Effect of Vegetation Cover on Pre-Monsoonal Rainfall Trend over Ranchi Region, Jharkhand, India

In the present study, trend of changing rainfall pattern and its correlation with vegetation cover during premonsoonal season were determined for Ranchi district of Jharkhand for the last 20 years. In the year 1998 the western side of the district received a good amount of rainfall but the scenario after that was observed quite alarming. In the next 20 years the western region received very low rainfall except in the year of 2005 and 2014. While year 2005 received a good rainfall in south-western region of the district. Eastern region having a good amount of green cover received plenty of rainfall consistently in last two decade. The central part is the most urbanized zone of the study area having least green cover. This zone has never received good rainfall in last two decade. On the contrary despite of having good vegetation over the north-western side; the region never received good rainfall. The NonParametric trend analysis for last 20 years shows an overall increase in rainfall with 0.141625 mm . While the analysis for last 117 years showed a significant positive trend in pre-monsoonal month of February, March, and April while a negative trend was observed in May. The maximum decrease in rainfall was found in the month of February (-0.1804803 mm ) and minimum (-0.0007663818 mm ) during the month of April. The trend of rainfall during month of May was found increasing (0.1296284 mm ).While the overall trend of rainfall during pre-monsoonal season (MarchMay) was found increasing (0.02156622 mm ). Rainfall variability pattern showed the maximum value of CV as 105.7%, whereas pre-monsoonal rainfall showed the minimum value of CV as 60.52%. High variation of CV indicated that the study are is vulnerable to droughts and floods. Disturbance in uniformity of distribution in rainfall pattern and extreme event cases over the district during the pre-monsoonal season in last two decade was observed.

Early Developmental Arrest During Immersion of Eggs of a Tropical Fresh-Water Turtle, Chelodina-Rugosa (Testudinata, Chelidae), From Northern Australia

Freshly laid. eggs of Chelodina rugosa survived for up to 12 weeks when immersed in water and subsequently underwent successful incubation and normal hatching. Embryonic development was arrested during immersion, remained arrested in an atmosphere of nitrogen, and recommenced when eggs were exposed to air. The hypoxic conditions during immersion appear to extend the arrest typical of turtle embryos during their period in the oviducts. Freshly laid eggs of the temperate-zone C. longicollis died when immersed for longer than one week and eggs of both species died when immersed after post-laying embryonic development had commenced. These results, supported by anecdoctal and experimental evidence, suggest that C. rugosa lays its eggs in saturated or flooded ground in the late wet or early dry monsoonal season. Embryonic development presumably remains arrested until water levels drop and oxygen tensions in the nest rise by diffusion through the drying soil. Partly developed embryos in nests that are flooded after laying would perish. In contrast, C. longicollis of temperate Australia nests only in relatively dry substrates, and its eggs appear not be have evolved the capacity to withstand immersion.

Effect of terrestrial and marine humics on copper speciation in an estuary in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

Studies carried out over several years on a tropical estuary, the Ross River Estuary, have shown that copper speciation is influenced by both terrestrial and marine humic substances. While terrestrial humic substances are mobilized by high freshwater runoff in the monsoonal season, Trichodesmium blooms mobilize high concentrations of marine humics to the inshore zone and increase labile forms of copper. The marine humics are more soluble than the terrestrial humics and persist in coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon for many months prior to the wet season.

Sir Joseph Banks, F. R. S. and the naming of the Kangaroo

JAMES COOK in H.M.B. Endeavour struck a reef off the coast of what is now North Queensland and managed to make a perilous way to the estuary of a river which he named the Endeavour River, the site of present-day Cooktown. Here the ship was careened, emptied and repaired, her complement of eighty-seven persons establishing a transient settlement for 48 days (18 June to 5 August 1770) ashore. Repairs took 14 days but it was 24 days later before the prevailing south-easterly winds and gales of the monsoonal season allowed the square-rigged bark to beat out to sea and proceed. During those 48 days of enforced leisure Joseph (later Sir Joseph) Banks and the other scientists associated with him, explored all aspects of the flora and fauna of this new land and wrote up their journals so that their descriptions of ‘New Holland’ are, in fact, largely descriptions of Queensland. (Of Cook’s eleven landings in Australia only one at Botany Bay was in the southern half of the Continent; the other ten were all in what are now Queensland or Queensland waters.)