Chemical and biological features of the saline Lake Krasnovishnevoye(Baraba,Russia)in comparison with Lake Malinovoe(Kulunda,Russia):a reconnaissance study

The Baraba and Kulunda steppes are located in southwestern Siberia in an area with an arid continental climate. This paper presents results of the first study of the hypersaline Lake Krasnovishnevoye(Baraba steppe, TDS(total dissolved solids)=297 g/L, pH 7.88). The major chemical, mineralogical and biological features of the lake were studied and compared to those of Lake Malinovoe, a typical saline neutral lake of Kulunda steppe(TDS=396 g/L, pH 7.63). The phytoplankton composition and the culturable diversity of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria from Lake Krasnovishnevoye correspond to the ones in the Kulunda lakes. Nevertheless, the peculiarities of water composition and regime of Lake Krasnovishnevoye reduce the biodiversity to prokaryotes and unicellular algae.

Biomonitoring of Four Contrasting Wetlands of Kolkata, West Bengal Based on Zooplankton Ecodynamics and Biotic Indices

East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) has been assigned the status of Ramsar Site because of its vastness as well as self purification capabilities which have been utilized by local people for the massive agricultural and aquaculture production for more than one century. In this context, an attempt has been made in the present paper to evaluate the existing environmental health of four selected contrasting wetlands of this eco-zone of global importance by qualitative and quantitative hydro-biological studies. Two of the selected wetlands (study site-III and study site-IV) used to receive water from raw sewage after undergoing phytoremediation process. The study site-II has been selected with a view to evaluate the pollution stress on the structural components of this wetland ecosystem as it receives waste water because of anthropogenic activities, and the study site-I is away from any pollution impact as it is located in a well managed natural park. Quantification of the variabilities of different biotic components caused by water pollution has been assessed by recording binary distribution patterns of zooplankton and similarity indices. Besides, new Biotic Indices (Species Pollution Value—SPV and Community Pollution Value—CPV) have been developed using data on the distributional patterns of zooplankton in order to assess the degree of pollution of the studied wetlands. Seasonal water quality data along with qualitative and quantitative information of biological parameters have also been taken into consideration to highlight the impact of phytoremediation on wetland ecosystem dynamics on one hand and pollution stress on the structural and functional components of the water body on the other hand.

Tadpole Shrimps-A General Review of the Little Known Crustaceans of Ephemeral Waterbodies

In time of global climate changes,astatic inland water reservoirs that con­tribute to water retention and alleviation of adverse effects of periodic river floods,are getting more and more important.Small,periodically drying off water reservoirs are also rich hubs of biodiversity.Animals especially connected to such ecosystems are primitive but unique crustaceans called tadpole shrimps(order Notostraca).Those animals seem to have universal significance-both ecological and economic.Though their primitive mor­phology and small size,they can radically affect the nature of their habitats,sometimes even helping us fight with noxious pests.Unfortunately,due to progressing global warming,intensification in agriculture,and urbanisation,habitats of notostracans are disappearing rapidly.Simultaneously,because of their rare occurences and taxonomic difficulties,tadpole shrimps have been insufficiently studied.However,protection of these crustaceans is inseparably connected with conservation of once numerous,periodically drying reservoirs as tadpole shrimps are referred as keystone species of such habitats.Thus,the aim of this review article is to sum up and dissemi­nate current state of knowledge about Notostraca by a general overview of available international literature.This might help to engage more scientists into research and conservation of these little known,yet interesting crusta­ceans and their unique habitats.

Hydrobiological variables as a regulatory factor on the abundance of heterotrophic flagellates in an urban pond

The seasonal abundance of flagellates has been monitored over a period of 1 year from December 2013 to November 2014(divided into 4 conjugative seasons namely winter,spring,summer,and autumn)in an experimental pond located in Rajshahi City Corporation area,Bangladesh.To our knowledge,this study is the fi rst to shed light on the occurrence and possible interrelationships among heterotrophic flagellates(HF),bacteria and zooplankton in Bangladesh and the result obtained by this study will be beneficial for similar water ecosystem all over the world.Standard methods were used to determine the prescribed hydrological parameters and zooplankton cell density.Maximum HF abundance(14 346.00 cells/mL)was found in the spring and the minimum(5 215.00 cells/mL)occurred in the summer.Inverse to HF,significantly(P<0.05)higher zooplankton abundance was found during the winter(782.00±47.62 cells/mL)and the lowest value was found in the autumn(448.00±39.15 cells/mL).Whereas similar to the HF,total bacterial abundance was significantly higher during the spring((2.25±1.05)×10^5 cells/mL)and lower in the summer((0.79±0.06)×10^5 cells/mL).Multivariate analyses(ANOSIM and MDS)have shown significant seasonal differences for cell numbers where MDS ordination plot and cluster analysis based on similarity in the genera abundance of HF revealed overlapping condition between winter and spring.Canonical correspondence analysis(CCA)also showed a distinct separation among the genera based on the prevailing hydrological situation and indicated that temperature,pH,BOD5,and NO3^-were the most important environmental variables in determining the observed variation in HF community structure.Among the biological factors,zooplankton showed negative but total bacteria were positively correlated with HF abundance.

Application of immunohistochemistry technique in hydrobiological studies

There is growing demand for biotechniques in oceanobiological and hydrobiological studies.Immunohistochemistry(IHC)combines anatomical,immunological and biochemical techniques to identify specific antigen-antibody interactions.Detecting the target antigen with labeled antibodies is a multi-step process that requires optimization at every level to maximize the signal detection.Here we use zebrafish samples and optimize each IHC step,particularly antigen retrieval,transgenic reporter double staining and background counterstaining.The resulting images with high signal intensity lead us to recommend the resulting protocols for experiments with fish.