Pollinator Diversity in Bitter Gourd Ecosystem in the Central Tamil Nadu, India | Chapter 3 | Research Perspective on Biological Science Vol. 8

 

Bitter gourd is a tropical vine belonging to the family Cucubitaceae grown mainly in India, China and Southeast Asia. The past two decades have seen unprecedented interest in pollinators and pollination ecology, stimulated in part by concerns about the decline of pollinator abundance and diversity in some parts of the world. Bees are the most studied and utilised pollinators for cucurbit crops throughout the world and provide the greatest contribution to the pollination of cucurbits. The study aimed to document the diversity of insects (floral visitors/pollinators) visiting bitter gourd flowers. A total of 51 species of flower visitors/pollinators were recorded visiting the bitter gourd flowers when recorded from 000 to 1800 hours during the day time, for various needs like the pollen and nectar rewards, to prey on the flower visitors, and to feed on the flowers too. Field surveys were conducted at weekly intervals in two locations in Tiruchirapalli district, Tamilnadu to study the diversity of insects visiting bitter gourd flowers. This includes 19 Hymenopteran insects, 15 Lepidopterans, seven Dipterans and six Coleopterans. Tetragonula iridipennis was the most abundant pollinator, followed by Apis florea, Halictus sp. and Apis cerana indica; while Syrphus ribesii was the dominating Dipteran pollinator. Among the Lepidopterans, Pachliopta hector was the major pollinator, followed by Danaus chrysippus, Tirumala limniace and Delias eucharis. Species richness (S) was at its maximum (26 species) at 0800 – 1000 hours and minimum (07 species) at 1600-1800 hours. Diversity indices were also calculated based on the data, which shows the distribution of a specific group of pollinators at particular hours of the day. All the indices represented the even and uniform distribution of the pollinator groups. Shannon’s and Simpson’s diversity indices were maximum at 1000-1200 hours with 2.52 and 9.18, respectively. Shannon’s evenness ranged from 0.44 – 0.86, and Simpson’s evenness was 0.28 – 0.54 with a maximum at 1000-1200 hours. The study suggests that pesticide applications should be avoided during morning hours to conserve pollinator populations and optimise pollination services in bitter gourd cultivation.

 

 

Author(s) Details

 

Yogapriya Adaikkan
School of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, The Gandhigram Rural Institute - DTBU, Gandhigram, Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India.

 

B. Usharani
Department of Agricultural Entomology, Agricultural college and Research Institute, TNAU – Madurai, India.

 

K. Suresh
ICAR-KVK, Agricultural College and Research Institute, TNAU – Madurai, India.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/rpbs/v8/6400

 

Diversity of Insects in the Paddy Fields of Mundakam Vayal, Kannur District, India: A Recent Study | Chapter 13 | Research Aspects in Biological Science Vol. 4

 

Examining the variation in insect populations in paddy plots in the Mundakam Vayal area of Nedungome village, Kannur district, was the goal of this study. In this examination, a total of 71 bug species were discovered. 52 species in total, broken down into eight orders, were found. The three most prevalent orders were Lepidoptera (12), Odonata (10), and Coleoptera (9), with Araneae (7), Hemiptera (6), Orthoptera (5), Hymenoptera (2), and Diptera following (1). The maximum species diversity was found in Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera had the highest population density. The two most prevalent species discovered were Leptocorisa oratoria, a member of the Order Hemiptera, and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, a member of the Order Lepidoptera. The total abundance and variety of insects increased during the rice plant's flowering and milky periods. The research demonstrates that insect diversity in paddy fields led to a successful equilibrium between pest populations and beneficial insects (predators and parasitoids). Insect diversity has the potential to be a useful strategy for preserving, utilising, and enhancing biodiversity in the agricultural ecology of the Mundakam Vayal area, hence assuring food security.

