ID: 66336
Title: Two New Species of Bamboos from India
Author: H.B. Naithani and Manish K. Kandwal
Editor: Richa Misra
Year: 2025
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 151 (4) April. Pg No. 317-323 (2025)
Subject: Two New Species of Bamboos from India
Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, Bambusoideae, Bambusa lepchaena, Bambusa sharednegiana, New species dicsovery, Poaceae, Taxonomy, Uttarakhand.
Abstract: Two new species of bamboos belonging to the genus Bambusa Schreber are described from Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Canavan S., Richardson D.M., Visser V., Le Roux J.J., Vorontsova M.S. and Wilson J.R.U. (2016). The global distribution of bamboos: assessing correlates of introduction invasion. AoB PLANTS 9: plw078; doi:10.1093/aobpla/plw078.
Kumari P. and Singh P. (2020). Poaceae (Gramineae) Subfamily: Bambusoideae. In Fl. Pl. India: Annot. Checklist (Monocot) 300-313. Poaceae (Eds. A.A. Mao & S.S. Dash). B.S.I., Kolkata.
Literature cited 2: Vorontsova M.S., Clark L.G., Dransfield J., Govaerts R. and Baker J. (2017). World checklist of Bamboos and Rattans. INBAR Technical Report No.37.
ID: 66335
Title: Assessment of Genetic Variation among Three Different Flower Colour Morphotypes of Tecomella undulata Using Start Codon Targeted Markers
Author: Desha Meena, Aastha Sharma and Anil Singh Chouhan
Editor: Richa Misra
Year: 2025
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 151 (4) April. Pg No. 309-316 (2025)
Subject: Assessment of Genetic Variation among Three Different Flower Colour Morphotypes of Tecomella undulata Using Start Codon Targeted Markers
Keywords: Conservation, Genetic Diversity, Morphotypes, Rohida, Start codon targeted markers.
Abstract: Tecomella undulata commonly known as Rohida is an important timberyielding tree species of arid and semi-arid regions. It has become victim of overexploitation for its high quality timber and medicinal values because of which the species is categorized under threatened plants. Three different flower colour morphotypes viz., yellow, red and orange were recorded in the species. Flowers of Rohida are recognised as state flower of Rajasthan. To investigate the variation exists among these three different flower colour morphotypes of Rohida, Start Codon Targeted Polymorphism marker system was used. In the present study, 63 SCoT primers were tested, out of which 14 primers were found to be polymorphic generating 1045 scorable bands. Scorable bands per primer were obtained in the range of 20-118. The PIC and RP values of the primers ranged between 0.27-0.45 and 2.80-16.86. The estimated Jaccard similarity coefficient ranged from 0.038 to 0.579. The dendrogram constructed using Jaccard's coefficient resulted into two clusters, the first cluster including yellow morphotypes and the second cluster including red and orange flower colour morphotypes.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Amirmoradi B., Talebi R. and Karami E. (2012). Comparison of genetic variation and differentiation among annual Cicer species using start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism DAMD-PCR and ISSR markers, Plant Syst Evol., 298: 1679–1688.
Bhandari M.M. (1990). Flora of Indian desert. MPS Repros Jodhpur, India. pp. 42
Literature cited 2: Bhau B.S., Negi M.S., Jindal S.K., Singh M. and Laxmikumaran M. (2007). Assessing genetic diversity of Tecomella undulata (Sm.) - An endangered tree species using Amplified fragment length polymorphisms- based molecular markers, Current Science, 93: 67-72.
Cabo S., Ferreira L., Carvalho A., Martins-Lopes P., Martín A. and Lima-Brito J.E. (2014). Potential of Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers for DNA fingerprinting of newly synthesized tritordeums and their respective parents, J Appl Genet., 55: 307–312.
ID: 66334
Title: Forest Fire Risk Zone Mapping with Prediction of Forest Fire through Support Vector Machines (SVM) for Kothagudem, Telangana, India
Author: Arulrajan P,Amarjeet Kaur and Satyawan Singh Garbyal
Editor: Richa Misra
Year: 2025
Publisher: Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: The Indian Forester Vol. 151 (4) April. Pg No. 299-308 (2025)
Subject: Forest Fire Risk Zone Mapping with Prediction of Forest Fire through Support Vector Machines (SVM) for Kothagudem, Telangana, India
Keywords: Forest fire, Machine learning model (MLM), Support vector machine (SVM), Forest fire risk index, Forest litter.
