ID: 63862
Title: GIS Based forest fire vulnerability assessment and its validation using field and MODIS data: A case study of Bhaderwah Forest division, Jammu and Kashmir (India)
Author: Shruti Kanga, Muzamil Ahmad Rather, Majid Farooq and Suraj Kumar Singh
Editor: Aarti Chaudhary
Year: 2021
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 147 (2) 120-136 (2021)
Subject: GIS Based forest fire vulnerability assessment and its validation using field and MODIS data: A case study of Bhaderwah Forest division, Jammu and Kashmir (India)
Keywords: Multicriteria Analysis, Geographic information system, Vulnerability, MODIS
Abstract: The present study assesses the forest fire vulnerability of the Bhaderwah forest division in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. The vibrant green forests of the Bhaderwah forest division play an essential role in preventing soil erosion, maintaining the ecological balance and serves as habitat for wildlife. In efforts to nurture the rich biodiversity, it is essential to manage this forest division using modern scientific technology for fire protection. The present study makes the use of MODIS fire data related to the field point data of forest fires in a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) framework to assess the fire vulnerability of Bhaderwah Forest Division using Geographical Information System (GIS).In the present study, land use vegetation, topographical parameters, and human influence parameters are used as inputs to the multi-criteria analysis for dividing the study area based on sensitivity to forest fires. The outcome from the present study reports that out of the total 342 compartments of Bhaderwah Forest Division, 187 compartments fall in high vulnerability zone, 123 compartments fall in medium vulnerability zone, whereas only 32 compartments fall in low vulnerability zone. The present study can be constructive in formulating better strategies to combat forest fires in the area.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Adab H, Kanniah K.D. and Solaimani K. (2013) .Modelling Forest fire in the Northeast of Iran Using Remote Sensing and GIS techniques, Natural Hazards, 65: 1723-1743.
Ainarayana J.(2003).Spatial decision support system for identifying priority sites for watershed management schemes In: Proceeding: 1st Interagecy Conference on Research in the watersheds (ICRW) .27-30 October on Research in Department of Agriculture ,Agricultural Research Service, Benson Arizona, (USA) .
Literature cited 2: Ahlgren I.F abn Ahlgre C.E. (1960).Ecological effects of forest fores.Bot.Rev., 26: 83-533.Doi.rg/10.1007/BF02940573
Aji R.S., Loghin A.M., Vinod P.G., and Krishnamurthy R.R., (2016). The risk assessment of potential forest fire in Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary using Remote Sensing &GIS techniques. International Journal of Advanced Earth Sciences Engineering 5: 308-18.
ID: 63861
Title: Socio-ecological vulnerability of forest dependent communities to climate change along an altitude gradient in Western Himalayas
Author: Shashidhar kumar Jha and Ajeet K.Negi.
Editor: Aarti Chaudhary
Year: 2021
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 147 (2) 106-119 (2021)
Subject: Socio-ecological vulnerability of forest dependent communities to climate change along an altitude gradient in Western Himalayas
Keywords: Vulnerability, Climate change, Water, Agriculture, Forest, Himalaya
Abstract: Micro level socio-ecological vulnerability assessment to climate change has a paramount significance in defining climate-risks, identification of site-specific sectoral remedial measures ad fabrication of adaptation actions. Cross-sectional survey research design has been employed to examine the extent of socio-ecological Vulnerability of 492 randomly selected households in 62 villages along an altitudinal gradient <1200 m asl (zone A) , 1201-1800 m asl (zone B) , and >1801 m asl(zone c) in Pauri District, Uttarakhad. Among the socio-ecological systems, highest vulnerability was recorded in socio-economic sector (0.92) followed by forests (0.80).The vulnerability was directly proportional to elevation ad recorded highest in zone ‘C’ (0.80).Socio-ecological systems contribute differently to overall vulnerability and it is determined by systems’ sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Strategies for sector ad site-specific adaptation are required that address bottlenecks in availability and accessibility to biophysical resources ad socio-cultural complexities in mountainous settings. The results extend current knowledge among the research community and policy makers on socio-ecological changes affecting forest dependent communities. To reduce the policy level gap between bottom-up and top-down approaches, authors suggest precautionary and ongoing site-specific assessment, leading to effective and efficient handling of local issues in the context of climate change.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Adhikari S. (2018) .Drought Impact and Adaptation Strategies in the Mid-Hill System of Wester epal.Environments, 5 (9): https: //doi.org/10.3390/environments 5090101.
