NeBIO 2(2) March 2011

Editor-in-Chief: Khuraijam Jibankumar Singh, FLS

Managing Editors: Kripaljyoti Mazumdar

Associate Editors: Rajkumari Khedasana and Santosh Kumar

Guest Editor: Gunadhor Thongam

Copy Editors: Anju Arambam and Mehnaz Nasreen

Editorial Assistance: RK Jashmi Devi, Mary Thangjam and Bobbymoore Konsam

Advisory Board

Dr. S. K. Sharma, NBPGR, New Delhi

Dr. Ramakrishna, Zoological Survey of India

Dr. Asad Rahmani, BNHS, Mumbai

Dr. Nigel Collar, Birdlife International, UK

Dr. Partha Sarathi Roy, IIRS, NRSC & CSSTEAP

Dr. Vivek Menon, WTI, Delhi

Dr. S. Krishnan, ZSI, Chennai

Dr. M. Ahmedullah, BGIR, Noida

Dr. A. A. Mao, BSI, Itanagar

Dr. Vishwas Chavan, GBIF, Denmark

Dr. Hemant K. Badola, GBPIHED, Gangtok, Sikkim

Dr. Rita Singh, GGS Indraprastha University, Delhi

Dr. Abhik Gupta, Assam University, Silchar

Dr. P. L. Uniyal, University of Delhi, Delhi

Dr. H. Narendra Singh, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune

Dr. Biseshwori Th., IBSD, Imphal

Dr. R. K. Sinha, Tripura University, Agartala

Dr. Ramachandra Laha, Mizoram University

Dr. Kh. Ashalata, Tezpur University, Tezpur

Dr. Swapna Prabhu, BNHS, Mumbai

Robindra Teron, Assam University, Diphu, Assam

P. K. Bhuyan, NE-CERD, Guwahati

Production Team

Production Managers: Kh. Vupendra Singh and G. Marangmei

Circulation and Publication Manager: RK Sanahanbi

Published, owned, printed and edited by Khuraijam Jibankumar Singh

NeBIO – an international peer reviewed quarterly journal published by North East Centre for Environmental Education and Research (NECEER), Imphal.

NeBIO publishes original research, short communication, book review, general and review articles on biodiversity and environment of North East India

and its adjoining region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Southern China, Eastern Nepal and Myanmar).

NeBIO Research Journal is one of the initiatives of NECEER, Imphal. The journal aimed not only to encourage research works but also to bridge the gap

between various forms of methodologies, perspectives and knowledge production. The need for publishing such a journal was also prompted by the

fact that there has not been such an interaction between all those engaged in research areas and environmental education so far in the region

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

1

Notable observations on the melanistic Asiatic Golden cat (Pardofelis

temminckii) of Sikkim, India

Bashir T, Bhattacharya T, Poudyal K and Sathyakumar S

Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun - 248 001, Uttarakhand, India

Author for correspondence: [email protected]

© NECEER, Imphal

ABSTRACT

During our investigations on the status of carnivores and their prey in Prek Chu Catchment

(182 km²) of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (BR), Sikkim, from January 2009 to

August 2010, we obtained the first photographic confirmation of Asiatic Golden cat

Pardofelis temminckii from Sikkim and also a new altitudinal record (3,960 m) for the

species. Of the five felids recorded from the area, the Asiatic Golden cat had the second

highest photo-capture rate of 0.50±0.16 (mean±S.E) photo-captures/100 trap days.

Interestingly, all the photographs of the Asiatic golden cat from different parts of Prek Chu

were of melanistic form and did not resemble any of described three subspecies of Asiatic

Golden cat viz., Catopuma. t. temminckii, C. t. dominicanorum, and C. t. tristis. We

hypothesize that either all the golden cats of Khangchendzonga BR are melanistic or they

could be a different subspecies. Further research on these aspects using molecular

genetics is underway.

KEYWORDS: Asiatic Golden cat, Camera trapping, Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve,

Melanistic, Photo-capture rate, Subspecies

The Asiatic golden cat Catopuma temminckii Vigors

and Horsfield, 1827, (earlier known as Profelis

temminckii) is the largest of the group of smaller

Oriental felines with the exception of clouded

leopard �eofelis nebulosa (Prater, 1971; Mukherjee,

1998). Though it appears similar to the African

golden cat Profelis aurata, it is slightly heavier and

has a proportionately longer tail (Sunquist &

Sunquist, 2002) and males are larger than females

(Lekagul & McNeely, 1977; Tan, 1984; Nowell &

Jackson, 1996). The most common body coloration

is fox-red to golden-brown, but it can also be dark

brown, pale cinnamon, bright red, or grey with

occasional melanistic forms (Ghimirey & Pal,

2009). The pelt is usually quite uniform in colour,

but there is a morph marked with a pattern similar to

that of the ocelot Leopardus pardalis (Jutzeler, Xie

& Vogt, 2010). This morph is found all over the

species range in China, and has been reported

mainly from Sichuan and Tibet (subspecies

Catopuma temminckii tristis; Nowell & Jackson,

1996) and also detected in Bhutan (Wang, 2007).

The species is distributed in India, China, Tibet and

Nepal (Sunquist & Sunquist, 2002), as well as in

Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand (Nowell &

Jackson, 1996), Lao PDR, Cambodia, Vietnam

(Duckworth et al., 2005), on the Malaysian

peninsula, and in Sumatra, Indonesia (Sunquist &

Sunquist, 2002). In India, its occurrence has been

reported only from north eastern states viz., Assam

(Choudhury, 2007), Arunachal Pradesh (Datta,

Anand & Naniwadekar, 2008; Selvan & Salvador,

pers. comm. 2011) and Sikkim (Biswas & Ghose,

1982).

Study Area

Sikkim - a small mountainous state in the Eastern

Himalayan region is positioned at the convergence

of three biogeographic realms, viz., Palaearctic,

Africo-tropical and Indo-Malayan (Mani, 1974).