Abstract: Forest fire is major man-made and/or natural disaster in which the destruction is multifaceted. This risk required timely detection and need to be curbed before fire occurred as prevention. It is therefore essential to make fire risk zonation map so that the fire can be watched and controlled timely. For risk map in study area, factors that are assumed to be affecting forest fire are land use and land cover (LULC), distance from road, litter weight, aspect, elevation and slope using suitable, weight, rank and assigning an index which was further represented under low, moderate and high risk. The thematic layers of all these factors were constructed in Geographical Information System (GIS) and overlaid to delineate the fire risk zone map. The low-risk zones are in scrub-shrub, orchards, moist deciduous and agriculture while high and moderate risk of forest fire exist in dry-deciduous and degraded-dry deciduous forest area. The area under low risk is 35.94%, moderate risk is 47.18% and 16.88% under high risk. The forest fire vulnerable areas were also integrated with SVM classification model to predict the fire and non-fire points, with an accuracy of more than 80% for each zone and precision, recall and f1-score during testing phase for each zone gave good results. The predicted instances were mapped onto vulnerable areas and the analysis showed that SVM are able to classify fire points. The integration of remote sensing and machine learning models can help in delineating more accurate status of region and more precise information useful for monitoring and mitigation of forest fire.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Ajin R.S., Ciobotaru A., Vinod P.G. and Jacoba M.K. (2015). Forest and Wildland Fire Risk Assessment Using Geospatial Techniques: A Case Study of Nemmara Forest Division, Kerala, India. J. Wetlands Biodiversity, 5: 29-37.
Ajin R.S., Loghin A.M., Vinod P.G. and Jacob M.K. (2016). Forest Fire Risk Zone Mapping Using RS and GIS Techniques: A Study in Achankovil Forest Division, Kerala, India. J Earth Environ Health Sci., 2: 109-15.
Literature cited 2: Amalina P., Prasetyo L.B. and Rushayati S.B. (2016). Forest Fire Vulnerability Mapping in Way Kambas National Park. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 33: 239 – 252.
Arulrajan P., Kaur A. and Garbyal S.S. (2024). High-resolution prediction of forest fire incidence using Artificial Neural Networks. Indian Forester, 150(3): 195-208. DOI: 10.36808/if/2024/v150i3/170243
ID: 66333
Title: Fungivory by Nala lividipes: understanding its ecological impact on powdery mildew
Author: Niraj Guleria , Mudagaddde G. Deeksha , R. S. Chandel , Lham Dorjee and Nitika Saini
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1050-1053 25 May (2025)
Subject: Fungivory by Nala lividipes: understanding its ecological impact on powdery mildew
Keywords: Biocontrol agent, earwig, frugivorous, molecular identification, powdery mildew
Abstract: Earwigs, with their frugivorous behaviour, consume
fungi as part of their diet, but the specific fungal
species and ecological implications vary. The present
study specifically investigates the interaction between
the black field earwig, Nala lividipes and powdery
mildew fungus Golovinomyces cichoracearum that affects dahlias. The earwig was molecularly identified
(accession number-OQ102948) as N. lividipes, with
99.70% similarity. The morphological examination of
the fungi aligns with characteristics of powdery mildew
attributed to G. cichoracearum, including upright and
segmented conidiophores (195–239 × 11–16 µm) bearing three to four short chains of conidia in a basipetal
arrangement. The conidia, which are hyaline, single celled, ovoid, and barrel-shaped (31–48 × 13–17 µm),
exhibited no fibrosin bodies. The present study provides insight into the fungivorous association of N. lividipes with G. cichoracearum, highlighting its potential
and feasibility as a future biocontrol agent.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Kirstova, M., Pyszko, P. and Kocarek, P., Factors influencing microhabitat selection and food preference of tree-dwelling earwigs
(Dermaptera) in a temperate floodplain forest. Bull. Entom. Res.,
2019, 109(1), 54–61; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485318000147.
Hargreaves, J. R., The black field earwig. Qd agric. J., 1970, 96,
391–392
Literature cited 2: Broadley, R. H. and Ironside, D. A., Insect pests of sunflower-part I.
Qd agric. J., 1980, 106, 31–34.
Passlow, T., Insect pests of grain sorghum. Qd agric. J., 1973, 99,
620–628.