Alam G., M., Alam K., Mushtaq S.and Clarke M.L.(2017) .Vulnerability to climatic change in riparian char and river-bank households in Bangladesh: Implication for policy, livelihoods and social development .Ecol. Indic., 72: 23-32.
Literature cited 2: Alekhya V.V.L., Pujar G.S., Jha C.S., and Dadhwal V.K.(2015) .Simulation of vegetation dynamics in Himalaya using dynamic global vegetation model.Tropical Ecology, 56:219-231.
Arjunan M., Puyravaud J. and Davidar P. (2005) .The impact of resource collection by local communication on dry forest of the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. Tropical Ecology.46: 135-144.
ID: 63860
Title: Significance of protected area Network in conservation of large old trees
Author: Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, A.Kumar, H.Singh, B.Kari, D.N.Pandey and G.V.Reddy
Editor: Aarti Chaudhary
Year: 2021
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 147 (2) 99- 105 (2021)
Subject: Significance of protected area Network in conservation of large old trees
Keywords: Large trees, Keystone species, Carbon sequester
Abstract: With an aim of making an inventory of such trees, survey of largest trees in all beats of Sariska tiger reserve was done with the help of beat in-charges based on their knowledge of location of large trees in their respective beats. The survey results revealed that members of the family Moraceae including Ficus flomerata, F.benghalensis and F.religosa were observed to contribute 80% of all measured large trees in Sariska tiger reserve. The observation of maximum number of large trees in Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary that was protected for a considerable period of time, established the significance of creation of sanctuaries. Creation of protection refuge in both in forests, rural as well in urban areas, is suggested apart from keeping a database of all large old trees present in entire protected are network of the country.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Bhardwaj G.S. and Bakre P.P. (2012) .Plant Resource Utilization by Avian fauna in Sitamata Wild life Sanctuary, India.LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.2012.
Bhardwaj G.S., Dookia S. and Dutta S. (2018) .Anthropogenic Mortality of Wildlife: A case study as the only Predator in Thar Desert. Indian Forester, 144 (10): 947-957.
Literature cited 2: Champion H.G. and Seth S.K. (1968) .A revised survey of the forest type of India. Government of India Press, Delhi, pp.404.
De Mars C.A., Rosenberg D.K. and Fontaine J.B.(2010) .Multi-scale factors affecting bird use of isolated remnant trees in agro-ecosystems. Biological Conservation, 143: 1485-1492.
ID: 63859
Title: Identification of chemosensory genes in the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Author: Saravan Kumar Parepally , Gandham Krishnarao , Meenal Vyas , S. D. Divija and P. D. Kamala Jayanthi
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 505 -512 (2023)
Subject: Identification of chemosensory genes in the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Keywords: Chemosensory genes, Galleria mellonella, lepidopterans, olfaction, pest management.
Abstract: Olfaction, one of the most significant sensations influencing insect behaviour, has been an efficient target for
pest management. In this study, we analysed the antennal
transcriptome of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella L. which is a predominant honeybee pest and is
now becoming a potential threat to the global honeybee
industry. A de novo antennal RNA-sequence assembly
resulted in 24,683 unigenes and identified 24 odorant binding proteins, 62 odorant receptors, 4 ionotropic receptors and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins. Additionally, seven antennal-binding proteins, six pheromone binding proteins and seven general odorant-binding proteins were identified from G. mellonella. Phylogenetic
analysis suggested majority of the genes be closely associated with orthologs from other lepidopteran species.
The identification of candidate genes and functional
annotation of the olfactory genes will facilitate future
functional studies on chemoreception processes in this
species and other lepidopterans. This study lays the
groundwork for future research that might lead to cutting-edge approaches in pest management.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Leal, W. S., Odorant reception in insects: roles of receptors, binding
proteins, and degrading enzymes. Annu. Rev. Entomol., 2013, 58,
373–391.