This area is recognized as the global biodiversity

hotspots (Myers et al., 2000) and also one among

the important global 200 ecoregions (Olson &

Dinerstein, 1998). The Khangchendzonga Biosphere

Reserve (BR) in Sikkim is one of the most

significant biodiversity hotspots of India with

Bashir et al, 1 - 4

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

2

varying eco-zones from temperate to arctic (1,220-

8,586 m), and a repository of many rare and

endangered flora and fauna primarily due to its

location and remarkable variations in altitude. The

Khangchendzonga BR encompasses temperate,

subalpine and alpine habitats (1,000 to 5,000 m) as

well as rocky slopes, glacial moraines and

permafrost areas (> 5,000 m) with diverse slope and

aspect categories, along with a range of wildlife use.

The BR consists of seven watersheds, viz., Lhonak,

Zemu, Lachen, Rangyong, Rangit, Prek and

Churong. We selected Prek chu (chu = river)

catchment as our intensive study (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Location of Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in

sikkim, India showing the different watersheds including Prek Chu catchment – the intensive Study Area.

In spite of such rich biodiversity, there has been no

scientific survey or study on the assessment of

mammalian assemblage in the area (Sathyakumar et

al., 2009) with the exception of Tambe (2007) who

mentioned presence of some mammals in the region.

With this background, a study on carnivores,

ungulates and galliformes was initiated in

Khangchendzonga BR during 2008.

Methodology

Field surveys were carried out in all seven

watersheds of the BR, but Prek chu catchment was

selected and intensively surveyed because it

represents all the habitats of the BR (Sathyakumar et

al., 2009). Since camera trapping is the most

appropriate method for mammal inventories in all

environmental conditions especially for cryptic

animals (Silveira, Jacomo Anah & Diniz-Filho,

2003), we laid 27 camera trap units at 71 different

sites in 2 km x 2 km grids of the Prek chu catchment

placed along trails or paths that were actively used

by study species evident from their signs such as:

tracks, feeding signs, marking signs (spray, scrape),

pug/hoof marks, digging signs, scats/feaces and

other signs (Ahlborn & Jackson, 1988) with at least

one camera trapping unit covering each of the grids.

Camera units were attached to trees/rocks 15–30

cm above the ground and 3–5 m from a trail or

point where animal movement might be expected.

The camera trapping was done continuously (24

hrs) in all the seasons from January 2009 to August

2010 using Deercam (2), Wildview (2), Stealthcam

(18) and Moultrie (5) instruments.

Results

A sampling effort of 6,278 camera-days across 71

sample sites was achieved in the three survey zones

(1,407 camera-days in temperate, 3,061 camera-

days in subalpine, 1,810 camera-days in alpine),

resulting in 4,517 photographs. Of these, there

were 2,668 wild animals (mammals & birds), and

1,894 were domestic animals and human. We

obtained 25 photo captures of Golden cat, the first

photographic confirmation from sikkim. All the

golden cat captures were melanistic (Figure 2).

Neither of them had the most common fox-red to

golden-brown colour nor the morph marked with a

pattern similar to that of the ocelot. During the 20

months survey, 42 mammal species were recorded,

five of which were felids (n = 85 photographs).

Other felids captured were snow leopard Panthera

uncia, clouded leopard, jungle cat Felis chaus and

leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis. Melanistic

golden cat photographs were captured from 11 sites

situated in different grids of temperate (3 sites) and

subalpine forests (8 sites) ranging from 1,980 m to

3,960 m. While the sites situated in temperate zone

were dominated by Castanopsis-Symplococs-

Quercus forest, the sites situated in subalpine zone

were either dominated by Abies-Betula-

Rhododendron forest or dwarf Rhododendron at

>3,700 m. We calculated photographic encounter

rate (No. of photographs×100/Total No. of trap

days) for all felids and found that the photographic

encounter rate of the melanistic golden cat was the

second highest (0.50±0.16 [±S.E]) following the

leopard cat (2.16±0.72), a very common felid of

north east India. Photographic encounter rate of the

melanistic golden cat was highest in 2,500-3,000 m

elevation zone (0.77±0.51) followed by 3,500-

4,000 m (0.69±0.21), though the differences were

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

3

non-significant (Kruskal-Wallis Chi square = 4.09,

df = 3, p = 0.25).

Figure 2. Photo captures of melanistic golden cats from different

camera locations in Prek Chu catchment area of Khangchendz-

onga Biosphere Reserve

Discussion

Our observations have three very interesting

aspects. Firstly, all the photo captures were of

melanistic morphs which are reported as occasional

from elsewhere (Ghimirey & Pal, 2009). In China,

the ocelot morph seemed to be more common than

the uniform morph (Jutzeler et al., 2010) of golden

cat. The recent camera trap capture of this ocelot

morph from high altitudes of Bhutan (Wang, 2007)

has also confirmed its presence in Eastern-

Himalayan montane forests but not mentioned

about the presence of the melanistic form there.

Records from Arunachal Pradesh (Datta et al.,

2008; Selvan & Salvador, pers. comm. 2011) and

Assam (Choudhury, 2007) have also not mentioned

about the presence of the melanistic form of golden

cat. Interestingly, the occasional melanistic form

was photographed only from Makalu-Barun

National Park, Nepal (Ghimirey & Pal, 2009)

which is further west of Khangchendzonga BR.

Our results indicate that the melanistic form of

golden cat is more common in Khangchendzonga

BR than the common golden-brown or ocelot

morph though they may be present but not detected

and this may be the case for Nepal Himalaya also.

Secondly, none of the melanistic golden cat

photographs that we obtained from

Khangchendzonga BR matched with the

photographs and descriptions of the other three

subspecies viz., Catopuma. t. temminckii, C. t.

dominicanorum, C. t. tristis (Grubb et al., 2005).

