eChapters

ABSTRACT

Activity patterns of Grey Jungle fowl, Gallus sonneratii were studied at Gudalur Range (9º 37’ N, 77º 16’ E) which is 23² km area in Theni Forest Division, Western Ghats, Tamilnadu from January to December 2005.

ABSTRACT

In social Hymenoptera, the females carry out nest building, brood care and foraging, while males generally do not take part in any of these social behaviours and act solely as reproductives. The interesting phenomena of cooperation and altruism

Botany :The cabbage plant, Brassica oleracea, is an herbaceous annual or biennial vegetable in the family Cruciferae grown for its edible head. The head of the cabbage is round and forms on a short thick stem. The leaves are thick and alternating with wavy or lobed edges and the roots are are fibrous and shallow. The plant produces large yellow flowers. The densely leaved heads can range in size from 0.5 to 3.6 kg (1-8 lb) depending on variety. The plant is usually grown as an annual.

ABSTRACT

Queens of 4 post-emergence colonies of primitively eusocial wasp, Ropalidia marginata were observed for their propensity to acquire and handle foraged material on naturally occurring free foraging nest. The queens were inclined to acquire pulp loads than food loads. 

ABSTRACT

The coconut eriophyid mite, Aceria guerreronis Keifer is a serious pest of coconut in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat. The mites reside underneath the perianth of nuts and feed on the soft meristematic tissues of the young nuts. Their feeding damage is evident as scars on the surface of the older nuts. The damage results in reduction in size of nut and increases labour for dehusking the nuts.

ABSTRACT

Folivorous bats consume flowers and fruits, effecting seed dispersal and pollination. Adaptation of plants according to the type of pollinator is called pollination syndrome. Some of the adaptations of bat-pollinated syndromes are nocturnal anthesis

ABSTRACT

The Indian short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopterus sphinx is one among the three paleotropical species known to make tents. Once a tent is made, male typically defends it against other competing males and also defends the females who join his tent.

ABSTRACT

Benthic fishes represent a significant component of riffle communities. Our 10 year study on two benthic fishes, Crossostoma lacustre and Rhinogobius candidianus which are sympatric in Hapen Creek, Northern Taiwan, reveals that these species exhibited mesohabitat overlaps but were segregated at the microhabitat levels. Both species preferred riffles and avoided rocks. Heavy flow (typhoons) had an inhibitory effect on the fish densities. The fishes may not be able to swim against the strong currents and might get carried away downstream. The recovery time (number of days after a peak, when the densities were restored to normalcy) for C. lacustre was = 13 days and for R. candidianus, it was = 16 days. Recovery was faster at the downstream (~13-15 days) as opposed to upstream (~1416 days). Direct estimation of the linkage between the hydrological or geomorphological variables and the well being of fish populations is one of the first steps in formulating an efficient, effective conservation plan or restoration strategy to preserve these species for the future.

ABSTRACT

Tropical wet evergreen and tropical moist deciduous forests were the preferred habitats of the Brown-hawk Owl. Detection rate and response to the broadcasted calls were highest during the breeding season and in all the census points, more than one individual i.e. either in pair or three individuals were detected. Besides conspecific species, some heterospecific species were also found to respond to the broadcasted calls of Brown-hawk Owl, where the Brown-hawk Owl was not detected during the Initial Quite Listening survey. Moreover, approach of the sympatric species was observed only in the riparian strip and in rest of the habitats they responded only with calls. No significant seasonal difference was observed in the habitat utilization but seasonality was observed in the response and the approaching distance to the conspecific calls broadcasted. Additionally, the response to the conspecfic calls indicated that the owls were responding to the conspecfic calls throughout the year.

INTRODUCTION

Molecular tools generally refer to molecular genetic tools. Although the first use of these tools began more than four decades ago, whenLewontin & Hubby (1966) used allozymes to find out the amount of genetic variation present in wild populations of Drosophila, the lack of expertise and high cost of these tools have prevented their widespread use among ecologists in general and behavioural ecologists in particular. But recently the accessibility and costs of these techniques have come down a lot and with the right kind of collaboration, lack of expertise is no longer an issue.

As was mentioned above, the Lewontin & Hubby’s (1966) investigation was done using allozymes. Although still an option, user-friendly neutral nucleotide markers are more preferred by investigators nowadays. The discovery of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 1983 by Kary Mullis was the single landmark in this field, if one has to mention one. The use of molecular markers has totally revolutionized the field of ecology. It has provided ecologists the tool to ask questions, which were hitherto impossible to tackle and also to answer questions with much more precision and accuracy than was possible till now. It has toppled long held beliefs, sometimes, romantic ones, by ecologists.