Carey, A. F. and Carlson, J. R., Insect olfaction from model systems
to disease control. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2011, 108, 12987–
12995.
Literature cited 2: Vogt, R. G., Biochemical diversity of odor detection-14: OBPs,
ODEs and SNMPs. In Insect Pheromone Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology (eds Blomquist, G. J. and Vogt, R. G.), Elsevier, California,
USA, 2003, pp. 391–445.
Xu, Y. L. et al., Large-scale identification of odorant-binding proteins
and chemosensory proteins from expressed sequence tags in insects.
BMC Genomics, 2009, 10, 632.
ID: 63858
Title: Predicting the area and production of sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India using neural networks
Author: P. Dinesh Kumar
Editor: Aarti Chaudhary
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 500 -504 (2023)
Subject: Predicting the area and production of sugarcane in Tamil Nadu, India using neural networks
Keywords: Back propagation, multilayer perceptron, neural network, nonlinear stochastic data, sugarcane area and production.
Abstract: Sugarcane is a major cash crop in India, grown in almost
5 million hectares with a production of 339 million tonnes.
Tamil Nadu contributes significantly to the production of
sugarcane. Data from the past year show a huge fluctuation in the area and production of sugarcane in the
state. Predicting the area and production employing
traditional modelling techniques fails because the assumptions are never attained in the field. To overcome this,
soft computing techniques like artificial neural networks
(ANNs) are used. In this study, a multilayer perceptron
neural network (MLP-NN) with back-propagation was
used to predict the area and production of sugarcane in
Tamil Nadu. The MLP-NN (2,2) model predicts the area
with minimum mean absolute error (MAE; 18.139) and
root mean squared error (RMSE; 23.058) values and
with high accuracy (99%). For production, the MLP-NN
(2,1) model estimates minimum MAE (24.875) and
RMSE (31.199) values with high accuracy (99%). So,
MLP-NN (2,2) and MLP-NN (2,1) are the best ANN
models to predict the area and production of sugarcane
in Tamil Nadu respectively. Additionally, ANN models
perform better in predicting nonlinear stochastic data.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Suresh, K. K. and Krishna Priya, S. R., Forecasting sugarcane yield
of Tamil Nadu using ARIMA models. Sugar Tech., 2011, 13, 23–
26.
Solomon, S., Sugarcane agriculture and sugar industry in India: at a
glance. Sugar Tech., 2014, 16, 113–124.
Literature cited 2: . Bala, B. K., Ashraf, M. A., Uddin, M. A. and Janjai, S., Experimental
and neural network prediction of the performance of a solar tunnel
drier for drying jackfruit bulbs and leather. J. Food Process Eng.,
2005, 28, 552–566.
Ehret, D. L., Hill, B. D., Raworth, D. A. and Estergaard, B., Artificial
neural network modelling to predict cuticle cracking in greenhouse
peppers and tomatoes. Comput. Electron. Agric., 2008, 61, 108–116.
ID: 63857
Title: Substitution rate estimation of molecular markers to evaluate evolutionary aspects in ladybird beetles
Author: Chandni Verma, Geetanjali Mishra and Omkar
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 491 -499 (2023)
Subject: Substitution rate estimation of molecular markers to evaluate evolutionary aspects in ladybird beetles
Keywords: Evolutionary topology, ladybirds, molecular markers, phylogenetic analysis, substitution rates
Abstract: In this study, we examined the ribosomal DNA internal
transcribed spacers and mtDNA markers for their use
in the prospecting of 480 ladybird species belonging to
14 tribes to assess the evolutionary topology and substitution rates. Substitution patterns of the respective markers were estimated using a cascade of algorithms such as
pairwise sequence comparisons, maximum likelihood estimates of the substitution matrix, transitions/transversions (ti/tv) and gamma parameters with a suitable
substitution model. Maximum likelihood (ML) estimates
showed that COI (R = 1.16) and COII (R = 1.36) were
more biased towards transitions. COI has a higher ti/tv
ratio indicating more substitutions and less divergence
among the species in the phylogenetic tree, though it had
moderate bootstrap support. ML and Bayesian analysis
were used to construct the morphology character matrix
and molecular datasets in order to establish the evolutionary relationship. All the characters of male and
female genitalia supported mophyletic topology. The
phylogenetic results of molecular datasets suggest that
most of the taxa significantly support monophyly. Phylogenetic analysis depict COI consists of more substitution as it shows less divergence among species.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Vandenberg, N. J., 93. Coccinellidae Latreille 1807, American Beetles
(eds Arnett Jr, R. H. and Thomas, M. C.), CRC Press, 2002, vol. 2,
pp. 371–389.