Uniform coat colour without any pattern suggested

close resemblance with the most common and

widely distributed subspecies C. t. temmincki; but

non detection of this most common morph raises

the question as to whether all the golden cats of

Khangchendzonga BR are melanistic in colour or

they are a different subspecies of golden cat. To be

conclusive, we are investigating these aspects using

molecular genetic studies. Further investigations

using camera traps and genetics are required in

eastern parts of Sikkim to know the exact

distribution of this melanistic morph and for the

detection of ocelot and the common morph of

golden cat.

Thirdly, we report a new altitude record of 3,960 m

for the golden cat. There are studies suggesting

that the golden cat may be less common in

montane forests (Holden, 2001; Mishra,

Madhusudan & Datta, 2006), although it has been

recorded at an elevation of 3,738 m in Bhutan

(Wang, 2007). Our observations confirmed that it

is common in montane forests dominated by Abies

and Rhododendron, and it could also inhabit the

tree line zone with dwarf Rhododendrons.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Department of Forests,

Environment and Wildlife Management,

Government of Sikkim for granting us permission

to work in Sikkim. We thank the Wildlife Institute

of India, Dehradun for providing us the grants and

support.

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51: 19.

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National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. Cat �ews

35: 11-14.

Jutzeler, E., Xie, Y. and Vogt, K. 2010. Asiatic

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NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Structure and molecular evolution of Cytochrome-b among the freshwater

turtle genera Pangshura and Batagur

Chittaranjan Baruah*and D.K. Sharma

Bioinformatics Centre, Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati – 781 014, Assam, India


© NECEER, Imphal

ABSTRACT

An in-silico study has been performed for 3D structure prediction and evolutionary

profile of Cytochrome-b from the highly endangered Southeast Asian turtle species

under the genera Pangshura and Batagur (Testudines: Geoemydidae: Pangshura and

Batagur). The analyses were performed using the sequence data of Cytochrome -b,

extracted from Protein Knowledgebase (UniProtKB). The study represents the

application of comparative modelling method for protein 3D structure prediction. The

evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA5 by Maximum Likelihood, Neighbour-

Joining and Minimum Evolution methods. The predicted structures of Cytochrome -b

have 20-23 helices, 40-43 helix-helix interacts, 14-15 beta turns, 4-6 gamma turns. The

structures were found statistically significant at 95% confidence level and the same were

deposited to Protein Model Database (PMDB). Bootstrap test (1000 replicates) was

performed to validate the phylogenetic tree. Two distinct clades were observed in the

final tree. The results showed that the Cytochrome- b of P.sylhetensis evolved much

earlier than the other three species of Pangshura. Further, it reveals that P.smithii and

P.tentoria are the sister species followed by P.tecta and P.sylhetensis their successive

sister-taxa. Distinctness within the sub-species of P.tentoria is not clear in the

evolutionary data of Cytochrome-b protein. The computational models of Cytochrome- b

could be of use for further evaluation of molecular mechanism of function. The present

study also provides an indispensable groundwork for future conservation and genetic

analysis of other turtle genera.

KEYWORDS: Chelonian, Conservation, Cytochrome-b, Geoemydidae, in-silico

The turtle family Geoemydidae includes highly

endangered South-east Asian turtle group, mostly

are of freshwater turtles (Van Dijk et al., 2000;

IUCN, 2006). Most geoemydids are freshwater

turtles. The group also occupies a wide range of

habitats, from highly aquatic (Batagur and

Pangshura) to highly terrestrial (Geoemyda). The

genera Pangshura and Batagur are characterized by

more or less well defined sexual dimorphism (Ernst

et al., 2000; Das, 2001). Batagur [maximum shell

lengths 48–58 cm; (Ernst et al., 2000)] is

comparatively larger than Pangshura [maximum

shell lengths 20–26.5 cm; (Ernst et al., 2000)] and

Das (2001) placed them into two distinct genera.

Understanding differentiation of these turtles at

molecular level would significantly contribute to

more powerful conservation formulation. The

present study focuses on the structure and molecular

evolution of Cytochrome-b, an integral membrane

protein of approximately 400 amino acid residues

(Esposti et al., 1993). Although, there is an

availability of sequence information for Cyto-

chrome-b from genera Pangshura and Batagur, yet

there is scare structural and evolutionary inform-

ation available. Therefore, the biochemistry and

molecular mechanism of their functions are yet to be

fully understood. In silico analysis has been

performed for 3D structure prediction and evolution-

Baruah & Sharma 5-12

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

6

ary profile of Cytochrome-b from the highly endan-

gered Southeast Asian turtle genera Pangshura and

Batagur (Testudines: Geoemydidae: Pangshura and

Batagur) in order to identify their structural and

evolutionary properties and to test whether the

evolution of the Cyochrome-b protein within each

genus correspond well with distinct clades.

Materials and methods

Acquisition and alignment of sequences

In silico analysis was carried out on the sequence

information of Cytochrome-b protein extracted from

Protein Knowledgebase (UniProtKB). A total of 27

homologous sequences belonging genera Pangshura

(4 species) and Batagur (6 species) along with our

group sequence (Lissemys punctata) to test the

phylogeny were acquired both by database keyword

search and by BLASTp (Altschul et al., 1997) and

FASTA (Pearson, 1991) searches are listed in Table

1. The sequences were simultaneously aligned using

CLUSTAL-W (Higgins et al., 1994) and Modeller

(Fiser et al., 2000) programs.

Three-dimensional structure prediction

Comparative (Homology) modeling based on the 3D

coordinates of pdb ID 1BCC Chain C

(Oxidoreductase Cytochrome Bc1 Complex From

Chicken X-Ray Diffraction) were conducted by

using Modeller9v2 program (Marti-Renom et al.,

2000). The final 3D structures for Cytochrome-b

were evaluated (Giorgetti et al., 2005) by ERRAT

(Colovos and Yeates, 1993) and ProCheck

(Laskowski et al., 2003).