ID: 66332
Title: Record of Ramivena zhengi (Rider, 1998) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) from India
Author: Amartya Pal and Swetapadma Dash
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1046-1049 25 May (2025)
Subject: Record of Ramivena zhengi (Rider, 1998) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) from India
Keywords: India, male genitalia, peritreme, Ramivena.
Abstract: The present study is a distributional record of a species
from the genus Ramivena, which belongs to the tribe
Pentatomini. The genus Ramivena includes five species:
Ramivena emeiensis, Ramivena mosaica, Ramivena nigrivitta, Ramivena parazhengi and Ramivena zhengi.
This research communication reported the occurrence
of Ramivena zhengi in India and provided a detailed
descriptions and illustrations of morphological features
of this species.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Fan, Z. H. and Liu, G. Q., A new genus Ramivena (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), with descriptions of two new Species.Orient. Insects.,
2010, 44(1), 211–223.
Zheng, L. Y. and Ling, Z. P., Five new species of Pentatoma Olivier
from China (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). Entomotaxonomia, 1983,
5(3), 233–238
Literature cited 2: Forster, B., Die insekten des plattigen Steinmergels von Brunstatt.
Abh. Geol. Karte Elsass., 1891, 3, 527.
Rider, D. A., Nomenclatural changes in the Pentatomoidea
(Hemiptera-Heteroptera: Cydnidae, Pentatomidae). II. Species level
changes. Proc. Entomol. Soc., 1998, 100(3), 449–457.
ID: 66331
Title: Morphological deformities in Bengal whipray, Brevitrygon imbricata (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) and Arabian carpetshark, Chiloscyllium arabicum (Gubanov, 1980) from Ratnagiri, west coast of India
Author: Mahesh Shetkar, Swapnaja Mohite, Krishna Patil and Harshvardhan Shetye
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1042-1045 25 May (2025)
Subject: Morphological deformities in Bengal whipray, Brevitrygon imbricata (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) and Arabian carpetshark, Chiloscyllium arabicum (Gubanov, 1980) from Ratnagiri, west coast of India
Keywords: Brevitrygon imbricata, Chiloscyllium arabicum, deformity, elasmobranc
Abstract: This study documents the morphological deformities in
Brevitrygon imbricata (Bengal whipray) and Chiloscyllium arabicum (Arabian carpetshark) from the Indian
coast. Notable deformities include a rostral irregularity
in B. imbricata, resulting in a horn-like expansion, and
a bifurcated second dorsal fin in C. arabicum. These
findings highlight the need for further research into the
causes of such deformities, which could be linked to
various environmental stressors. The study emphasises
the importance of monitoring these deformities for conservation and fisheries management
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Dulvy, N. K., et al., Extinction risk and conservation of the world’s
sharks and rays. elife, 2014, 3, e00590.
Roul, S. K., Ghosh, S., Kizhakudan, S. J., Thomas, S., and Rohit,
P., Elasmobranch Fishery along Odisha Coast–An Overview. Marine
Fisheries Information Service, Technical and Extension Series, ICARCMFRI, Kochi, 2021, vol.249, pp. 20–28
Literature cited 2: Suresh, T. V. and Raffi, S. M., Pectoral fin anomalies in the long-tailed
butterfly ray, Gymnura poecilura collected from Nagapattinam coastal
waters, south-east coast of India. Mar. Biodivers. Rec., 2012, 5, e96.
Devadoss, P., On some specimens of abnormal elasmobranchs. Matsya, 1983, 9
ID: 66330
Title: Utility of synthetic datasets to refine the particular matter source profiles for chemical mass balance analysis
Author: V. A. Rejivas, A. Praveen and T. Ajitha
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1039-1048 25 May (2025)
Subject: Utility of synthetic datasets to refine the particular matter source profiles for chemical mass balance analysis
Keywords: Chemical mass balance, collinearity, conditional generative adversarial network, principal component analysis
Abstract: Source apportionment of particulate matter samples
using the chemical mass balance (CMB) approach is
undertaken from a known set of information regarding
chemical species present in the sources. The chemical species data pertaining to a particular source often
would contain interfering chemical species originating
from other sources due to the mixed state of its presence in the actual state. Such mixed source profiles,
when used in the CMB analysis, result in collinearity and induce several errors in source apportionment
analysis. To ensure the reliability of the source apportionment process, collinearity is to be eliminated by refining the source profiles used in the source apportionment process. The utility of synthetic datasets to refine
the source profile in a source apportionment process is
demonstrated for the particulate matter sampled from
a non-urban region in the South Indian state of Kerala.