Seago, A. E., Giorgi, J. A., Li, J. and Slipinski, A., Phylogeny,
classification and evolution of ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) based on simultaneous analysis of molecular and morphological data. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 2011, 60
Literature cited 2: Poorani, J., Coccinellidae of the Indian subcontinent. In Indian Insects, CRC Press, 2019, pp. 223–246.
Szawaryn, K., Bocak, L., Ślipiński, A., Escalona, H. E. and Tomaszewski, W., Phylogeny and evolution of phytophagous ladybird
beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: epilachnini), with recognition
of new genera. Syst. Entomol., 2015, 40(3), 547–569.
ID: 63856
Title: Trilobozoan (Tribrachidium and Albumares) Ediacaran organisms from Marwar Supergroup, Western India
Author: V. S. Parihar, Hukmaram, Pawan Kumar and Anshul Harsh
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 485 -490 (2023)
Subject: Trilobozoan (Tribrachidium and Albumares) Ediacaran organisms from Marwar Supergroup, Western India
Keywords: Albumares, Ediacaran organisms, sandstone, Tribrachidium, trilobozoans.
Abstract: Here we describe the Tribrachidium and Albumares
Ediacaran organisms belonging to phylum Trilobozoa
in the Sonia Sandstone of Marwar Supergroup, western
India. Between the two Ediacaran genera, Albumares
brunsae was the first to be discovered in India, while
Tribrachidium heraldicum was the first record from the
Marwar Supergroup. T. heraldicum is soft-bodied, discoidal or disc-shaped (in plane view) and slightly conical-shaped (when found with up to 2 mm vertical relief)
with three elevated lobes (arms) or ridges bounded by
a well-defined peripheral ring. A. brunsae is soft-bodied,
flattened, low-relief, circular to sub-circular and with
a tri-lobed (three elevated arms/rays) shield having
branching rays that radiate outward from the centre to
the outer edge of the peripheral ring. Both Ediacaran
taxa occur here as convex or positive reliefs with triradial symmetry on medium to fine-grained sandstone
bedding planes in the Sursagar area and show the Flinders Ranges style of preservation.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Narbonne, G. M., The Ediacara biota: neoproterozoic origin of animals and their ecosystems. Annu. Rev. Earth Plant Sci., 2005, 33,
421–442.
Xiao, S. and Laflamme, M., On the eve of animal radiation: phylogeny, ecology and evolution of the Ediacara biota. Trends Ecol. Evol.,
2009, 24, 31–40
Literature cited 2: Ivantsov, A. Y. and Fedonkin, M. A., Conulariid-like fossil from
the Vendian of Russia: a Metazoan clade across the Proterozoic/
Palaeozoic boundary. Palaeontology, 2002, 45(6), 1219–1229.
Glaessner, M. F., The Dawn of Animal Life: A Biohistorical Study,
Cambridge University Press, 1984.
ID: 63855
Title: Differential loss of glacier stored water in the Indus River basin
Author: Ashutosh Kulkarni, Veena Prasad, A. R. Arya , Rajiv K. Chaturvedi , Sushil K. Singh and Sandip Oza
Editor: Aarti Chaudhary
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 478 -484 (2023)
Subject: Differential loss of glacier stored water in the Indus River basin
Keywords: Climate change, glacier stored water, improved accumulation area ratio, mass balance, river basin
Abstract: In this study, we assessed the glacier stored water (1,620
340 Gt) using a combination of ice dynamics modelling
and volume–area scaling method and estimated glacier
mass loss (6.4%) from 2001 to 2013 for the Indus River
basin. Results indicate that the impact of climate change
is not uniform across the basin, especially the stark difference between the Western Himalayan region where
the glaciers are losing mass at the rate of –0.56
0.27 m.w.e. per annum and the Upper Indus where the
loss is at –0.18 0.11 m.w.e. per annum.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Wester, P., Mishra, A., Mukherji, A. and Shrestha, A. B., The Hindu
Kush Himalaya Assessment: Mountains, Climate Change, Sustainability and People, Springer Nature, Switzerland, 2019, chapter 1,
table 1.2, p. 5.