Molecular Phylogenetic analysis

Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA5

(Tamura et al., 2011). The evolutionary history was

inferred by using three different methods namely the

Maximum Likelihood (Jones et al., 1992),

Neighbor-Joining (Saitou and Nei, 1987) and

Minimum Evolution (ME) methods (Rzhetsky and

Nei, 1992). The tree is predicted to scale, with

branch lengths in the same units as those of the

evolutionary distances used to infer the phylogenetic

tree. The percentage of replicate trees in which the

associated taxa clustered together in the bootstrap

test (1000 replicates) are shown next to the branches

(Felsenstein, 1985). The evolutionary distances were

computed using the Poisson correction method

(Zuckerkandl and Pauling, 1965) and are in the units

of the number of amino acid substitutions per site.

The analysis involved 27 amino acid sequences. All

positions containing gaps and missing data were

eliminated. The Maximum Likelihood tree was

searched with the highest log likelihood (-

1792.5671) value. When the number of common

sites was < 100 or less than one fourth of the total

number of sites, the maximum parsimony method

was used; otherwise BIONJ method with MCL

distance matrix was used. In Neighbor-Joining

method, the optimal tree with the sum of branch

length = 0.35969843 is considered. The ME tree was

searched using the Close-Neighbor-Interchange

(CNI) algorithm (Nei and Kumar, 2000) at a search

level of 0. The Neighbor-joining algorithm (Saitou

and Nei, 1987) was used to generate the initial tree.

Table 1. Currently recognized species and subspecies of Pangshura and Batagur analyzed in the present study and associated UniProtKB

Accession �o (According to Fritz and Havas, 2007) Genus Species/Sub species UniProtKB Accession !o.

Pangshura Gray, 1856

Pangshura smithii smithii (Gray, 1863) A7WMA7

Pangshura smithii pallidipes (Moll, 1987) A7WMB0

Pangshura sylhetensis (Jerdon, 1870) A7WMB5, A7WMB6, A7WMB7

Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) A7WMC0, A7WMC2, A7WMC4, A7WMC6

Pangshura tentoria tentoria (Gray, 1834) A7WMD1, A7WMC7

Pangshura tentoria circumdata (Mertens, 1969) A7WMD5, A7WME1

Pangshura tentoria flaviventer (Günther, 1864) A7WME2

Batagur Gray, 1856

Batagur baska (Gray, 1831) A7WM87, C9X3V8

Batagur dhongoka (Gray, 1835) A7WMA1, Q70M67

Batagur kachuga (Gray, 1831) A7WMA3

Batagur trivittata (Duméril & Bibron, 1835) A8Y844

Batagur borneoensis (Schlegel and Muller,1845) A7WM90, A7WNH1

Batagur affinis (Cantor, 1847) A7WNG4, C9X3V9

Out group (Lissemys Smith,1931)

Lissemys punctata (Bonnaterre, 1789) B6RAK9

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Results and discussion

The predicted 3D Structures of Cytochrome-b

The model of Cytochrome-b for all three subspecies

of P. tentoria have 20 helices, 41 helix-helix

interacts, 15 beta turns, 5 gamma turns. In the sub

species of P. smithii , Cytochrome-b have 23 helices,

43 helix-helix interacts, 14 beta turns, 6 gamma

turns. P. tecta, P. sylhetensis, Batagur dhongoka, B.

kachuga and B. baska Cytochrome-b have 24 helices,

40 helix-helix interacts, 15 beta turns, 4 gamma turns

(Fig. 1 & 2). Procheck verification proved that the

models are of good quality as judged by

Ramachandran Plot (Fig. 3) (Ramachandran &

Sasisekharan, 1968). The overall Quality factors

predicted by ERRAT verification programme for the

predicted 3D structures of Cytochrome-b are more

than 95% (Fig. 4). After fruitful verification of the

coordinate files, the structures were successfully

deposited to PMDB Protein Model Database (Tiziana

et al., 2006) of University of Rome and now

available for download. Each 3D structure of

Cytochrome-b has been assigned an unique PMDB

ID for the coordinate entry.

Figure 1. The predicted 3D structures of Cytochrome-b displayed by UCSF Chimera (A. Pangshura, B. Batagur)

Key:

Sec. struc: Helices labelled H1, H2, ... and strands by their sheets A, B, ...

Helix Strand

Motifs:

beta turn

gamma turn

Disulphides:

disulphide bond

Figure 2. Secondary structure assignment of the predicted three-dimensional model of Cytochrome-b.

A B

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

8

Figure 3. Ramachandran analysis of the backbone dihedral angles PSI (y) and PHI (f) for the final structure of Cytochrome-b protein

(from P. sylhetensis) Red region represents the most favored region, yellow = allowed region, light yellow = generously

allowed region, white = disallowed region [ProCheck].

Figure 4. ERRAT verification for the overall Quality factors of the predicted 3D structures of Cytochrome-b A. Pangshura (99.407), B. Batagur (97.329)

A

B

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

9

Evolution of Cytochrome-b among the genera

Pangshura and Batagur

All tree-building methods revealed Cytochrome-b of

Pangshura as perfectly supported monophylum with

bootstrap or posterior probability values of more

than 70% (Fig. 5 A-C). There were a total of 344

positions in the final dataset. The results are highly

consistent with earlier molecular genetics study

involving 12S rRNA genes (Shaffer et al., 1997) that

within Batagur and Pangshura, all species

correspond with well-supported clades. However,

the evolutonery tree of Cytochrome- b supports the

fact that P.tecta is the closest relative of

P.sylhetensis, while P.tecta, P.smithii and P.tentoria

are found as sister groups. Batagur dhongoka is

found to be an intermediate species of the two

genera that belongs to genus Batagur. Distinctness

of the subspecies within P. tentoria is badly

supported by the evolutonery data of Cytochrome-b

protein.