To bring out cleaner source profiles, a large sample of
receptor datasets that closely resemble the field data
is generated using the artificial neural network module
conditional tabular generative adversarial network(CTGAN) and principal component analysis/multi linear
regression (PCA/MLR) approaches are further applied
to isolate various combined sources, and the source profile information is refined using published information.
The effectiveness of the refined source profile information in a CMB analysis is demonstrated using the field
receptor data.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Chen, C. R., Lai, H. C., Liao, M. I., Hsiao, M. C. and Ma, H. W., Health
risk assessment of trace elements of ambient PM2.5 under monsoon
patterns. Chemosphere, 2021, 264, 128462.
Hopke, P. K., Dai, Q., Li, L. and Feng, Y., Global review of recent
source apportionments for airborne particulate matter. Sci. Total Environ, 2020, 740, 1400
Literature cited 2: Leeuwenberg, A. M. et al., Comparing methods addressing multicollinearity when developing prediction models; arXiv 2021, arXiv
2101.01603. https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.01603 (accessed on 15 December 2024).
Rejivas, V. A., Praveen, A. and Ajitha, T., Eliminating collinearity observed in chemical mass balance analysis using multi linear regression
and synthetic receptor source profile dataset. Indian Academy of Scences, Sadhan ¯ a¯,
ID: 66329
Title: The magma-mixed granitoid system, Eastern Dharwar Craton, India: evidences from the mafic enclaves and syn-plutonic dykes from Madugulapalli
Author: J. Nagamma , Ch. Ashok and J. Ratnakar
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1026-1038 25 May (2025)
Subject: The magma-mixed granitoid system, Eastern Dharwar Craton, India: evidences from the mafic enclaves and syn-plutonic dykes from Madugulapalli
Keywords: Fractional crystallisation, granitoid system, heterogenies, magma mixing and mingling, subduction
Abstract: To understand the fundamental processes for the generation of granites, associated rock types and compositional diversity, we studied the Madugulapalli granitoids that constitute a part of the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) of southern India. The Madugulapalli area
consists of three rock types, including a host granitic
rock (GN, syeno-monzogranite), mafic microgranular
enclaves (MME) and syn-plutonic dykes (SPD). The
MME and SPD are characterised by (a) spherical and
ellipsoidal shapes with associated chilled margins, (b)
the presence of megacrysts of K-feldspar and plagioclase and (c) the presence of acicular apatite, ocellar
quartz and plagioclase with oscillatory zoning and resorption surfaces, all suggesting that they are globules
of mafic magma derived from the mantle sources and
SPD are injected into the crystal mush of the felsic
host. Geochemical analyses suggest that MME and
SPD are derived from the mixing of a partial melt
from heterogeneous mantle and crustal source. The
MME and SPD exhibit colinear compositions with
the host GN, suggesting that they are the products
generated by magma mixing in different proportions
of injected mafic melts and the host granite. During various stages of crystallisation, granitic magma
interacted with a smaller amount of mafic magma.
Based on mixing calculations, a mass fraction of felsic magma (xA = 0.71) mingled with mafic magma
to generate hybrid rocks in the Madugulapalli region.
Field, petrographic and geochemical evidence suggests
that they are generated in a subduction environment
in which large-scale mantle and crustal-derived magmas are produced and mixed at the crustal emplacement level. Hence, the Madugulapalli rocks represent a magma-mixed granitoid system from the EDC
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Condie, K. C., Belousova, E., Griffin, W. L. and Sircombe, K. N.,
Granitoid events in space and time: constraints from igneous and detrital zircon age spectra. Gondwana Res., 2009, 15, 228–242.
Li, C. et al., Geochemical signals of coexisting magma mixing and
fractional crystallization processes in the arc setting: case study of
Wulan intrusive suite in the NE Tibet Plateau. Lithos, 2022, 432–433,
106914.
Literature cited 2: Flood, R. H. and Vernon, R. H., Microstructural evidence of orders of
crystallization in granitoid rocks. Lithos, 1988, 21, 237–245.