Pritchard, H. D., Asia’s shrinking glaciers protect large populations
from drought stress. Nature, 2019, 569(7758), 649–654
Literature cited 2: Mujumdar, P. P. and Tiwari, V. M., Water Futures of India: Status
of Science and Technology, Indian National Science Academy,
New Delhi, 2019.
Abdullah, T., Romshoo, S. A. and Rashid, I., The satellite observed
glacier mass changes over the Upper Indus Basin during 2000–12.
Sci. Rep., 2020, 10(1), 1–9
ID: 63854
Title: Precise mosaicing of mouza plans for the preparation of digital cadastral map using GNSS
Author: Aniket Verma, Amar Prakash, Ajay Kumar, Sandip Oraon and Sujit Kumar Mandal
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 467 -477 (2023)
Subject: Precise mosaicing of mouza plans for the preparation of digital cadastral map using GNSS
Keywords: Cadastral maps, digitization, georeferencing, mosaicing, satellite system.
Abstract: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), an advanced
surveying system, is used to determine three-dimensional points accurately. The present study was conducted
in Kasta East Coal Block of the West Bengal Power
Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), India,
focusing on data generation, establishing boundary coordinates and mosaicing of mouza plans using real-time
kinematic approach. Base station and primary control
points were established by the static method. It evaluates
the geospatial information using GNSS and quantification of the accuracy of the geo-referenced cadastral
map of kasta east coal block of WBPDCL. Scanned
mouza plans were converted to vector format through
AutoCAD, oriented and placed precisely with the help
of established ground control points. The features of the
cadastral map were tuned by superimposing the vector
cadastral map of the study area. Assessment of the vector
cadastral map showed better accuracy and less distortion
in large-area parcels/khasras. More variations were
observed in small-area khasras. Similarly, smaller mouzas showed more variation compared to larger ones.
Distortions were due to manual error in digitization
and technical error in scanning. The methodology of mosaicking presented here will be useful for updating the
cadastral maps with improved precision in digital cadastral plan preparation.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Prakash, A. et al., Evolution of DGPS data with Global Navigation
Satellite System (GNSS) using handheld GPS. In Modern Trends in
Mine Surveying, Department of Mining Engineering, Indian School
of Mines, Dhanbad, 2012, pp. 153–171.
Roa, G. S., Global Navigation Satellite System with Essentials of
Satellite Communications, Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co Ltd,
2010, pp. 1–478; ISBN: 9781283187107.
Literature cited 2: Li, X. et al., Precise positioning with current multi-constellation
global navigation satellite systems: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and
BeiDou. Sci. Rep. 5, 2015, 8328, 1–14; https://doi.org/10.1038/
srep08328.
Cheng, L. et al., Development of BeiDou satellite-based augmentation system. Navigation: J. Inst. Navig., 2021, 68, 405–417; https://
doi.org/10.1002/navi.422.
ID: 63853
Title: An inexpensive foldscopic approach for quantitative evaluation of the shape of sand particles
Author: Kunjari Mog and P. Anbazhagan
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 457 -466 (2023)
Subject: An inexpensive foldscopic approach for quantitative evaluation of the shape of sand particles
Keywords: Foldscope, image analysis, particle shape, resolution, sand.
Abstract: Shape is a fundamental key property of any object and
an important physical attribute that remains ignored,
although its importance has been accepted for quite
some time and is not accounted for in standard soil
classification guidelines. One of the reasons for this
could be the lack of inexpensive microscopic instruments or image scanners in most laboratories. This study
quantifies particle shape characteristics using a costeffective foldscope approach. Four different types of
sand were used in this study and results were compared
against scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. In addition, the effect of the number of particles
and resolution on the analysis is discussed. It was found
that the foldscope-based approach yielded consistent
results with SEM in measuring the aspect ratio and
roundness parameter (except circularity). The variation
between the two approaches was found to be less than
5% for both aspect ratio and roundness; however, a significant difference was observed in the case of circularity (more than 50%) due to the influence of resolution.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Yang, J. and Gu, X. Q., Shear stiffness of granular material at small
strains: does it depend on grain size? Géotechnique, 2013, 63(2),
165–179.