The analysis involved 27 amino acid sequences. The

percentage of replicate trees in which the associated

taxa clustered together in the bootstrap test (1000

replicates) is shown next to the branches

(Felsenstein, 1985).

A. The evolutionary history was inferred by using

the Maximum Likelihood method based on the

JTT matrix-based model (Jones et al., 1992). The

tree with the highest log likelihood (-1792.5671)

is shown.

B. The evolutionary history was inferred using the

Neighbor-Joining method (Saitou and Nei,

1987). The optimal tree with the sum of branch

length = 0.35969843 is shown. The tree is drawn

to scale, with branch lengths in the same units as

those of the evolutionary distances used to infer

the phylogenetic tree. The evolutionary distances

were computed using the Poisson correction

method (Zuckerkandl and Pauling, 1965).

C. The evolutionary history was inferred using the

Minimum Evolution method (Rzhetsky and Nei,

1992). The optimal tree with the sum of branch

length = 0.35969843 is shown. The evolutionary

distances were computed using the Poisson

correction method (Zuckerkandl and Pauling,

1965).

The equality of evolutionary rate between sequences

A (A7WMB5 sylhetensis) and B (A7WMA3

kachuga), with sequence C (B6RAK9 Lissemys

punctata) used as an outgroup in Tajima's relative

rate test (Tajima, 1993). The χ2 test statistic was 0.00

(P = 1.00000 with 1 degree[s] of freedom) There

were a total of 345 positions in the final dataset.

There were 277 identical sites and 11 divergent sites

in all three sequences. Unique differences in

sequence A and B are 7, while in sequence C is 43.

The structure Cytochrome-b can be helpful in

structural biology for further investigations on

allocatoion of amino acid residues in each fold,

prediction of active sites, molecular mechanism of

function and structure based phylogeny. The

structures of Cytochrome-b were found to be

statistically significant by the structure verification

programs. Sequence search vs existing PDB entries

revealed that the predicted structure has higher fold

similarities with PDB IDs 1bcc (C, Cytochrome bc1

complex from chicken) (75%) and 2bcc (C,

Stigmatellin-bound cytochrome bc1 complex from

chicken) (75%). The present analysis corroborate

that the genus Pangshura is monophyletic. The

modeling of Cytochrome b of genus Pangshura

gains importance for the structural biology and even

to the conservation genetic research from several

angles.

The present evolutionary study on Cytochrome-b

protein provides a stable phylogenetic hypothesis for

all Pangshura species, with the suggestion that

P.smithii and P.tentoria as sister species followed by

P.tecta and P.sylhetensis as their successive sister-

taxa.Molecular analysis is now a standard tool in

taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, focusing

mostly on genes in the mitochondrial genome

(Caccone et al., 1999) or DNA loci in the nuclear

genome (Cao et al., 2000). The present study

provides an indispensable groundwork for future

molecular analyses at the protein level. The choice

of molecular data is crucial for phylogenetic

analyses and molecular studies can now be tailored

specifically for particular phylogenetic groups and/

or questions (Lamb and Lydeard, 1994).

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

10

A7WME2 tentoria flaviventer

A7WMC7 tentoria tentoria

A7WME6 PtcXPtf


A7WMD5 tentoria circumdata

A7WME1 tentoria circumdata

A7WMD1 tentoria tentoria

A7WMB0 smithii pallidipes

A7WMA7 smithii smithii

A7WMC2 tecta

A7WMC0 tecta

A7WMC4 tecta

A7WMC6 tecta

A7WMB5 sylhetensis

A7WMB7 sylhetensis

A7WMB6 sylhetensis

Q70M67 dhongoka

A7WMA1 dhongoka

A7WM90 borneoensis

A7WNH1 borneoensis

A8Y844 trivittata

A7WM87 baska

C9X3V8 baska

A7WMA3 kachuga

C9X3V9 affinis

A7WNG4 affinis

B6RAK9 Lissemys punctata

99

83

88

86

70

74

75

99

99

76

90

84

74

94




A7WME6 PtcXPtf






A7WMC2 tecta

A7WMC0 tecta

A7WMC4 tecta

A7WMC6 tecta

A7WMB5 sylhetensis

A7WMB7 sylhetensis

A7WMB6 sylhetensis

Q70M67 dhongoka

A7WMA1 dhongoka

A7WM90 borneoensis

A7WNH1 borneoensis

A8Y844 trivittata

C9X3V9 affinis

A7WNG4 affinis

A7WMA3 kachuga

A7WM87 baska

C9X3V8 baska


99

97

74

82

93

99

88

70

100

99

75

97

56

90

85

72

98

71

0.000.020.040.060.08




A7WME6 PtcXPtf






A7WMC2 tecta

A7WMC0 tecta

A7WMC4 tecta

A7WMC6 tecta

A7WMB5 sylhetensis

A7WMB7 sylhetensis

A7WMB6 sylhetensis

Q70M67 dhongoka

A7WMA1 dhongoka

A7WM90 borneoensis

A7WNH1 borneoensis

A8Y844 trivittata

C9X3V9 affinis

A7WNG4 affinis

A7WMA3 kachuga

A7WM87 baska

C9X3V8 baska


99

97

73

82

94

99

85

72

100

99

75

97

57

91

86

71

97

72

0.000.020.040.060.08 Figure 5. A-C. Evolutionary relationship of Cytochrome-b among Pangshura and Batagur.

A B

C

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

11

Conclusion

The present study can be used as an additional

method for identification of species as well as for

identification of unknown samples with unusual

appearances and could be made available for the

identification of confiscated specimens. The

predicted 3D structures presented here can serve as a

guide for the allocation of amino acid residues

involved in each fold, which is important for further

investigations on molecular mechanism of functions.

