scholarly journals Occurrence of the Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica Kerr.1792) and the Damage on Plantation Crops in the Nilambur Forest Divisions of Southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riju P. Nair ◽  
E. A. Jayson

The damage to coconut and rubber plantations by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Nilambur Forest Division, Malappuram District was reported for the first time. The objectives of this study were to document the mode of attack and estimate the extent of damage by Indian crested porcupine in the plantation crops of the forest fringes. The study was carried out from June 2013 to May 2016 as part of the documentation of human-wildlife conflict in Malappuram District. Stratified random sampling, along with quadrat (10 m x 10 m) method was used to assess the crop damage. Estimation of the economic loss to farmers was carried out by using the market price of the coconuts during the period, collected from the website of Farm Information Bureau, Govt. of Kerala. The mean economic loss of crops damaged by Indian crested porcupine was Rs.1322.35/- per ha/annum. The debarking behavior of Indian crested porcupine on coconut palms (n=31), rubber trees (n=27) and consumption of newly formed bamboo culms (n=42) were also reported. No one has implemented proper mitigation measures against the Indian crested porcupine in the District.

2022 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehtisham ◽  
A. Akhtar ◽  
K. A. Khan ◽  
M. Iqbal ◽  
S. A. Bano ◽  
...  

Abstract Indian crested porcupine is the largest rodent pest that damages a wide variety of crops, vegetables, and tree species which ultimately causes huge economic loss in Pakistan, which is an agricultural country. It prefers to live in hilly terrain but common in temperate and tropical forests, shrublands, and grasslands. This study focused on the identification and assessment of crops damaged along with the main precautionary measures used by the local farmers. The data was collected from twenty-four villages of two union councils i.e. Chamhad and Slahad of district Abbottabad. Two types of data (primary and secondary) were collected from the study area. Primary data was collected for identification and estimation calculation of total crop damaged through direct field observation by taking random quadrates in each village of the study area. The damage in the crop was assessed by randomly selecting a quadrate of 1x1 m2 for the wheat, pearl millet, and Sorghum fields. While 4x4 m2 quadrates were taken for maize and vegetables. At least three quadrate samples were taken from each field including one quadrate taken from the center of the field area. In union council Chamhad, damage to maize (11.31%) and wheat (0.73%) by the Indian crested porcupine while in union council Salhad, damage of maize (6.95%) and wheat (1.6%) was observed. In the entire study area, overall damage to maize crop (8.01%) and wheat (0.88%) was calculated. Based on information obtained from the farmers, the Indian porcupine inflicted damage to potato, tomato, cauliflower, chili pepper, turnip, radish, pea, and onion, etc. Secondary data obtained through a questionnaire survey to explore the human porcupine conflict and precautionary measures used by the farmers and landowners. Open and close-ended questionnaires (159) highlighted the presence of Indian crested porcupine in the study area and 96% of the respondents have seen porcupine directly. Many types of precautionary measures were used by the farmers such as fencing, night stay, night firing, and dogs to decrease the crop damage, respondents (63.91%) use guns for hunting. however, due to the largely agricultural area and nocturnal behavior of Indian crested porcupine majority of the respondents (51.57%) did not use any precautionary measure. Biological control of Indian porcupine is recommended in the study area. Farmers should be encouraged and provide incentives and killing through current should be banned while proper hunting license should be issued to overcome overhunting. Scientific studies are required to control the reproduction of porcupine specifically in the more damaged areas.


2023 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Z. Ashraf ◽  
B. Ahmad ◽  
F. Shafique ◽  
M. U. Hassan ◽  
N. Asim ◽  
...  

Abstract The Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) is a vertebrate pest of agricultural lands and forest. The study was aimed to report the damage to local crops by the Indian crested porcupine (Hystrix indica) in the Muzaffarabad District. A survey was conducted to identify the porcupine-affected areas and assess the crop damage to the local farmers in district Muzaffarabad Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from May 2017 to October 2017. Around 19 villages were surveyed, and a sum of 191 semi-structured questionnaires was distributed among farmers. Crop damage was found highest in village Dhanni where a porcupine destroyed 175 Kg/Kanal of the crops. Regarding the total magnitude of crop loss, village Danna and Koomi kot were the most affected areas. More than half (51.8%) of the respondents in the study area suffered the economic loss within the range of 101-200$, and (29.8%) of the people suffered losses in the range of 201-300$ annually. Among all crops, maize (Zea mays) was found to be the most damaged crop ranging between 1-300 Kg annually. In the study area, porcupine also inflicted a lot of damages to some important vegetables, including spinach (Spinacia oleracea), potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). It was estimated that, on average, 511Kg of vegetables are destroyed by porcupine every year in the agricultural land of Muzaffarabad. It was concluded that the Indian crested porcupine has a devastating effect on agriculture which is an important source of income and food for the local community. Developing an effective pest control strategy with the help of the local government and the Wildlife department could help the farmers to overcome this problem.


