lake, it was found that Spot-billed Duck constitute highest (47.9%) population among selected bird species and Lesser whistling Duck (4.63%) recorded least population among other bird species. The analysis on percentage composition of bird in different day time period, it was observed that the population composition varied between morning, noon and evening hours. In conclusion, the flock size was found large in large size bird species and vice versa. Similarly, the percentage population large size aquatic bird species was recorded highest and vice versa.
51 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
ANALYSIS OF PLANT ANIMAL ASSOCIATION IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT: A CASE STUDY OF MOLLUSCS AND ALGAE ASSOCIATION
Sulagna Roy1, Chayanika Roy2, Mitu De3 and Santi Ranjan Dey2* 1Department of Botany, Shantipur College, Nadia, West Bengal 2Department of Zoology, Rammohan College, Kolkata-700 0 09 3Department of Botany, Gurudas College, Kolkata-700 054. *Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Aquatic ecosystem composed of both aquatic flora and fauna. They interact together in maintaining the aquatic ecosystem. The presence and distribution of each component of an aquatic ecosystem depends on the presence and distribution of other components. Molluscan species is an integral part of aquatic ecosystem, which is a also good bio-indicator. They are microphagous as well as macrophagous animals. The macrobenthos like Unio marginallis are important component of detritus food chain. They are frequently found associated with algae as symbiotic agent. The present study is concerned about the association of three different molluscan species Unio marginallis (Macrobenthos), Pila globosa (Amphibious) and Bellamya bengalensis (Nectonic) with algae. The associations of these three species were observed in semi-natural condition in Rammohan College. These aquatic animals were collected from Subhas Sarobar, Kolkata and maintained for one year (June 2018 to April 2019) in a tank of 10 feet diameter and 12 feet deep and were observed. The symbiotic algae were collected from the shell of the Mollusca by a scalpel and were observed under Microscope (Olympus CX21) for identification. Symbiotic associations of Diploneis sp., Synedra sp., etc., were noticed on shell of Unio marginalis. While Gyrosigma sp., Navicula sp., were present in association with shell of Pila globosa and Oscillatoria sp., Lyngbya sp., etc., were found with Bellamya bengalensis. The seasonal abundance of different stages of these algae was also studied.
52 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
STUDIES ON AMPHIBIAN POPULATION DECLINE IN AND AROUND MOTIJEEL WETLAND, MURSHIDABAD DISTRICT, WEST BENGAL
Soumima Chattoraj1 and Santi Ranjan Dey2* 1Department of Zoology, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235, Nadia, West Bengal 2Department of Zoology, Rammohan College, Kolkata-700 009. *Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Amphibians are critical components of both aquatic and terrestrial communities; therefore anthropogenic factors that negatively affect amphibians may influence entire ecosystems. They occupy diverse trophic niches, from planktivores to carnivores, and often serve as abundant and important prey for wildlife. Moreover, the ectothermic physiology of amphibians allows them to exploit energy-poor resources and thus serve as critical links between the lowest and highest trophic levels within a community. Surveys were made on the population of amphibians from 2014 to 2019 in the Motijheel wetland area of Murshidabad, West Bengal in Pre monsoon, Monsoon and Post Monsoon periods. Eleven amphibian species were recorded from Motijheel wetland area in 2014 along with their population density. Decline in the number of species richness as well as abundance was recorded from the Motiijheel from 2015 to 2019, and compared with that observed in 2014. Rapid development of anthropogenic activities is recorded in and around the Motijheel area, which may be one of the probable reasons of decline in amphibian population in Motijheel wetland, West Bengal.
EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON MYXOZOAN PARASITE DIVERSITY OF RIVERINE FISHES IN WEST BENGAL
Saugata Basu1*, Mugdha Basu2 and Biplob Kumar Modak3 1Dept. of Biology, Uttarpara Govt. High School, Uttarpara-712258, Hooghly, West Bengal; *Corresponding Author- Email: [email protected] 2Dept. of Chemistry, Chandernagore College, Chandernagore-712136, Hooghly, West Bengal. 3Dept of Zoology, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia-723101, West Bengal; Email: [email protected]
Climate change has emerged as the most serious and extreme global challenge of the 21st century. Change in climate has consequences on the biophysical environment
53 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. such as changes in the seasons, retreat of glacial, decrease in Arctic sea ice extent and a rise in sea level. In the last 100 years average global temperature has increased by 0.74°C, rainfall patterns have changed and the frequency of extreme events increased. Moreover, various biochemical processes in different water bodies are also affected due to changes in the climate. These changes have already had an observable impact on fish biodiversity at the species level. Estimates say that 31.4% of global fish stocks are at biologically unsustainable levels. In freshwater fish diversity, India is eighth in the world and third in Asia. Rivers flowing through Eastern and North Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats have been designated as global hotspots of freshwater biodiversity. At the same time the rivers support millions of indigenous people in their livelihoods. Today riverine biodiversity, river-dependent communities as well as most of the Indian Rivers are facing major threats from change of climatic condition. Fish diversity, parasitic infection and seasonal fluctuations of the rivers are very important matters in this changing scenario. As the diversity of host fishes is indefensible biologically, threats are imminent for their parasites too. A preliminary study on myxozoan parasites of riverine fishes of different districts of West Bengal were conducted in different seasons throughout the years 2015-2017. This study shows that the rate of myxozoan infections in some of the common food fishes are, although, increased but some of the myxozoan species are not recorded due to unavailability of specific riverine fish stocks too.
STUDY OF THE CHANGES IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT CAUSED BY WATER SOLUBLE CHROMIUM AND CHROMIUM INDUCED CHANGES OF SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN MICE
Sarmishtha Chanda Department of Physiology, Sister Nibedita Govt. General Degree College for Girls, Kolkata-700 027; Email: [email protected]
According to environmental protection agency (IARC 1999, IARC 2001) chromium is a human carcinogen. In our country contamination of water bodies and soil has been reported which is much higher than the prescribed threshold level by the US Protection agency, i.e., 0.1 mg/L 200 ppb. Human are exposed to industrial and environmental chromium through drinking water, food and inhalation in painting industry. Exposure to such routes may causes chromium induced cancer of lung and gastrointestinal tract. In this present study, water soluble chromium (hexavalent) was 54 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. fed to BALB/c mice for 3 months with the help of gavage in 3 different doses, 50mg/ Kg body weight, 100mg/Kg body weight and 150 mg/Kg body weight along with a control. After 3 months MDA (Malondialdehyde), GSH (Glutathione), Catalase, Body Weight and SOD (Superoxide dismutase) were measured. Considerable variations were observed in all the parameters respectively. The exposure of chromium and variation in parameters are having correlation. From the above experiments we can easily infer the toxic effect of chromium in mammalian system.
HABITAT PREFERENCE OF AVIFAUNA IN TWO WETLANDS OF MURSHIDABAD, WEST BENGAL, INDIA
Santi Ranjan Dey1 and Mitu De2* 1Department of Zoology, Rammohan College, Kolkata-700 009 2Department of Botany, Gurudas College, Kolkata-700 054. *Corresponding Author: [email protected]
Data on the temporal and spatial changes in richness, abundance, and species composition of different wildlife in the different habitats is very important to assess ecosystem health. Wetlands are one of the most valuable types of ecosystems at a global level, yet they are among the most endangered ecosystems. Wetlands are important habitats for a variety of aquatic and terrestrial wintering and migrating avifauna. They are also reproduction sites for many resident species. Comparative avifaunal diversity is an excellent indicator of ecosystem stability because birds respond quickly to changes in their environments. In this study, we consider the habitat characters of two wetlands, viz., Ahiran (24° 31´ 15´´N and 88° 2´ 21´´ E) and Motijheel (24° 9´ 42´´ N and 88° 16´ 33´´ E) of Murshidabad district of West Bengal, which are 80 Km apart. Ahiran wetland was represented by 20 ± 4 bird species in the winter season of 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 (December to February) whereas Motijheel wetland was represented by 31 ± 3 bird species in the winter season of 2016-2017, 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 (December to February). An attempt has been made to compare the alpha diversity by Shannon- Weiner index and to correlate the habitat component and condition of these two water bodies. A relationship between the resident avifauna and vegetation has also been found in this study. From this study it is also inferred a relationship between migratory bird population and habitat quality in the two wetlands.