The molecular evolutionary analysis underline that

further sampling is in dire need for developing

effective conservation strategies. Pangshura

represent distinct genera with four well supported

species. However, distinctness within the three

currently recognized sub-species of P.tentoria is not

clearly visible by the evolutionary analysis of

Cytochrome- b protein. Much is still to be learned

about how the protein can manipulate a sequence of

base pairs in such a peculiar way that results in a

fully functional organism.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Department

of Biotechnology, Govt. of India for financial

support to establish the Bioinformatics

Infrastructure Facility (BIF)

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NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Traditional Knowledge and Bioresource utilization among Lepcha in

North Sikkim

Sudin Pal* and Debnath Palit

*Department of Conservation Biology, Durgapur Government College, West Bengal

Department of Botany, Durgapur Government College, Durgapur, West Bengal.

Author for correspondence : [email protected]

© NECEER, Imphal ABSTRACT

The present communication concerns with the documentation of such knowledge of the

Lepchas communities of North Sikkim and brings into light medicinal uses of 44 species of

angiosperms. The study also encompasses regarding their socio-religious life, ethnomusic

and ethno culture. The ethno -biological research may be very helpful to the tribal to

maintain their hierarchy as well as it may be ready to lend a hand to modern society for the

need of drugs from the tribal peoples.

KEYWORDS: Bioresources, Lepchas, Traditional knowledge, North Sikkim, Herbal medicines.

The Lepchas are the very autochthones of Sikkim and Darjeeling and their land was extended from Himalayas down to Tilalaya in the vast plain of India. They were very primeval people of the world

and once a ruling race equal in power and status to many contemporary outside rulers. Lepchas call themselves as Rongkup/Rumkup mean „the son of the snowy peak. Ethnobiological studies involve the examination of reciprocal relationships between

indigenous societies and the living world. Specially, ethnobotany includes any such studies, which relate to plants, including how they are classified and named, how they are used and managed and how

they evolve under the influence of man (Jain, 1981; Cotton, 1998).

Sikkim Himalaya is a rich repository of medicinal plants that has been nurturing several distinct ethnomedicinal systems through ages. Historically,

Darjeeling was once a part of Sikkim and hence it is customary for authors to include Darjeeling hills when preparing any book or write up on medicinal plants of Sikkim Himalayas (Biswas & Chopra, 1956; Yonzone, 1984; Rai & Sharma, 1994; Rai et

al, 1998; Rai & Bhujel, 1999;). Darjeeling Himalayan region being very rich in biodiversity is one of the potential homes for medicinal plants in the country (Das, 1995; Saini, 2000; Rai & Bhujel,

2002; Das & Mandal, 2003).While revealing the

current status of ethnomedicinal plants in the Darjeeling Himalaya have categorized 40 species (14%) out of a total of 281 species as threatened (Cheetri, 2005). The earliest mention of the

medicinal use of plants is found in the traditional tale of Tamsangthing, perhaps the oldest repository of Lepchas knowledge, having originated along with Pundim Choo, which is the Pundim mountain peak. Ethnomedicine in vogue among Lepchas of

Darjeeling-Sikkim region has remained inadequately represented in literature (Gurung & Palit, 2007). Since there has been a rapid erosion of this indigenous knowledge due to their modern ways of

life, immediate documentation was felt necessary and on the other hand this ethnomedicobotanical investigation may possibly open an avenue for the therapeutic assessment in primary health care system. Material and methods This study mainly concentrates on Dzongu, Lingthem, Hegyathang, Gour and Lingoong blocks of North Sikkim. A rapid resource appraisal was conducted in the Lepchas localities of these places during 2006-2010 using structured questionnaire (Rao, 1989). No less than four Maondaok, Lepcha medicine men and 15 knowledgeable aged persons and 10 middle-aged women were used as primary sources of information. The names of plants used by

Pal & Palit 13 -17

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

14

them were communicated in Nepali. Information thus recorded were cross checked and verified through observations during frequent visits to the study sites. The species were documented along with their locally used names, medicinal uses and plant parts (s) used (Table-1).

Results and discussion The way of life of the Lepchas of Sikkim, Darjeeling, Ilam and Zaongsaw is reflected by their religious practices, dogmas, history, language, literature, manners, etiquettes, tradition, songs, dances and the geographical of the country.

Lepchas Living style The Lepchas were very much ford of hunting, agriculture, gardening and rearing of cows. Like other tribe they also has priest that is known as “bongthing” and it is mostly used to kill the ox as an escape during any religious anniversary and festival. The Lepchas have their national weapon called “Bamphok” and most of them used to hold it on their waists having covered it by a small box made up of wood.

Traditional Utensils used by Lepchas: In early day Lepcha people use to make utensils of woods, bamboos etc. the Lepcha architecture has been of highest order from the earliest times, it displays style of its own. The art of making utensils are purely of woods (Table 1).

Lepchas as Food gatherer There was the custom of gathering foods from forest like fruits, yam edible wild roots etc. among the Lepchas tribe and they used to cultivate cardamom and ginger but at present they also cultivate other

vegetables and crops. They used to collect yam from jungle by digging up the land and they filled the hole by leaves and litter, so that it will be easy to take out those food materials for the next time. According to the regulation act of Lepchas regarding the conservation of forest, that one should grow eight sprouts in exchange of cutting one tree. This system was called “Bukchung” in Lepchas language.

Architecture The Lepchas architecture and art of making musical instrument, houses, weapons etc has been of highest order from the earliest times. The bamboo called “poo” in Lepcha is the most useful plant by which they made construction of cane bridges, bamboo rafts, houses etc. They used 22 verities of bamboos and that are abundantly found up to 12,000 ft high attitude of Sikkim. The bamboo seeds are also used to make into a fermented drink and into bread in time of scarcity. The Lepchas says that when bamboo flowers, it may be a bad signs like warning of famine, scarcity of food, disaster etc.

Lepchas Dress The Lepchas used to wear clothes which are known

as “paki”. Women were used to wear sari covering

their legs from above waist and stretching by

bamboo’s pin in shoulder left its border outside to

knee called “Dumhun”, which is made of black

cotton or silk. They have a kind of hat on their head,

which is round in shape made from bamboos.