Author(s):  
Sergey Staroverov ◽  
Sergey Kozlov ◽  
Alexander Fomin ◽  
Konstantib Gabalov ◽  
Alexey Volkov ◽  
...  

Background: The liver disease problem prompts investigators to search for new methods of liver treatment. Introduction: Silymarin (Sil) protects the liver by reducing the concentration of free radicals and the extent of damage to the cell membranes. A particularly interesting method to increase the bioavailability of Sil is to use synthesized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as reagents. The study considered whether it was possible to use the silymarin-AuNP conjugate as a potential liver-protecting drug. Method: AuNPs were conjugated to Sil and examine the liver-protecting activity of the conjugate. Experimental hepatitis and hepatocyte cytolysis after carbon tetrachloride actionwere used as a model system, and the experiments were conducted on laboratory animals. Result: For the first time, silymarin was conjugated to colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Electron microscopy showed that the resultant preparations were monodisperse and that the mean conjugate diameter was 18–30 nm ± 0.5 nm (mean diameter of the native nanoparticles, 15 ± 0.5 nm). In experimental hepatitis in mice, conjugate administration interfered with glutathione depletion in hepatocytes in response to carbon tetrachloride was conducive to an increase in energy metabolism, and stimulated the monocyte–macrophage function of the liver. The results were confirmed by the high respiratory activity of the hepatocytes in cell culture. Conclusion: We conclude that the silymarin-AuNP conjugate holds promise as a liver-protecting agent in acute liver disease caused by carbon tetrachloride poisoning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 16502-16509
Author(s):  
Sandeep Das ◽  
K.P. Rajkumar ◽  
K.A. Sreejith ◽  
M. Royaltata ◽  
P.S. Easa

Abstract: The Resplendent Shrub Frog, Raorchestes resplendens Biju, Shouche, Dubois, Dutta, & Bossuyt, 2010 is a Critically Endangered species endemic to the Western Ghats and was considered to be restricted to a three-square kilometer patch atop Anamudi summit.  In this study, we report 36 new locations of the species from the Anamalai massif of the southern Western Ghats.  Niche-based prediction modelling suggests that the species is restricted to Anamalai massif.  The call description of this frog is also provided for the first time. The preferred microhabitat of the frog is Chrysopogon grass clumps in the marshy/swampy montane grassland ecosystem. Restricted to a small area with controlled burning management practiced in its habitat, R. resplendens needs immediate attention.


2012 ◽  
Vol 524-527 ◽  
pp. 3371-3375
Author(s):  
Xiu Teng Wang ◽  
Ya Jing Zhang ◽  
Ling Xu ◽  
Ling Lin ◽  
Dong Feng Gao ◽  
...  

PM2.5 pollution causes great health hazards, which will finally result in much economic loss. In China, it is first time to take PM2.5 as a general limitation factor in the revised version of "Ambient Air Quality Standard". In this work, we take Beijing as investigation objective, choose five kinds of typical health impacts, and make rough economic estimation of the potential benefits from the decrease of PM2.5 concentration through the epidemic-doses model in a quantitative point of view. Assuming the PM2.5 pollution is controlled well and satisfies the requirement of Grade 2 and 1 of new standard, 1681 and 2269 million Yuan will be saved in Beijing considering only health aspects. So it is necessary to take PM2.5 into the new ambient air quality standard as a general indicator, which is overall beneficial for environment and economy.