ABSTRACT

The Indian false vampire bat, Megaderma lyra detects and captures prey (e.g. frogs) mainly by listening to the rustling sounds that are created when the prey is on ground. In addition, echolocation and vision are also involved. Mothers of M. lyra take meticulous care of their young. At the age of about seven weeks, juveniles exhibit gleaning flights. Among eight mother-young pairs, four young (group A) began to capture frogs at the age of 62 days

ABSTRACT

Insects are considered the most successful in the animal kingdom. Many factors contribute to their success. One major factor that operates strikingly is the economy and optimal use of energy. One can give several examples taking the life of a single insect

ABSTRACT

Ethology, the biology of behaviour has been a fascinating area of biological investigations during past few decades. In recent past the information gathered by reputed ethologists on social behaviour of insects, fishes, birds and human beings are very helpful in the application of these principles for the welfare of the humanity as well as for the environmental sustainability. Ethology differs from the study of Animal Behavior, in that animal behaviorists generally are interested in learned behaviors while ethologists concentrate on innate behaviors.

ABSTRACT

Male crickets use acoustic signals for long-distance mate attraction. Each cricket species has a unique calling song, used by females to recognize and localize conspecific males. Field cricket songs have wavelengths of several centimeters, which pose a difficult problem for these small animals in terms of localizing males, particularly in choruses. The chorus structure in terms of spacing, call intensity and timing, are important determinants both of the ability of males to synchronise their calls and of female mate-finding strategies.

ABSTRACT

Social primates appear to be knowledgeable about one another’s behaviour to different extents. But do they know as much about one another’s beliefs and intentions? Are they adept at recognizing the similarities and differences between their own and others’ states of mind?

ABSTRACT

Science essentially involves confronting our ‘models’ of nature, against data from the real world, in a continuous effort to refine our knowledge of the system under study. Scientific monitoring of animal populations is therefore best viewed in the context of questions such as why monitor, what to monitor and how to monitor.

ABSTRACT

Malabar Spiny Dormouse (Platacanthomys lasiurus), the endemic rodent found in the Western Ghats of South India was studied in the Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, to determine the status, distribution, food and feeding of the species.

ABSTRACT

Insect societies such as those of ants, bees, wasps and termites are characterized by reproductive division of labour and cooperative brood care. Thus these societies consist of one or a smallnumber of reproductives (usually only queens but also kings in the case of termites) and a large number of sterile or nearly sterile workers

ABSTRACT

Studies on the behaviour of animals are of utmost importance in the conservation of species. Ecology of the communities and individual species has to be examined in terms of different activities to understand the requirements of the species. Foraging and breeding are the major activities while resting and flight maintenance are also essential, although the time spent might vary in different species or situations.

Bird community studies conducted along with my students in different habitats in the Western Ghats since 1995 showed how the species are associated with each other and the impact of habitat changes on them. Endemic and threatened birds of the Western Ghats were specific about selection of habitat and food in different seasons. Identification of such critical habitats is crucial for conservation and management.

The studies on the bird community and drongos at Thekkady, Periyar Tiger Reserve conducted by me during 1979 to 1982, examined the association of drongos with other species in the area, especially while foraging. They fed mostly in mixed foraging flocks which is beneficial to all the participants. The strategy adopted by them for ecological isolation to reduce competition was by selecting different strata and substrate of the vegetation, varying sizes of insects, and methods of feeding.

In the case of wetland birds also habitat selection is a major behaviour limiting their numbers. For the threatened birds such as the Siberian Crane and the Andaman Teal, habitat quality and food availability were critical. Habitat degradation with over abundance of grass and reduction in sedges resulted in spending long duration for feeding and less returns.

Breeding behaviour of birds is interesting because of their strategies such as when to nest and where to nest. Studies on the seasonality have shown the importance of climatic factors. Many of our land birds nest during summer. Nest-site is also crucial as selection of the site with suitable macro and micro-habitats determine the success of the brood. The habitat patches for the individual pairs or groups of breeding birds which are defended against intruders are termed as territories which play a vital role in the distribution and density of birds. Thus the strategies adopted by species are dependent on the environment and species specific constraints affecting the survival of the species.

ABSTRACT

Education begins at home, then in community and finally in the educational institutes. At present 90% of the children in the age group of 6-14 years are receiving free primary education. Education policy of the 11^th plan states that there should be free and compulsory secondary education for all. To meet this goal, additional schools have to be set up to cater to the 30 million students. To teach the 30 million students atleast one million teachers would have to be trained to ensure the 1:30 teacher– student ratio. How do we plan to meet this target?

The projected target has to be met by developing innovative teaching methods in the institutes of higher learning. These methods have to be technology based, as well as community based regional approach. Emphasis has to be given to Liberal Education where there has to be a close interaction between the teacher and learner. The Open and Distance Learning isone such System which can be compared to Liberal Education– where there is flexibility in time and pace of learning for the learners. Reforms and innovations have to be brought in this system of education with utmost caution so that there is no compromise on quality and ethics, since every age has its own ethical environment.

Ethics in this context means traditions and culture of the small communities. This is more so in the North Eastern Region where there is an intimate connection between large and small communities. This region is rich in its community based values, bioresources and cultures. Need based Vocational and Professional courses have to be designed for enriching the region with human resources infused with sophisticated skills, resulting in the economic growth for the region. This method is envisaged to take care of the social challenges, traditions and cultural ethos.

Distance Education coupled with Information Communication Technology plays a pivotal role in meeting the requirements of today’s knowledge society by cutting across the barriers of time and geographic isolation.