Bioresources and Socio-Religious life In Lepchas communities there were many traditions

customs and rituals which they followed in their life

from birth to death.

Table 1. Traditional Utensils used by Lepchas

Sl.no Name of utensils Plant used Uses

1 FYET (Chimti) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Holding utensils.

2 KAAYU (cup) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Drinking.

3 PUTAK Bamboo (Bambusa sp.) As holder where spoons and other are kept. 4 THURMA (spoon) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Serving purpose

5 SAARU LADLES (daru) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Serving purpose

6 TAFI (dalo) Bamboo (Bambusa sp.) Keeping goods or cereals 7 TAALYLOONG (nanglo) Bamboo (Bambusa sp.) Husking.

8 PODHYUM Bamboo (Bambusa sp.) Utensils

9 CHIMOO YOJMOO (chee-putak) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Utensils

10 TALKE Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Utensils

11 TOANGKO (Basket) Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Keeping vegetables and foods. 12 CHOM TAFT Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.)

13 GYANGRO Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Used for making sunset 14 TEA FILTER PUNJET Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Tea filter.

15 KOYUK Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.) Use for serving

During their festivals celebration that is “losoong”, Tendong lho rum faat” (celebration of the tendong

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

15

hill) they make “chang” from maize (Zea mays) and

millets (Pennisetum glaucum) and chapatti from the

small girded pieces of maize. All aspects of folk

literature namely folk song, folk talks of their land

had profuse reference to trees, shrubs, climbers,

flowers and fruits. Folk proverbs having reference to

plants can indicative of the deep insight, common

sense and practical wisdom of the common folk.

Ethnomedine among Lepchas They use folk medicine not only for human but also for animals. The ethnic group has believed about

magi-co-religious belief about plant like sacrificial

plants, plants as human adornment and plants in puja

(Rum taat in lepcha) etc. The knowledge about the plants has come through generation verbally to the ethic people of Dzongu. They generally used flowers, roots, barks, leaves seeds etc of plants as

medicine. Some medicinal plants are freshly taken while some are preserved either by sun drying or by keeping it in a bamboo container with raw salt. During the course of the present study, medicinal

uses of 44 plants could be recorded from the Lepcha communities residing in the district of North Sikkim, a precise account of which is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. The medicinal uses of plants as documented from lepchas in north Sikkim

Name and Family Local name Part(s) used Diseases/ailments cured and related uses

Artemisia vulgaris L. [Asteraceae] Titepathi Whole plants Skin diseases, ulcer and nose bleeding, Gout

and rheumatism Mosquito and insect repellent.

Helianthus annuus L.[Asteraceae] Ghamphul Seed Lung diseases, cough, cold and bronchitis.

Coriandrum sativam L.[Apiaceae] Aoosu Seeds and leaves Flatulence

Marsdenia tenacissima Wight & Arnott Bahuni lahara Root leaves Gonorrhea

[Asclepiadaceae]

Cucurbita pepo DC. [Cucurbitaceae] Farsi Seeds leaves and fruit Intestinal worm infestation and leaves for

healing burns

Luffa acutangula Roxb. [Cucurbitaceae] Ghiraula Seeds, leaves Seeds- in constipation and leaves in granular

conjunctivitis.

Momordica charantia L. [Cucurbitaceae] Karela Leaves, fruits In gastric troubles

Phyllanthus emblica L. [Euphorbiaceae] Amala Bark and fruit Dysentery, indigestion, gonorrhea, with honey

cures leucorrhoea, relieves pain during

micturition.

!asturtium officinale R. Brown Scurvy, toxin and nicotine related health

[Brassicaceae] Simrayo Entire plant problems

Lens esculenta Moench.[Fabaceae] Musuri dal Seeds or grains Measles

Mimosa pudica L.[ Mimosaceae] Buharijhar Leaves and root Piles.

Glycine max L. Mers [Fabaceae] Bhatmas Roots and seeds Food supplement in general weakness.

Dichroa febrifuga Lour.[Hydrangeaceae] Basaka Roots and leaves Decoction in fevers, malaria.

Juglans regia L. [Juglandaceae] Okhar Bark and fruits Bark- intestinal worm infestation and Fruits in

rheumatism.

Mentha spicata L.[Lamiaceae] Pudina Leaves and shoots tip Headache, indigestion and cholera.

Allium sativum L. [Liliaceae] Indigestion, flatulence, mountain sickness.

Lasun/ Garlic Leaves of bulbs Juice- in skin diseases and as ear drops for ear-

ache.

Allium cepa L.[Liliaceae] Onion Bulb Stimulant, expectorant, amenorrhoea, summer

sunstroke.

Gloriosa superba L.[Liliaceae] Kulhari Roots and flowers, Abdominal pain, itching, piles, etc.

tubers

Viscum album L. [Loranthaceae] Harchur Whole plant Muscular pain, fracture

Hibiscus esculentus L.[Malvaceae] Bhendi Fruits Gonorrhea, painful urination.

Cedrela toona Roxb. Ex Rottl. & Tun Bark or flower Powerful astringent, various ulcerations.

Wild.[Meliaceae] Flowers in disturbed menstruation.

Michelia champaca L. [Magnoliaceae] Champ Bark, flower and Bark in fever and pharyngitis and lung-

fruits congestions.

Piper longum L. [Piperaceae] Pipla Fruits and roots Asthma, rheumatism, gonorrhea, piles,

enlargement of spleen.

Hordeum vulgare L.[Poaceae] Jauno Grain Health breakdown.

Imperata cylindrica (L.)Rausch. Vaugan Siru Root, flower and stem Fever, cough, internal bleeding, jaundice and

[Poaceae] kidney problems.