55 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
CLIMATE SMART TROPICAL TUBER CROPS FOR ENSURING FOOD, NUTRITIONAL SECURITY UNDER ERRATIC CLIMATE AND WATER RELATED STRESSES
Archana Mukherjee* ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram-695017, Kerala, India Email: [email protected]
The tropical tuber crops, viz., Cassava (Manihot esculenta), Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Taro (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott), Greater yam (Dioscorea alata) and Elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) are important food cum vegetable crops. Tuber crops are associated as ethnic food since early human settlement. Till date, these crops provide 6% dietary calorie of the global population. All these crops are efficient converter of solar energy to food energy, viz., cassava (250 x 103 kcal/ ha), sweet potato (240 x 103 kcal/ ha) as compared to other crops like rice (76 x 103 kcal/ ha), wheat (110 x 103 kcal/ ha) and maize (200 x 103 kcal/ ha). Their high calorie values (360-386/100g), starch content (16-32%), vitamin contents including β-carotene (4-16mg/100g), anthocyanins (90mg-1g/100g) are specific traits to combat malnutrition. The “minerals” and “fiber” contents are 1.5 to 5 times higher in these crops than rice and wheat. Micro nutrients like Zn, Fe (0.08-2mg/100g) in sweet potato, elephant foot yam, taro and Lutein in sweet potato leaves as well as omega-3 fatty acid of elephant foot yam can play significant role as source of healthy, functional food. Over the years, the world has witnessed that these crops could survive the vagaries of climate and served as ‘Saviour crop’. Cassava, yams, sweet potato can sustain drought whereas taro can grow under water logged conditions. Some of these can tolerate salt stresses (4-8dSm-1). In general, tuber crops require less water to produce a kg of tuber than a kg of grain yields of cereals. Crops like sweet potato, taro and yam require (383 l), (603 l) and (343 l) water respectively as compared to rice (1673 l), maize (1222 l),wheat (1827 l). Further these crops also have potential to reverse soil degradation, to grow under elevated temperature and CO2 concentration. India harbours 833.10 million people in 6, 40, 867 villages including hilly, backward and coastal areas. A large number of such people are still deprived of food and nutritional security. Tropical tubers can play significant role for ensuring food, nutritional security under erratic climate and scarce resources of soil and water. The innovative tuber crops technologies developed at ICAR-CTCRI can address the issues like ‘Food insecurity’, ‘malnutrition’ with related issues of ‘climate change’ pertaining to ‘salt, moisture and water logging stresses’. Such studies have greater relevance for uplifting these low status ancient food crops as ‘future smart affordable sources’ for better health and wellness.
*Retired Director, ICAR-CTCRI 56 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
USE OF GREEN ZINC-OXIDE NANOPARTICLES AS NANOANTIBIOTICS AND WATER DISINFECTANT IN FRESHWATER AQUACULTURE
Puja Pati1, Kausik Mondal1*, Madhusudan Mandal2 1Department of Zoology, Kalyani University, Kalyani, Nadia-741235, West Bengal, India 2Department of Chemistry, Mahadevananda Mahavidyalaya, Barrackpore, Kolkata-700120, West Bengal, India. *Email of corresponding author: [email protected]
Aquaculture industry experiences great problems with pathogens (e.g., bacteria) that are generally controlled by water sterilization with chemical disinfectant and antibiotics as well as by supplementing antibiotics in aqua feed. Use of traditional disinfectant and antibiotics in large amounts possess several limitations like high cost, increased resistant of pathogens, proliferation of opportunistic species, and negative effects on non-target organisms. In the present study, green zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) have been synthesized through a simple and efficient biogenic synthesis approach. Here, extract of inner gel portion of Aloe vera leaf (AVGE) was used for synthesis, exploiting its reducing and capping potential. Use of plant material reduces risk of further contamination as it is naturally biodegradable as well as reduces reaction time. Structural, morphological and optical properties of synthesized nanoparticles have been characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography. XRD analysis provided the average size of ZnO-NPs around 25 nm. FTIR spectral analysis suggested the role of phenolic compounds, terpenoids and proteins present in AVGE, in nucleation and stability of ZnO-NPs. The bactericidal effect of synthesized AVGE- ZnO-NPs has been studied against gram negative pathogenic bacteria Aeromonas veroni strain ONKP1 (MN602971) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia strain ONKP2 (MN602972) which were isolated from freshwater fish, Oreochromis nilotica. The works elucidate a simple, economically viable, environmentally benign, sustainable and convenient method for AVGE-ZnO-NPs synthesis for possible application as nanoantibiotics, nutrient carrier and water disinfectant in aquaculture.