Kumar, S., Pieru, T., Rino, V. and Hayasaka, Y., Geochemistry
and U–Pb SHRIMP zircon geochronology of microgranular enclaves
and host granitoids from the South Khasi Hills of the Meghalaya
Plateau, NE India: evidence of synchronous mafic–felsic magma mixing–fractionation and diffusion in a post-collision tectonic environment during the Pan-African orogenic cycle. Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ.,2017, 457, 253–289
ID: 66328
Title: Preserving breeding habitats in socio-ecological systems: insights from the stenotopic toad species Duttaphrynus hololius
Author: Saneesh Cherapurath Soman, Anil Sarsavan and S. R. Ganesh
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1019-1025 25 May (2025)
Subject: Preserving breeding habitats in socio-ecological systems: insights from the stenotopic toad species Duttaphrynus hololius
Keywords: Amphibians, common land, Eastern Ghats, endemic, ephemeral-pools, land conversion
Abstract: Amphibians that depend on both aquatic and terrestrial environments for their life cycle (lentic water
breeders) utilise lentic water systems across diverse
habitats like rivers, rocks, farms and forests. Successful breeding in these sites relies on natural water
regimes, but anthropogenic alterations pose a significant threat. In the present study, we examined the
impact of agricultural practices, small-scale granite
mining and silt accumulation on the breeding cycle
of the range–restricted and stenotopic Duttaphrynus
hololius. We hypothesised that alterations to breeding
pools, such as siltation and reduced water availability, would negatively impact the breeding success of
this toad species. Our findings indicate that agriculture and grazing did not have a negative impact on
breeding activities. Nevertheless, silt accumulation and
granite mining were identified as major factors leading
to unsuccessful breeding cycles. These results highlight the importance of conserving breeding habitats
within socio-ecological landscapes for the persistence
of this amphibian. Sustainable management practices are crucial to ensure the survival of D. hololius,
particularly those that mitigate the negative impacts
of silt accumulation and small-scale granite mining.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Wiggins, G. B., Mackay, R. J. and Smith, I. M., Evolutionary and ecological strategies of animals in annual temporary pools. Arch. Hydrobiol., 1980, 58, 97–206.
Collinson, N. H. et al., Temporary and permanent ponds: an assessment of the effects of drying out on the conservation value of aquatic
macroinvertebrate communities. Biol. Conserv., 1995, 74, 125–133.
Literature cited 2: Levick, L. et al., The Ecological and Hydrological Significance of
Ephemeral and Intermittent Streams in the Arid and Semi-arid American Southwest, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008.
Whitford, W. G. and Duval, B. D., Wind and water processes. In Ecology of Desert Systems, Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2020, pp.
73–107.
ID: 66327
Title: Assessing the impact of the pile-driven signal on the selected marine species from Indian waters
Author: N. X. Elizabeth Shani, Nimmi R. Nair and R. Sajeev
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1012-1018 25 May (2025)
Subject: Assessing the impact of the pile-driven signal on the selected marine species from Indian waters
Keywords: Acoustic propagation modelling, environmental impact assessment, hearing threshold of marine species, pile-driven impulsive signals, underwater noise pollution.
Abstract: Rising anthropogenic activities in the ocean have
caused underwater noise pollution, which affects marine habitats in many ways. The present study assessed
the impact of impulsive signals generated by a piling
station on a few selected marine fishes in the Arabian Sea. A modelling approach has been employed
to simulate the propagation of pile-driven signals in
the low-frequency band. The present study found that
pile driving had a significant impact on the hearing
thresholds of selected marine fishes. The impact area of
pile driving, estimated through the acoustic transmission loss model, was found to vary with environmental
conditions and frequency. The study emphasises the
need to establish mitigation techniques to lessen the
impact of noise pollution on the maritime ecosystem.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Peng, C., Zhao, X. and Liu, G., Noise in the sea and its impacts on
marine organisms. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, 2015, 12(10),
12304-12323; doi: 10.3390/ijerph121012304.
2 Christine, E., Marley, S. A., Schoeman, R. P., Smith, J. N., Trigg,
L. E. and Embling, C. B., The effects of ship noise on marine
mammals — a review. Front. Mar. Sci., 2019, 6(606); doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00606
Literature cited 2: Tasker, M., et al., Marine Strategy Framework Directive – Task Group
11 Report – Underwater noise and other forms of energy, (ed. Zampoukas, N.), International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, Publications Office of the European Union, Gare, Luxembourg, 2010;
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2788/87079.
Duarte, C. et al., The soundscape of the Anthropocene Ocean. Science,
2021, 371, eaba4658; doi:10.1126/science.aba4658.
