Zoological Survey of India

About: Zoological Survey of India is a government organization based out in Kolkata, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Genus & Population. The organization has 919 authors who have published 1449 publications receiving 6504 citations. The organization is also known as: ZSI.

Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of India

Abstract: This paper summarizes what is known of the coastal and marine biodiversity of the Indian seas and their various ecosystems, from past literature, museum records and other lesser-known sources of information. The synthesis suggests that the number of species known could be of the order 13,000 or higher. However, the inventory is very detailed only in the case of commercially important groups such as fishes or molluscs and is very weak with respect to minor phyla or microbial organisms. In terms of spatial coverage, probably only two-thirds of the total marine habitat has been covered till today and the remote islands and other minor estuaries still virtually remain untouched. It is, therefore, likely that true inventory of coastal and marine biodiversity could be several times higher than what is known today. Lack of trained taxonomists, however, is a serious constraint to achieve this. Conserving what we have today is hampered by lack of management measures including outreach and our ability to predict what would live in Indian seas, by lack of data relating changes in biodiversity to those of environment.

Gas sensing properties of ZnO nanostructures (flowers/rods) synthesized by hydrothermal method

Abstract: Here, we report the hydrothermal synthesis of flower-shaped ZnO nanostructures and investigated their morphology-dependent gas sensing properties. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) study confirmed the formation of two kinds of floral structures. At short reaction time, flower-like structures (2–3 μm in size) composed of nanoparticles are formed, whereas floral assemblies (˜ 5 μm) of nanorods are formed at long reaction time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. The average crystallite size of prepared nanoflowers and nanorods were found to be 21 nm and 43 nm, respectively. These results are supported by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The band gap of ZnO nanostructures was calculated from the UV–vis absorption spectrum and found to be 3.0 eV and 3.19 eV for ZnO nanoflowers and nanorods, respectively. Broad absorption peak in the visible region of photoluminescence (PL) spectra confirmed the presence of oxygen vacancies in both specimens. Furthermore, morphology dependent gas sensing property was investigated for ethanol, benzene, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide at different operating temperatures and concentrations. Although both morphologies have shown good sensitivity and selectivity towards NO2 at ppb, the response of nanoflower was higher than that of nanorods, which was attributed to its relatively higher surface area and amount of surface defects.

Ecology, Bionomics and Evolution of the Torrential Fauna, with Special Reference to the Organs of Attachment

Abstract: In studying the life and characters of the animals inhabiting the torrential streams of India and elsewhere, one thing has become quite clear to me—that evolution is no more than the adaptation of organisms to environment. "Adaptation" signifies correlation of an animal with its habitat, and therefore the study of animal organisation, however detailed, cannot by itself lead to the proper understanding of this phenomenon. Environment with its unlimited gradations plays an important part in the making and re-making of the characters, and sometimes the resultant forms are of such totally different types that genetic relations can hardly be discerned ( vide infra , pp. 190, 237, 246). This fine adjustment of an organism to the external conditions of its existence is the result of a series of gradual changes induced by the environment.

863 genomes reveal the origin and domestication of chicken

Abstract: Despite the substantial role that chickens have played in human societies across the world, both the geographic and temporal origins of their domestication remain controversial To address this issue, we analyzed 863 genomes from a worldwide sampling of chickens and representatives of all four species of wild jungle fowl and each of the five subspecies of red jungle fowl (RJF) Our study suggests that domestic chickens were initially derived from the RJF subspecies Gallus gallus spadiceus whose present-day distribution is predominantly in southwestern China, northern Thailand and Myanmar Following their domestication, chickens were translocated across Southeast and South Asia where they interbred locally with both RJF subspecies and other jungle fowl species In addition, our results show that the White Leghorn chicken breed possesses a mosaic of divergent ancestries inherited from other subspecies of RJF Despite the strong episodic gene flow from geographically divergent lineages of jungle fowls, our analyses show that domestic chickens undergo genetic adaptations that underlie their unique behavioral, morphological and reproductive traits Our study provides novel insights into the evolutionary history of domestic chickens and a valuable resource to facilitate ongoing genetic and functional investigations of the world’s most numerous domestic animal

State of Knowledge of Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Indian Ocean Countries

Abstract: The Indian Ocean (henceforth IO) is designated conventionally as an area between 25° N and 40° S and between 45° E and 115° E [1]. Meridionally, the IO extends from the Gulf of Oman and the head of the Bay of Bengal in the north to 40° S and zonally, from the east and South African coasts in the west to the coastlines of Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Western Australia in the east (Figure 1). The IO spreads over 74.92 million km2 (29% of the global ocean area) with an average depth of 3,873 m and a maximum depth of 7,125 m (Java Trench). The IO can be divided into two regions, the northern part comprising regional seas (Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal), and the southern, oceanic part, merging with the Southern Ocean. Water exchange between the IO and the Atlantic Ocean occurs around the southern tip of Africa and between the IO and the Pacific Ocean, through the Indo-Pacific through-flow between northern Australia and Java. Figure 1 Geographical spread of the Indian Ocean. Several characteristics distinguish the IO from other oceans. The foremost is that it is landlocked to the north and the resultant differential heating of the landmass and the sea gives rise to a wind circulation that reverses direction, and entrains a corresponding reversal in surface circulation, twice a year. This monsoon effect has a significant bearing on climatology of the northern IO, in turn affecting the biological productivity and agrarian economy of the regional countries. The 36 littoral and 11 hinterland nations, all of which are regarded as developing countries, on the rim of the IO account for 30% of the world's population. The IO is also a significant contributor to the productivity of living marine resources, with estimated annual yields of 8 million tons of capture fisheries and 23 million tons of culture fisheries, equivalent, respectively, to 10% and 90% of the world's production [2]. The tropical nature of most of the IO countries also renders them sites of high coastal and marine biological diversity—for example, 30% of global coral reef cover (185,000–200,000 km2) [2], [3] lies in the IO region. The high population density of most countries is also a major cause of degradation of coastal habitats, especially through addition of pollutants. It has been estimated [4] that Indian coastal seas have been receiving 3.9 * 1012 liters of domestic sewage and 3.9 * 1011 liters of industrial sewage (taken as 10% of the former) every year. Such assessments are not readily available for all IO countries. Hence an extrapolation, using the ratio of the length of the coastline of India (6,500 km) to that of all IO countries (66,526 km) [3], would suggest that a pollution load of 40 * 1012 and 4 * 1012 liters, respectively, of sewage and industrial effluents may enter IO coastal seas every year. The consequences of this level of pollution, and the uncontrolled physical changes happening in the coastal habitats of all nations, seriously constrain the sustenance of biodiversity.