57 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
PLANKTONIC COPEPOD DIVERSITY IN INDIAN WATER
M. K. Dev Roy Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata Email: [email protected]
Copepods are one of the most important and successful group of taxa colonizing all parts of the pelagic environment of both marine and freshwater ecosystems. They are the largest and most diversified group of crustaceans outnumbering even the insects in terms of their numerical abundance. Copepods may occur as plankton, benthos or parasites. In the present communication, a total of 538 species of planktonic copepods have been recorded from seas, estuaries, rivers, lakes and ponds of India. These comprise of 343 species of marine, 140 species of estuarine, 98 species of brackish water and 177 species of freshwater copepods. Within the group of copepods, calanoids dominated numerically, accounting for 53.3% of the total number. Cyclopoids, poecilostomatoids, harpacticoids, monstrilloids and siphonostomatoids ranked next in order, each contributing to 26.6%, 5.0%, 11.8%, 1.0% and 2.7% respectively. Family Cyclopidae represented by 18 genera and 114 species formed the largest speciose group which is followed by Diaptomidae (23 genera and 62 species) and Pontellidae (6 genera and 44 species). Plaktonic copepods form a major part of diet of many commercially important fishes (either in their larval or adult stages) and aquatic animals in marine, estuarine, backwater and freshwater ecosystems. In aquaculture, copepods serve as food for small fish, micropredators of fish and of other organisms. In recent time dueto rapid urbanisation and large scale pollution in various aquatic ecosystems many of these water bodies have disappeared / or are greatly affected at an alarming state and has thus necessitated/or are called for attention of their conservation along with their habitats.
58 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
A REPORT ON THE FRESHWATER SNAIL DIVERSITY AND SEASONAL VARIATION AT A SUB-URBAN ZONE IN SOUTHERN WEST BENGAL: ROLE AS BIOINDICATOR
Adrita Chakrabarty, Swarnali Das, Sreemoyee Ghosh, Karabi Mahato, Priya Saha, Tunisha Das, Tapas Kumar Misra, Srinjana Ghosh* P.G. Department of Zoology; Bethune College, Kolkata-700 006 *Corresponding and presenting author: [email protected]
Freshwater snails provide significant ecosystem functionalities like nutrient recycling, maintaining balance in food web and water qualities. They may act as potential bioindicators reflecting the health and hygiene of an existing aquatic habitat and ecozone. The present study aims at documenting the diversity and abundance of freshwater snail community on a seasonal basis in a suburban locality of southern West Bengal. Four different sampling stations were selected with different land usage property and representing differential physicochemical properties of the habitats occupied by the snails. The community indices were estimated to assess if their exist any significant difference in habitat distribution profile and resource utilisation pattern of the focal species on spatial and/or temporal basis. The present study has shown that in premonsoon highest abundance (73%) by Thiara sp. whereas Limnea sp. was higher (67%) in winter. It is found that species richness was highest (81%) in grassland pond. Total abundance of different freshwater snail was highest (64%) in domestic pond. Outcome of the present study may be helpful in understanding the community interaction and maintenance of overall integrity of the ecosystem.
UNFOCUSSED WEALTH OF RIVER LOHIT- A TRIBUTARY OF RIVER BRAHMAPUTRA OF THE NORTH-EAST INDIA
P. Nath, T. K. Pal* and S. C. Dey *Social Environmental and Biological Association, Kolkata *Email: [email protected]
Lohit is one of the major tributaries of the mighty river Brahmaputra of the north-east India. River Lohit (nee Rongtochu) originating from the upper reaches of eastern Himalaya in Tibet flows for about 433 km, mainly through eastern Arunachal
59 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
Pradesh, before its confluence with river Brahmaputra near Sadiya (Assanr) atan elevation of about 113 m. Lohit branched into three main course, namely, Digaru, Kamlang and Noa Dihing at lower elevation in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh before merge with river Brahmaputra. The river has high discharge of water annually and contributes significantly to the water sources of eastern Arunachal Pradesh as well as river Brahmaputra. A number of human settlements, villages and small township have come up through ages along the course of the river at different elevations. Parsuram Kund, an important place of worship of Hindus is located on the bank of river Lohit above Tezu, the headquarters of Lohit district. Arunachal Pradesh has been blessed with a number of rivers and hill streams which harness a diverse fish fauna. About 143 species belonging to 61 genera under 21 families have yet been recorded from the water course of the State, and river Lohit harbours a majority of this assemblage. Important fish species are; Barilius barna, B. bendelisis, Crossocheilus latius, Glyptothorax poetinopterus, Schizothorax progastus, Euchilglanis