A new species of Corallana Dana, 1852 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Corallanidae) from the Andaman Islands, northern Indian Ocean

Corallana mishrai sp. nov. collected from dead mangrove roots at Kodiyaghat, South Andaman, Andaman Islands, India is described and illustrated in detail. Corallana mishrai sp. nov. the first definitive record of the genus from India, is characterized by: frontal lamina with short straight (or very weakly convex) lateral margins and the anterior margin forming a strong acute median point; pleotelson length 0.76 greatest width, posterior margin with 5 robust setae; uropodal exopod 7 times longer than greatest width, extending beyond endopod by one fourth of its length; endopod lateral margin slightly convex with 4 RS and PMS, apex forms a slightly obtuse angle with long simple setae, mesial margin weakly convex with 2 RS and PMS; mandible bidentate; transverse row of 6 tubercles present on pereonite 1 and pleonites 2, 3 and 4 lacking lateral tubercles. The status of the genus and its species are reviewed, and two species are transferred to new combinations: Argathona kulai (Bruce, 1982) comb. nov. and Tachaea bidentata (Jones et al. 1983) comb. nov.

Numerical simulation of sea breeze in south Andamans

The air flow over the south Andaman island is simulated using a three dimensional numerical meso-scale model. Port Blair observations are used as initial data. The surface orography, soil moisture soil albedo variations and vegetations effects are included in the model. The combined effect of these factors on the development of sea/land breeze circulations is obtained quantitatively. The model simulated results are compared with the available observations. The principal results obtained are : (1) The meso-scale circulations induced by the differential heating of the island were intensified by topography. (2) The ground vegetative cover trans- port higher amount of turbulent heat fluxes: to the atmosphere and the meso-circulations appeared with higher intensities. (3) If we Include the lateral variations of flux with topographic and coastal asymmetries the induced meso-scale circulations appeared with different intensities along meridional direction and the inland penetration distances varied in y direction. The maximum Inland penetration of sea breeze was seen, where the inland was widest and terrain height was maximum. Stronger sea breeze was simulated over the central/northern parts of the island.

Thraustochytrids of Mangrove Habitats from Andaman Islands: Species Diversity, PUFA Profiles and Biotechnological Potential

Thraustochytrids are the most promising microbial source for the commercial production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for its application in the human health, aquaculture, and nutraceutical sectors. The present study isolated 127 thraustochytrid strains from mangrove habitats of the south Andaman Islands, India to study their diversity, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and biotechnological potential. The predominant strains were identified as belonging to two major genera (Thraustochytrium, Aurantiochytrium) based on morphological and molecular characteristics. The strain ANVKK-06 produced the maximum biomass of 5.42 g·L−1, while ANNK-03 exhibited the maximum total lipid (71.03%). Omega-3 PUFAs such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) accumulated up to 11.03% in ANVKK-04, docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) up to 8.65% in ANVKK-07, and DHA up to 47.19% in ANVKK-06. ANVKK-6 showed the maximum scavenging activity (84.79 ± 2.30%) while ANVKK-03 and ANVKK-10 displayed the highest antibacterial activity against human and fish pathogens, S. aureus (18.69 ± 1.2 mm) and V. parahaemolyticus (18.31 ± 1.0 mm), respectively. All strains were non-toxic as evident by negative blood agar hemolysis, thus, the thraustochytrids are suggested to be a potential source of DHA for application in the health care of human and fish.

Occupancy and Population Abundance of Two Serpent-Eagles (Spilornis elgini and S. cheela) In the Andaman Islands, India

ABSTRACT We estimated occupancy and population abundance of the Andaman Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis elgini) and Crested Serpent-Eagle (Spilornis cheela) in the Andaman Islands, India. We divided the islands that were > 100 km2 into a grid of 84 cells, of which we used 34 cells (5 km × 5 km each) for surveys of two populations in the districts of (1) the North and Middle Andaman Islands, and (2) the South Andaman Islands, which includes Little Andaman Island. We performed single-season, single-species occupancy modeling independently for both regions and single-season, two-species occupancy modeling for co-occupancy in the surveyed landscapes. The estimated abundance for the Andaman Serpent-Eagle and the Crested Serpent-Eagle was 4–5 and 7–8 individuals per 25 km2, respectively. The Andaman Serpent-Eagle is commonly distributed in both regions and has a high detection probability (detection probability, P = 0.8). The Crested Serpent-Eagle is widely distributed in the South Andaman Islands with a low detection probability (P = 0.5). The single-season, two-species occupancy model showed that the endemic Andaman Serpent-Eagle occupied only 22% of the area and did not co-occur with the Crested Serpent-Eagle. It also indicates the possible avoidance or exclusion of the Crested Serpent-Eagle by the Andaman Serpent-Eagle. We encountered both serpent-eagles in all the identified habitat types. The Crested Serpent-Eagle's habitat use was not restricted to the coastal forests, as previously reported, and the Crested Serpent-Eagle is probably dominating the Andaman Serpent-Eagle in the co-occupied areas. We further conclude that the occupancy dynamics and competition for space between these two Spilornis species might significantly affect the distribution and population of the vulnerable and endemic Andaman Serpent-Eagle in the future.