ID: 66326
Title: A report of Sulcolithos variabilis trace-fossils in India
Author: V. S. Parihar, Abhimanyu Singh, V. K. Meghwal and Anshul Harsh
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 1006-1011 25 May (2025)
Subject: A report of Sulcolithos variabilis trace-fossils in India
Keywords: Burrowing or boring traces, Fort Member, Jaisalmer Basin, Jaisalmer Formation, polychaetes, Sulcolithos variabilis, western Rajasthan.
Abstract: The burrowing or boring traces of polychaetes ascribed
to Sulcolithos variabilis have been recorded in the Fort
Member of the Jaisalmer Formation, Jaisalmer Basin,
exposed near the Jethwai village area of Jaisalmer district, western Rajasthan, India. These traces are superficial and occur on firm calcareous grounds of yellowish
medium- to fine-grained calcareous sandstone of the
Fort Member as elongated, straight, or curved grooves,
such as burrows or borings. They are mostly found
with rounded ends, but sometimes these grooves are
tapered at both ends. The Sulcolithos variabilis grooves
range from 42 to 92 mm in length, 4 to 6 mm in width
and 3 to 6 mm in depth. These trace-fossils in the Fort
Member of the Jaisalmer Formation are interpreted
as combined burrowing and boring behaviour traces,
probably produced by polychaete worms. However, no
in situ remains of polychaete worms have been found yet
in the presently identified Sulcolithos variabilis grooves.
This report represents the first documented instance of
Sulcolithos variabilis burrowing and/or boring in India.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Dasgupta, S. K., Stratigraphy of western Rajasthan shelf. Proceeding IV Indian Colloquium on Micropaleontology and Stratigraphy,
Dehradun, India, 1974, 219-233.
Datta, A. K., Geological evolution of hydrocarbon prospects of Rajasthan basin. Pet. Asia J., 1983, 1, 92-100.
Literature cited 2: Pandey, D. K., Alberti, M. and Fürsich, F. T., Ammonites of the genus
Perisphinctes Waagen, 1869 from the Oxfordian of Kachchh, western
India. Rev. Paléobiol., 2012, 31(2), 483-587.
Dasgupta, S. K., A revision of the Mesozoic-Tertiary stratigraphy of
the Jaisalmer basin, Rajasthan. J. Earth Syst. Sci., 1975, 2(1), 77-99.
ID: 66325
Title: Antioxidant activities and biochemical analysis of Capsicum annuum L. varieties at different ripening stages
Author: Pooja Oli , Purnima Rawat , Shailaja Punetha and Shivani Shukla
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 999-1005 25 May (2025)
Subject: Antioxidant activities and biochemical analysis of Capsicum annuum L. varieties at different ripening stages
Keywords: Antioxidant, bell pepper, nutritional, phenol, protein, sweet pepper, tannin.
Abstract: Capsicum (Capsicum annuum L.) is a high-demand
crop due to its versatility, which adds flavour, colour
and nutritional value to various culinary products. Besides this, capsicum contains a significant number of
biochemicals, including carotenoids, phenols, ascorbic acid, capsaicinoids and anthocyanins that impart
various medicinal properties like antimicrobial, anticancer, pain reliever, and also help in the prevention
of obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes and
atherosclerosis. This crop demonstrates an array of vibrant colours reflecting different ripening stages that
correspond to various biochemicals and nutritional activity. Hence, the objective of the present study was
to examine the effect of ripening stages, i.e., green and
red (mature stage), on the secondary metabolites and
protein content of ten different varieties of Capsicum
annuum. Across the study, all green and red capsicum
varieties were studied and the highest total phenol content (TPC) (97.23 ± 0.14 mg GAE/g fw) was observed in
Sita variety at red mature stage, total flavonoid content
(TFC) from JF-3 variety at red stage (47.47 ± 0.24 mg
QE/g fw), tannin content in NS-82 at red stage (34.32
± 0.18 mg TAE/g fw). Similarly, the highest DPPH
activity was observed in the Queen variety at green
(132.42 ± 0.35 mg AAE/g fw) and red stage (158.30
± 0.30 mg AAE/g fw). The maximum protein content was recorded in the Dolly variety at the green
stage (20.5 ± 0.34%). The TPC, TFC, tannin, and
protein contents of the Queen, Dolly, Rosy-400, and
Durga varieties at red stages and Durga, KSP-1070,
JF-3, and KSP-160 varieties at green stages are at par,
which makes them ideal as alternatives for each other.