kamengensis, Aboricthys kempi, Amblyceps kempi, A. apangi, Bhavaria arunachalensis, Sisor rhabdophorus, Olyra longicaudata, etc. Many of these species share with the ichthyofaunal diversity of various north-eatern states. The terrain through which river Lohit passed have been endowed with rich vegetation, luxuriant forests and productive soils. The hilly terrains harbour rich wildlife and terrestrial fauna apart from the aquatic life. The region has less population in past which has gradually been increasing being change in livelihood and the wave of modern development. Though the water course of the region harbours enough freshwater fishes and tribal people of the area preferred different wildlife animals as food, and hunting of animals and food gathering from forest remained the primary activity of the human folk. With increase in population, change in social scenario and denuding wildlife. The flow of food resources has been shifted to agriculture, animal husbandry and fishing. In recent time, fish catching location and fish mahals have been set up and the lease for fishing are granted to interested persons. For production of fishes, fish bypass or shallow pools, by diverting river waters, can be created inplateau areas. These pools can further provide water for agriculture in need. The lotic water of the river has high hydroelectric power potential. Hence, a hydel power project is being set up to meet the increasing demand of electricity of the people and for development. This river has significant aquatic life, potentialities to serve water requirement for agriculture, animal husbandry, need of drinking water, as well as potentialities of recreation and river rafting, etc., some of the potentialities of river Lohit are indicated in this presentation.
1. Formerly Directorate of Fisheries, Arunachal Pradesh; Present Address: Kolkata 2. Formerly Zoological Survey of India; Present Address: SEBA, Kolkata 3. Formerly Zoology Department, Gauhati University; Present Address: Kolkata
60 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt.
EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON BIODIVERSITY: A REVIEW ON NATIONAL AND GLOBAL SCENARIO
Hemanta Adhikary Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, Kolkata; Email: hemantaadhikary1996gmail.com
Biodiversity and its components are very much integrated and sensitive to nature. Climate change has put on a great threat upon biodiversity especially during the last decade. Loss of the biodiversity due to climate change is altering the structure and function of different ecosystems. The average global temperature is rising rapidly and will increase 6.40c at the end of twenty first century according to IPCC reports. Not only temperature rising, there are other negative impacts of climate change like ocean acidification is causing serious damages to coral reefs. High precipitation rate is another harm causing effect of climate change and one of the serious threats to biodiversity. The current extinction rate is 2.6 for per 10,000 per year in case of vertebrates. Change in ocean currents, high concentration of green house gases, sea level rise, change is land use are the other major effects of climate change affecting the biodiversity which will lead to a situation of major biological, environmental, economical and social problems and conflicts. In the present paper the effect of climate change on biodiversity will be communicated as a global concern with special reference to India.
IMPORTANCE OF SMALL WATER BODIES FOR CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY WITH REFERENCE TO INDIA
Tanmoy Rudra* and Arnesha Guha Scientific and Environmental Research Institute, Kolkata; *Corresponding author: [email protected]
Small water bodies, including ponds and small lakes, low-order streams, ditches and springs, are the most numerous freshwater environments These habitats are vital for freshwater biodiversity but remain largely overlooked and widely excluded from government policies. Small standing waters (ponds and small lakes) are particularly important compared to other freshwaters. Because small water bodies vary significantly in their species compositions, overall they often contribute more to regional biodiversity than rivers or other habitats. Small water bodies usually contain a wide variety of life forms including bacteria,
61 Nat. Sem. on Water Conserv. and Harvesting: Focusing Biodiversity Issues and Magmt. fungi, and protozoan; bottom-dwelling organisms such as insect larvae, snails, and worms; free floating microscopic plants and animals known as plankton; large plants such as, grasses and reeds; and also fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. On top of this, small water bodies are relatively small and easy to manage environments. Human interventions in the ecosystem tend to deliberately reduce this diversity. The restoration, conservation and management of water bodies require a thorough understanding of what constitutes a healthy ecosystem. The research paper will examine the significance of small water bodies in conserving biodiversity.
ECOTOXICOLOGICAL IMPACT OF FLUORIDE TOXICITY ON NEURAL FUNCTION AND NERVOUS HOMEOSTASIS OF FISH [CHANNA SP.]