. Cho, G. C., Dodds, J. and Santamarina, J. C., Particle shape effects
on packing density, stiffness, and strength: natural and crushed
sands. J. Geotech. Geoenviron. Eng., 2006, 132(5), 591–602.
Literature cited 2: Senetakis, K., Anastasiadis, A. and Pitilakis, K., Normalized shear
modulus reduction and damping ratio curves of quartz sand and
rhyolitic crushed rock. Soils Found., 2013, 53(6), 879–893.
4. Payan, M., Senetakis, K., Khoshghalb, A. and Khalili, N., Effect of
gradation and particle shape on small-strain Young’s modulus and
Poisson’s ratio of sands. Int. J. Geomech., 2017, 17(5), 04016120
ID: 63852
Title: Effect of sub-lethal doses of thiamethoxam on the memory of Apis mellifera Linnaeus
Author: Ashok Kumar Karedla, Amit Choudhary*, Jaspal Singh and Pardeep Kumar Chhuneja
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 451 -456 (2023)
Subject: Effect of sub-lethal doses of thiamethoxam on the memory of Apis mellifera Linnaeus
Keywords: Apis mellifera, memory, proboscis extension reflex, thiamethoxam, sucrose concentration
Abstract: Honey bees forage owing to their remarkable ability to
learn and memorize their cues. The effect of thiamethoxam on the memory of bees was studied through the
proboscis extension reflex (PER). The bees that consumed higher doses of thiamethoxam (0.93–5.76 ng bee–1
)
showed lesser sensitivity to sucrose than those that consumed lower doses (0.03–0.64 ng bee–1
). Bees sensitivity
was least affected at the highest sucrose concentration
(50% w/v). PER in trained and treated bees recorded
after 2 and 24 h of consuming the various doses of thiamethoxam showed a significant reduction in memory
(13.3–82.2% and 0.00–68.9% respectively). Field-level
studies are required to validate the results and formulate
strategies at the national level for safeguarding the bees.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Potts, S. G., Petanidou, T., Roberts, S., O’Toole, C., Hulbert, A.
and Willmer, P., Plant–pollinator biodiversity and pollination services in a complex Mediterranean landscape. Biol. Conserv., 2006,
129, 519–529.
Klein, A., Vaissiere, B. E., Cane, J. H., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Cunningham, S. A., Kremen, C. and Tscharntke, T., Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops. Proc. R. Soc.
London, Ser. B, 2007, 274, 303–313.
Literature cited 2: Bradbear, N., The importance of bees in nature. In Bees and their
Role in Forest Livelihoods: A Guide to the Services Provided by
Bees and the Sustainable Harvesting, Processing and Marketing of their Products, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, Italy, 2009, pp. 13–16.
Neumann, P. and Carreck, N. L., Honey bee colony losses. J. Apic.
Res., 2010, 49, 1–6.
ID: 63851
Title: Dissipation and degradation kinetics of commonly used pesticides and their metabolites in/on okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench
Author: C. Meenambigai and K. Bhuvaneswari
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 442 -450 (2023)
Subject: Dissipation and degradation kinetics of commonly used pesticides and their metabolites in/on okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench
Keywords: Acephate, dissipation, dimethoate, emamectin benzoate, half-life, okra
Abstract: Based on the dissipation pattern and degradation kinetics study of pesticides in okra, the average initial deposit
of dimethoate and acephate was comparatively higher
than emamectin benzoate and flubendiamide. Acephate
residues persisted much longer, while, emamectin benzoate persisted for a shorter time. Acephate metabolized
to methamidophos on 1 day after treatment. Des-ido
flubendiamide residues were not detected. Okra being
harvested on alternate days, following a pre-harvest
interval of 24 days after acephate application, is not
possible. Thus, usage of acephate at the flowering stage
in okra poses the risk of residue detection in the harvested produce. Following a pre-harvest interval of 3–11
days after spraying dimethoate, emamectin benzoate
and flubendiamide are mandatory for the safe consumption of okra.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Singh, G. and Brar, K. S., Effect of date of sowing on the incidence
of Amrasca biguttulabiguttula (Ishida) and Earias spp. on okra.