ENTOMON ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-316
Author(s):  
Arun Pratap Singh ◽  
Gaurav Chand Ramola

During the course of survey carried out in Chakrata hills (Chakrata Forest Division, Dehradun district, Uttarakhand (Western Himalaya), sporadic infestation by the hook tip moth, Deroca inconclusa (Walker,1856) (Lepidoptera: Drepanidae : Drepaninae) was recorded on Cornus capitata Wall. ex Roxb. trees in Chakrata Reserve Forest at several locations. Outbreak of the hook tip moth is being reported for the first time from this region along with its life history on C. capitata from the Garhwal region of the Western Himalaya.


2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Blose ◽  
Marinus DeBruine ◽  
Parvez Sopariwala

The General Motors/UAW strike in June-July 1998 involved a 54-day work stoppage. General Motors and automobile analysts have attempted to quantify the loss from this strike and have come up with varied numbers. The stock market analysts' reactions to the strike, and consequently, the stock market price reaction, vary depending on which estimation method is employed. There is no real consensus among these various sources because their “economic loss” estimates rely on predictions of how many of the vehicles could not be produced and sold as a result of the strike (or recovered in future quarters). Using recent developments in the cost management literature, we determine the cost of unused capacity or the “accounting loss” suffered by General Motors during the second and third quarters of 1998. We show that General Motors may have lost about $2,332.7 million after taxes (excluding Delphi) due to the strike and an additional $1,313.8 million after taxes (excluding Delphi) due to capacity unused for other reasons. More importantly, such “accounting losses,” to the extent they are not strike-related, are expected to continue each year unless market conditions improve or the company takes action to reduce its capacity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 1163-1186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenxiao Tang ◽  
Xinlei Liu ◽  
Yinghua Cai ◽  
Cees Van Westen ◽  
Yu Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract. Recovering from major earthquakes is a challenge, especially in mountainous environments where postearthquake hazards may cause substantial impacts for prolonged periods of time. Although such impacts were reported in the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake and the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, careless reconstruction in hazard-prone areas and consequently huge losses were witnessed following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in the Sichuan province of China, as several reconstructed settlements were severely damaged by mass movements and floods. In order to summarize experiences and identify problems in the reconstruction planning, a monitoring of one of the settlements, the town of Longchi, was carried out by image interpretation and field investigation. Seven inventories containing buildings, farmlands, roads and mitigation measures were made to study the dynamics of elements at risk and exposure over a period of 11 years. It was found that the total economic value of the newly reconstructed buildings was several times more than in the preearthquake situation in 2007, because of enormous governmental investment. Postseismic hazards were not sufficiently taken into consideration in the recovery planning before the catastrophic debris flow disaster in 2010. As a result, the direct economic loss from postseismic disasters was slightly more than the loss caused by the Wenchuan earthquake itself. The society showed an impact-adapt pattern, experiencing losses from disasters and then gaining resistance by abandoning buildings in hazard-prone areas and installing mitigation measures. The locations potentially exposed to postearthquake hazards were summarized, and a possible timetable for reconstruction was proposed. Problems might be encountered in hazard assessment, and possible solutions were discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
U.K. Mohanta ◽  
H.B. Rana ◽  
B. Devkota ◽  
T. Itagaki

AbstractExplanatum explanatum flukes, liver amphistomes of ruminants, cause significant economic loss in the livestock industry by inducing severe liver damage. A total of 66 flukes from 26 buffaloes and 7 cattle in four different geographic areas of Bangladesh and 20 flukes from 10 buffaloes in the Chitwan district of Nepal were subjected for analysis. The sequences (442 bp) of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of ribosomal DNA and the variable fragments (657 bp) of mitochondrial nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) of E. explanatum flukes from Bangladesh and Nepal were analysed. The aim of this study was molecular characterization of the flukes and to elucidate their origin and biogeography. In the ITS2 region, two genotypes were detected among the flukes from Bangladesh, while flukes from Nepal were of only one genotype. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from the nad1 gene revealed that at least four divergent populations (groups I–IV) are distributed in Bangladesh, whereas two divergent populations were found to be distributed in Nepal. Fst values (pairwise fixation index) suggest that Bangladeshi and Nepalese populations of group I to IV are significantly different from each other; but within groups III and IV, the populations from Bangladesh and Nepal were genetically close. This divergence in the nad1 gene indicates that each lineage of E. explanatum from diverse geography was co-adapted during the multiple domestication events of ruminants. This study, for the first time, provides molecular characterization of E. explanatum in Bangladesh and Nepal, and may provide useful information for elucidating its origin and dispersal route in Asia.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document