Suvendu Ghosh1 and Sarmila Pal2 1P.G. Department of Physiology, Hooghly Mohsin College, Chinsurah, West Bengal 2P.G. Department of Zoology, Hooghly Mohsin College, Chinsurah, West Bengal; Corresponding author : Email : [email protected]
Fluoride contamination of ground water has now become a major geo-environmental issue in many parts of world due to its toxic effects. Fluoride levels in surface water, ranges from 0.01 to 0.3 mg/L in freshwater and from 1.2 to 1.5 mg/L in seawater. The presence of fluoride in aquatic water is potentially dangerous above tolerable levels to biotic components of ecosystem especially in fishes. In the present study, in vivo modelling of aquatic fluoride contamination has been performed to predict the effect of fluoride in inhibiting enzymes involved in cytotoxicity, membrane bound ion transport, and neurotransmission induced neurotoxicity that affects neural homeostasis. In vivo study was performed by administering Sodium Fluoride (NaF) to Channa sp., for 30 days and after treatment period, total protein, Monoamine Oxidase (MAO), Acetylcholine Esterase (AchE), Lactate Dehydrogenase, antioxidant enzymes, sodium potassium ATPase, cholesterol and phospholipid in cerebrum were estimated in treated and control groups. Decrease of total protein (mg/gm) in cerebrum (p<0.05); increase of MAO (mU/g/ min) in cerebrum (p<0.05); increase of AchE (µmol/mg/min) in cerebrum (p<0.05); decline of total phospholipid and antioxidant enzyme activities along with a fall in sodium potassium ATPase activity was noted. Thus sodium fluoride impairs neuronal function of cerebrum in blotch leading to degenerative neural disease and a subsequent fall in cognitive function similar to that of ageing.
62 Social Environmental and Biological Association (SEBA) Reg. No. S/IL/22805 of 2004-2005
EXECUTIVE BODY OBJECTIVES OF SEBA President Dr. Supatra Sen ★ To promote and encourage social and environmental education. Vice-President ★ To create awareness in protection, preservation and restoration of Dr. N. C. Nandi environment, biodiversity and cultural tradition of India. Dr. Rina Chakraborty ★ To undertake research projects as well as to provide advisory service Secretary relating to social, biological and environmental sciences, aquaculture, Dr. M. K. Dev Roy wildlife and wetlands. Treasurer ★ To undertake socio-cultural, environmental and biodiversity awareness Dr. Anirudha Dey programmes by organising outreach programmes, seminar, workshop, Asstt. Secretary exhibition and nature study camp. Dr. Sujit Pal ★ To collaborate with non-Government and Government organization to Dr. B. K. Modak promote social, environmental and biological education, awareness, Members conservation and research. Dr. T. K. Pal ★ To publish journals, newsletters and leaflets containing research Dr. Amalendu Chatterjee papers, review papers and popular articles for the fulfillment of Shri Kajal Ghosh foregoing objects. Dr. R. P. Barman Co-Opted Member Dr. Mitu De Dr. Mrinal Mukherjee OUTREACH PROGRAMMES OF SEBA ADVISORY BODY Dr. A. K. Das SEBA (a registered non-profit making organisation devoted Dr. A. K. Sanyal to social and biological aspects of environment conservation and awareness having qualified and experienced environment Dr. D. R. Mondal professionals) invites educational institutions, Government and Dr. C. Kalavati non-governmental organizations for outreach programmes Dr. S. K. Pramanik on social, environmental and biological aspects suited to Outreach Programmes organization’s needs or on the following themes : Co-ordinators (ORPC) Dr. Rina Chakraborty 1. Antarctica Expedition 13. Green technology Dr. V. V. Gantait 2. Climate change 14. Water pollution Dr. Mrinal Mukherjee 3. Coral Reefs 15. Pest Management Dr. Amales Misra 4. Mangroves 16. Environmental education 5. Wetlands 17. Environmental Impact 6. Fisheries Sociology Assessment Please visit us at http:// 7. Zootherapy 18. Biodiversity Conservation Seba2004.com 8. Ecosystems of India 19. Disaster Management 9. Co-evolution and Island 20. Wildlife Trade MEMBERSHIP FORM & GUIDE- biogeography 21. Ethnomedicine LINES TO CONTRIBUTORS : 10. Indingenous knowledge 22. Threatened animals Vide, J. Environ. & Sociobiol., 2019. 16(2), Page 244 & Third 11. Aquarium fish/ Ornamental fish 23. Animal Farming Cover. 12. Vermiculture/ Vermicomposting 24. DNA barcoding
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