Indian J. Ecol., 1994, 21, 140–144.
Sastry, K. S. M. and Singh, S. J., Effect of yellow vein mosaic virus
infection on growth and yield of okra crop. Indian Phytopathol.,
1974, 27, 294–297.
Literature cited 2: Chaudhary, H. R. and Dadheech, L. N., Incidence of insects attacking okra and the avoidable losses caused by them. Ann. Arid Zone,
1989, 28, 305–307. Kumaran, N., Douressamy, S., Ramaraju, K. and Kuttalam, S.,
Estimation of damage and yield loss due to Tetranychus urticae
Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) on okra under artificial infestation. J.
Acarol., 2007, 17, 4–6
ID: 63850
Title: Three-dimensional point cloud segmentation using a combination of RANSAC and clustering methods
Author: Puyam S. Singh, Iainehborlang M. Nongsiej , Valarie Marboh , Dibyajyoti Chutia , Victor Saikhom and S. P. Aggarwal
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 434 -441 (2023)
Subject: Three-dimensional point cloud segmentation using a combination of RANSAC and clustering methods
Keywords: Clustering, drone images, hierarchical model, three-dimensional point cloud, segmentation
Abstract: There are challenges in performing 3D scene understanding on point clouds derived from drone images as these
data are highly unstructured with no neighbouring information, highly redundant making the processing difficult
and time-consuming and have variable density making it
difficult to group and segment them. For proper scene
understanding, these point clouds need to be segmented
and classified into different groups representing similar
characteristics. The approaches for segmentation differ
based on the distinctiveness of each data product. Although newer machine learning-based approaches work
well, they need large amounts of standardized labelled
data which in turn require extensive resources and human
intervention to obtain good results. Considering these, we
have proposed a hybrid clustering-based hierarchical
model for effective segmentation of dense 3D point cloud.
We have applied the model to local data having a mix of
man-made and natural vegetation with variable topography. The combination of RANSAC, DBSCAN and Euclidean method of cluster extraction proved to be useful
for precise segmentation and classification of point clouds.
The performance of the model has been assessed using
Davies–Bouldin dbIndex-based intrinsic measures. The
hybrid approach is able to segment 91% of the point
clouds precisely compared to the conventional one-step
clustering approach.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Jiang, S., Jiang, C. and Jiang, W., Efficient structure from motion
for large-scale UAV images: a review and a comparison of SfM
tools. ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sensing, 2020, 167, 230–251;
ISSN 0924-2716, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2020.04.016.
Leal-Alves, D. C. et al., Digital elevation model generation using
UAV-SfM photogrammetry techniques to map sea-level rise scenarios
at Cassino Beach, Brazil. SN Appl. Sci., 2020, 2, 2181; https://doi.
org/10.1007/s42452-020-03936-z
Literature cited 2: Dey, T. K., Li, G. and Sun, J., Normal estimation for point clouds:
a comparison study for a Voronoi based method. In Proceedings
Eurographics/IEEE VGTC Symposium Point-Based Graphics, Stony
Brook, New York, USA, 2005, pp. 39–46; doi:10.1109/PBG.2005.
194062.
Zhao, R., Pang, M., Liu, C. and Zhang, Y., Robust normal estimation for 3D LiDAR point clouds in urban environments. Sensors,
2019, 19, 1248; https://doi.org/10.3390/s19051248
ID: 63849
Title: Fauna associated with wheat cultivation in high altitudes of the Nilgiris, India
Author: J. Berliner , J. Alfred-Daniel , Balaji Rajkumar , H. C. Hombegowda , B. Manimaran , Rashid Parvez, M. R. Khan , Priyank Hanuman Mhatre6 and Guru-Pirasanna-Pandi Govindharaj
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 426 -433 (2023)
Subject: Fauna associated with wheat cultivation in high altitudes of the Nilgiris, India
Keywords: Agroecosystem, animals, biodiversity, birds, nematodes, wheat.