Author(s) Details:

Vinni Mathew,
Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Ananthi Rachel Livingstone,
Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RABS-V4/article/view/7596

Studies on Diversity, Structure and Carbon Stocks from Three Pools in the Kouoghap Sacred Forest, Hedgerows and Eucalyptus Plantations in the Batoufam Locality , West Cameroon | Chapter 1 | Modern Advances in Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences Vol. 6

 The goal of this research was to count trees and calculate carbon stocks in hedgerows and eucalyptus plantations in comparison to the Kouoghap sacred forest, which is the only landscape that has retained its natural state. This study was conducted in the holy forest, hedgerows, and Eucalyptus plantations, which are the predominant land use categories in the Batoufam location. For the sacred forest, 5 transects of 800 m x 5 m and 10 transects of 300 m x 5 m were used to inventory trees with a diameter of less than 10 cm, and 10 transects of 300 m × 5 m were used for hedgerows and Eucalyptus plantations. The above and below ground biomass of trees were estimated using allometric equations, whereas the litter obtained in 30 square plots of 0.5m x 0.5m was quantified using the destructive approach. A total of 70 and 11 tree species were discovered in the sacred forest and hedgerows, respectively. Plantations of Eucalyptus, on the other hand, are monospecific (only one trees species was found). The Shannon index (3.51) revealed that the sacred forest had a lot of floristic variety and hedgerows had a lot of it (1.94). The abundance of trees decreases as the diameter classes of the sacred forest and hedgerows grow, resulting in an uneven appearance in the Eucalyptus plantations. According to carbon stocks, which ranged from 130 to 196 tC.ha-1 for aboveground carbon and 31 to 47 tC.ha-1 for belowground carbon, there was no substantial difference between these three land uses. Compared to litter, which differed considerably across holy forests (6.40 tC.ha-1), hedgerows (9.39 tC.ha-1), and Eucalyptus plantations (10.96 tC.ha-1). Because of the quantity of carbon they store, this study confirmed the importance of holy forests in biodiversity protection as well as the necessity to explore alternate types of land use in climate change plans.

Author (S) Details

Frederic C. Lounang Tchatchouang
Department of Geography, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, PO. BOX: 812, Cameroon.

Cedric Chimi Djomo
Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), PO. BOX: 2123, Cameroon and Department of Plant Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, PO. BOX: 812, Cameroon.

Vice Clotèxe Tajeukem
Department of Plant Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, PO. BOX: 812, Cameroon.

Paul Djibrilla
Department of Geography, University of Maroua, Maroua, PO. BOX: 814, Cameroon.

View Book :- https://stm.bookpi.org/MAGEES-V6/article/view/3848

Impact of Habitat Degradation on Mangrove Biodiversity | Chapter 8 | New Visions in Biological Science Vol. 2

 Mangrove forests are home to terrestrial marine/brackish water species as well as exclusively intertidal creatures, giving them a diverse ecology. Due to a growing reliance on natural resources, mangroves have been exploited beyond their sustainable capability. The purpose of this research was to see how anthropogenic activities affect the distribution of animals and flowers. The investigation was place in the mangroves of Shiroda and Assolna in south Goa. Because of the anthropogenic activities linked with the two sites evaluated, the physicochemical properties of the water varied in the mangroves. Anthropogenic activities disrupted the Shiroda mangrove environment much further. The water quality at the Shiroda site was harmed by high calcium and sulphate concentrations. The permitted levels for hardness, TDS, and calcium were all exceeded. Both study sites had similar faunal species indices, but the richness of the fauna differed. Assolna had more species variety in crustaceans, Aves, mammals, and Actinoptergii than Shiroda. According to the findings of this study, ecological disturbance caused by industrial activity reduces species richness and evenness of specific fauna.

Author (S) Details

Nandini Vaz Fernandes
Department of Zoology, Dean-Faculty of Life Sciences, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science (Autonomous),Gogol Margao Goa, India.

Madhu Balekai
Department of Zoology, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Gogol Margao Goa, India.

Tessa Vaz
Department of Zoology, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Gogol Margao Goa, India.

Prasanna Naik Goankar
Department of Zoology, Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science (Autonomous), Gogol Margao Goa, India.

View Book:- https://stm.bookpi.org/NVBS-V2/article/view/3714