Therefore, the findings of the study offer a basis for
encouraging the utilisation of capsicum at both stages,
as they contribute to a well-rounded nutritional profile and play a significant role in disease prevention.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Hernández-Pérez, T., Gómez-García, M. del R., Valverde, M. E. and
Paredes-López, O., Capsicum annuum (hot pepper): An ancient Latin American crop with outstanding bioactive compounds and nutraceutical potential. A review. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf., 2020, 19,
2972–2993.
Pandey, V., Pandey, H. K., Guglani, A. and Balakrishna, G., Screening of colored and green capsicum cultivars for economic traits and
antioxidant potential grown at mid-hill climatic conditions of Uttarakhand. Veg. Sci., 2021, 48(2), 228–233.
Literature cited 2: Sun, F., Xiong, S. and Zhu, Z., Dietary capsaicin protects cardiometabolic organs from dysfunction. Nutrients, 2016, 8(5), 174.
Durucasu, I. and Tokusoglu, O., Effects of grilling on Luteolin
(3‘,4‘,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) content in sweet green bell pepper
(Capsicum annuum). Pak. J. Biol. Sci., 2007, 10(19), 3410–3414
ID: 66324
Title: Soil moisture estimation from Landsat-8 imagery using triangle method in Imphal–Iril river catchment, Manipur, India
Author: Ngangom Robertson and Oinam Bakimchandra
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 987-998 25 May (2025)
Subject: Soil moisture estimation from Landsat-8 imagery using triangle method in Imphal–Iril river catchment, Manipur, India
Keywords: Land surface temperature, normalised difference vegetation index, soil moisture, temperature vegetation dryness index, triangle meth
Abstract: Soil moisture is an essential indicator for long-term
sustainable agriculture. Crop growth and production
are highly dependent on cropland soil moisture conditions. The primary goal of this study is to assess
surface soil moisture indirectly using satellite-derived
temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI) based
on the triangle approach within the Imphal-Iril river
catchment. TVDI was derived from the Landsat-8 imagery dataset for three different periods based on normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land
surface temperature (LST). Maximum and minimum
LST values were calculated to compute TVDI using
LST and NDVI. According to the results, NDVI and
minimum LST showed a positive correlation, whereas
NDVI and maximum LST showed a negative correlation. The TVDI was correlated with in situ soil moisture measurements using a regression analysis. Fifty
in situ soil moisture measurement data were collected
for three different periods over the catchment using
time domain reflectometry (TDR-300). These ground
observation data were used to compute regression parameters and validate the study. The computed soil
moisture values were validated against in situ volumetric soil moisture measurements. The results were
statistically significant, with R
2 values of 0.83, 0.85
and 0.86 for 22 November 2018, 8 December 2018
and 9 January 2019, respectively. The results of this
study revealed that TVDI can depict soil moisture
variation under various land uses in a region. The
study found that settlement areas and higher-elevated
hilly regions have lower soil moisture content, whereas
agricultural zones in the valley and densely vegetated
areas show significantly higher soil moisture levels.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: Ochsner, T. E. et al., State of the art in large-scale soil moisture monitoring. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J.. 2013, 7(6), 1888–1919; doi.org/10.2136/
sssaj2013.03.0093.
Cheng, Y., Li, P., Xu, G., Wang, X., Li, Z. and Cheng, S., Effects of dynamic factors of erosion on soil nitrogen and phosphorus
loss under freeze-thaw conditions. Geoderma, 2021, 390, 114972;
doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2021.114972
Literature cited 2: Xu, M., et al., Soil moisture estimation and its influencing factors
based on temporal stability on a semiarid sloped forestland. Front.
Earth Sci., 2021, 9, 629826; doi: 10.3389/feart.2021.629826.
Green, J. K., Seneviratne, S. I., Berg, A. M., Findell, K. L., Hagemann,
S., Lawrence, D. M. and Gentine, P., Large influence of soil moisture
on long-term terrestrial carbon uptake, Nature, 2019, 565, 476–479.
ID: 66323
Title: Climate resilient development for sustainable water security for India
Author: Sharad K. Jain , Manabendra Saharia, S. Murty Bhallamudi and Ligy Philip
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 969-986 25 May (2025)
Subject: Climate resilient development for sustainable water security for India
Keywords: Climate change, climate-resilient development, clean water and sanitation, India, sustainable development goals.