Abstract: Wheat cultivation in southern India is unique as it is
grown in high altitudes (1500 m amsl), surrounded by
the pristine environment of the Western Ghats. Also, it
can be grown throughout the year, unlike only once a
year in India’s central and northern plains. The faunal
pressure on wheat cultivation in southern India is different from the other wheat-growing regions in the country.
However, information on faunal diversity associated
with wheat crops in this unique ecosystem is meagre.
Hence, the present study aimed to acquire knowledge
based on the fauna associated with and their influence
on wheat cultivation in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, South
India. Our results indicated that the phylum Arthropoda
dominated the ecosystem with 61 species, followed by the
Chordata with 41 species, and the Nematoda with 22 species. The coleopterans were found to be dominant among
arthropods followed by lepidopterans. In chordates, small
birds such as spotted munia and common rosefinch were
observed often, while among the Nematoda, the plantparasitic order Tylenchida topped the list. During different phases of cultivation, the overall diversity was highest
during the early stages of the crop and least during the
vegetative phase. This study also highlights the human–
animal interaction in the context of agriculture, as it was
observed that the damage caused by Nilgiri gaur, spotted
munia and common rose finch was one of the major
reasons for non-preference of wheat crops by the farmers
besides the lack of cost-effective technologies to ward-off
wild animals. This initiative may encourage researchers to
perform more comprehensive studies on the faunal diversity of the entire crop-growing areas in the southern
hill regions of India.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Agricoop, Annual Report 2020–21. Department of Agriculture,
Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare Ministry of Agriculture and
Farmers’ Welfare Government of India, Madras, 2021, pp. 1–13;
https://agricoop.nic.in/sites/default/files/Web%20copy%20of%20-
AR%20%28Eng%29_7.pdf
Francis, W., The Nilgiris Madras District Gazateers, The Superintendent, Government Pr
Literature cited 2: Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., da Fonseca, G.
A. B. and Kent, J., Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities.
Nature, 2000, 403, 853–858.
Cobb, N. A., Estimating the nema population of soil, with special
reference to the sugar-beet and root-gall nemas, Heterodera
schachtii Schmidt and Heterodera radicicola (Greef) Müller. Agricultural Technology Circular. Bureau of Plant Industry, US Department
of Agriculture, Government Print Office, USA, 1918.
ID: 63848
Title: Live transportation of food fishes: current scenario and future prospects
Author: Vishnu R. Nair, U. Parvathy, T. J. Jithin , P. K. Binsi and C. N. Ravishankar
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2023
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 124 (4) 418 -425 (2023)
Subject: Live transportation of food fishes: current scenario and future prospects
Keywords: Aquaculture, anaesthetization, food fishes, live transportation, water quality
Abstract: Live fish has emerged as a highly in-demand commodity
in the recent past due to the progressive quality concepts of seafood consumers. Live fish transportation depends on several internal and external factors which need
to be considered critically for improving survival as
well as quality during transportation. The lack of a systematic approach for live fish transportation, from on-farm
handling to marketing, is the most significant issue
faced by the stakeholders. This article provides an integrated insight into the current state of knowledge in
the field of live transportation of food fishes emphasizing the significance, present status, challenges and exploration possibilities
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Fabinyi, M. et al., Luxury seafood consumption in China and the
intensification of coastal livelihoods in Southeast Asia: the live reef
fish for food trade in Balabac, Philippines. Asia Pac. Viewp., 2012,
53, 118–132.
Prasad, S., Fish transportation and marketing in Dumraon and Buxar,
South Bihar, India. Meander, 2020, 5, 10–65.
Literature cited 2: Harmon, T. S., Methods for reducing stressors and maintaining water
quality associated with live fish transport in tanks: a review of the
basics. Rev. Aquacult., 2009, 1, 58–66.
Treasurer, J. W., Changes in pH during transport of juvenile cod
Gadus morhua L. and stabilisation using buffering agents. Aquaculture, 2012, 330–333, 92–99.