Abstract: Much of the impact of climate change on humanity will be through changes in the quality and quantity of water. Impacts
will be exacerbated due to increasing population, land-use and land-cover changes, high economic growth and the inherent nexus between water, food, and energy security. Current water development pathways in India are not resilient
since, at times, hydro-projects are unable to provide reliable services and water security in extreme events. In the event
of a failure, the system may take a long time to recover. Further, the reliabilities of the systems are likely to degrade in
the future when the magnitude, intensity and variability of hydro-climatic processes will be higher. The present article
describes current and future challenges in water resources management in India. Considering the current scenario and
threats to water security, the present study suggests climate-resilient development (CRD) to create water infrastructure
and sustainable management. A resilient system rapidly recovers after failure and tends to be more sustainable. The
study also emphasises that CRD requires enabling laws, policies, and plans; good water governance at different scales,
proper pricing, better data collection and analysis, institutional strengthening, resilient infrastructure, recycling and
reuse, environmental protection, and integrated water resources management. Since the current state of the environment
is unhealthy, due care is needed to rejuvenate the environment and biodiversity. CRD pathways can be evaluated using
sustainable development goals and their indicators for India.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: GFDRR. Background paper on Kerala floods. 2019;
https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files
/events/WRC4/kerala%20floods%20-%20background%20paper.pdf.
(accessed on 14 May 2025)
Saharia, M., et al., India flood inventory: creation of a multi-source
national geospatial database to facilitate comprehensive flood research.
Nat. Hazards, 2021, 108, 619–633.
Literature cited 2: Chuphal, D. S., Kushwaha, A. P., Aadhar, S. and Mishra, V., Drought
atlas of India, 1901–2020. Sci. Data, 2024, 11, 7.
The Energy and Resources Institute, Economics of Desertification,
Land Degradation and Drought in India - Vol I: Macroeconomic assessment of the costs of degradation in India. Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi, 2018.
ID: 66322
Title: High-value farming for periurban areas: sweetcorn a viable option
Author: Preeti Sharma, Kiran, Narender Singh, Kuldeep, Ramesh Kumar and M. C. Kamboj
Editor: S.K.Satheesh
Year: 2025
Publisher: Current Science Association and Indian Academy of Sciences.
Source: ENVIS, CES & EWRG, CES
Reference: Current Science Vol. 128 (10) 966-968 25 May (2025)
Subject: High-value farming for periurban areas: sweetcorn a viable option
Keywords: None
Abstract: Maize, commonly referred to as corn,
ranks among the most significant
and extensively cultivated cereal crops
globally. Its versatility and adaptability make it a staple food in many
countries and an important part of the
global agriculture.
Depending on the grain’s composition, various types of maize, including dent, flint, pop, waxy and floury,
are suited for specific applications1
.
Specialty corn varieties, such as
sweetcorn, popcorn, baby corn and
high oil corn, hold significant market
Its production has increased significantly in recent years, making itpotential both in the international
arena and within India. It has significant potential in Indian agriculture due to changing food patterns
and cropping systems. Among them
sweetcorn is an important crop, prized
for its sweet and tender kernels, which
set it apart from other types of maize.
a crucial crop for fresh consumption and the food industry. It has
been observed a growing demand for
maize, including sweetcorn, in developing countries, primarily driven
by its use in animal feed and human
consumption2
. This vegetable crop
is widely cultivated and has gained
significant popularity across North
America, Europe and Asia. Approximately 40 per cent of the corn utilised
in production is frozen, with the remainder being processed into canned
products. The United States leads the
world in sweetcorn production, followed by Japan, Canada, France and
Taiwan. In recent times, India has also
seen a substantial increase in the consumption of corn, primarily in frozen
or canned forms.
Location: T E 15 New Biology building
Literature cited 1: . Sain Dass, Kumar, A., Jat, S. L., Parihar, C. M., Singh, A. K., Chikkappa K. and Jat, M. L., Maize holds potential
for diversification and livelihood security. Indian J. Agron., 2012, 57, 86–91.
Food and Agriculture Organization.
2023; https://www.fao.org
Literature cited 2: The State of Food and Agriculture
2023; https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7724en.
The State of Food and Agriculture
2024; https://doi.org/10.4060/cd2616en.