Rumex nepalensis Sprengel [Polygonaceae] Halhaley Root and leaves Colic pain, syphilis, ulcer; root paste in wounds

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

16

Ethno-music There traditional instrument includes; Satsong, Tungbok, Bangno Tungdar, Tungdarbong, suno, palerth etc which really thrills us with its sounds. “Satsang” is made of bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp.)

“Paleet” made up of bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp).

“Tungdar” made up of “Katus” plant (Castonopsis

sp) etc. (Table 3).

Conclusion Biodiversity conservation has been a major topic of concern all over the world in this decade. Depletion

of natural resources at a first rate challenges world scientists to conserve our nature, wildlife and the socio-cultural atmosphere of inhabitants in a sustainable manner. The rich diversity of

phytoresources in Sikkim Himalayas needs to be scanned judiciously. Preservation and conservation of plant genetic resources have prime importance and need to be adequately studied on priority basis. Lepchas are one of the primitive tribes to have used

their surrounding plants and animals for their health and sustenance. Since exploitation of natural plant resources is in full swing in the entire Sikkim Himalayan region and many of the medicinally

useful plant species have been depleted drastically, their conservation has become need of the hour.

Habitat depletion has also been conveying threats to them. As such, restorative steps must be taken in these areas and initiatives should be taken for

sustainable use of these taxa. Moreover documentation of indigenous knowledge is globally given priority since together with phytoresources the knowledge about their uses has also fallen victim to

extinction. In view of this the present work puts into record from primary sources medicinal uses of 44 species against 62 diseases which include such dreadful ones as bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma, diarrhea, dysentery, measles, malaria, cholera,

ulcerations, and typhoid. The herbal prescriptions against these and other diseases are very simple which involves use of 17 cultivated and 24 wild species. One of the noteworthy features is that only

in 15 cases roots are used. Since use of roots for medicine often involves death of the plant the Lepchas prefer to use other plant parts (Table 2). Of the different remedies, the antitubercular and

antiasthmatic medicines are the most important ones since the hard life of Lepchas in the hills always puts a heavy load of risk on their pulmonary organs and susceptibility to tuberculosis is also very high. The remedies documented in this work need

certainly to be therapeutically and clinically

Aconitum heterophyllum Wallich Bikhuma Root Stomach ache, fever, cough, asthma. [Ranunculaceae]

Rosa macrophyla Nigyle [Rosaceae] Kadaorip Petals, buds, and roots Hemorrhage. Buds and roots- useful in curing tuberculosis.

Rubus ellipticus Smith [Rosaceae] Aselu Roots, fruit, young Colic pains and helminth infestation in children. shoot

Rubus moluccanus L.[Rosaceae] Bhotay pan leaves Amenorrhea. Rubia cordifolia L. [Rubiaceae] Manjito Roots, fruits and Skin disease.

leaves

Evodia fraxinifolia [Rutaceae] Khanakpa Fruits Typhoid and indigestion. Zanthoxylum acanthopodium L. [Rutaceae] Boke timbur Seeds, bark and fruits Fever, dyspepsia and cholera. Gout, rheumatism

and toothache. Aegle marmelous Corr. [Rutaceae] Bael Fruit and roots Constipation, loss of appetite, dysentery. Bergenia ciliata (Haw.) Stenberg Roots Diarrhea and dysentery [Saxifragaceae]

Datura fastuosa L. [Solanaceae] Kajyoo Roots, and seeds Rheumatic swelling, lumbago, sciatica, chronic asthma and for mad-dog bites.

Lycopersicon esculentum Miller [Solanaceae] Golbhera Fruits and leaves Headaches and rheumatism. Leaf juice in wound

Daphne cannabina Lour.ex Wall Kagate Roots Antidotes in poisoning. [Thymelacaceae]

Leea robusta L.[Vitaceae] Puntom Leaves and young Bandaged over the fractured, relives pain, body shoots. ache and in swollen legs.

Amomum subulatum L.[Zingiberaceae] Bara alainchi Seeds and roots Infection of teeth and gums. Curcuma caesia Roxb.[Zingiberaceae] Geyshying Rhizome Flatulence. Curcuma longa L.[Zingiberaceae] Hardi Rhizome Sprain and wounds, cough and cold. The fresh

juice for skin infections. Zingiber officinale Roxb. [Zingiberaceae] Adua Rhizome Cold, throat troubles, asthma, palpitation, loss

of appetite, piles, dropsy and rheumatism.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Table 3. Some of the ethno musical instruments used by Lepcha Sl.no. Musical instrument Plant parts used Description of Instrument 1 Satsong Bamboo Dendrocalamus sp. Length - 24 inches, Circumferance - 30 inches,

Length - 20 inches Hollow wooden block+animal skin + Length - 36 inches, Diameter - 11 inches, Height -

2 Tung bok strings (made of stinging nettle) 6 inches, Strings - 3 inches.

3 Bangno Animal skin + Hollow wooden trunk Diameter - 36 inches, Height - 30 inches, Sticks - Bambusa sp. one pairs.

4 Bampathyut Short bamboo Dendrocalamus sp. Length - 2 inches.

5 Tangdyo Chipped wood of bamboo Length - 6 inches. Dendrocalamus sp.

6 Panthong paleet Bamboo Dendrocalamus sp. Shapely thin bamboo with four holes.

Length - 30 inches, Diameter - 10 inches up broad 7 Chakparzang Castronopsis sp. side and 15 inches of hard side 8 Tungdar (madal) Bamboo +Animal skin Dendrocalamus sp. Diameter - 26 inches, Height - 1 inches 9 Tungdarbong Bambusa sp. Length - 20 inches, Diameter - 15 inches 10 Nibyokopalseth Dendrocalamus sp. Long bamboo with five holes 11 Popatek Dendrocalamus sp. Small bamboo with four holes.

validated. Through ethnobotanical researches many

knowledge can be gained which can be helpful to

the modern and civilized society. In another aspect

the pharmacologists can study the use of medicinal

plants by the Lepcha along with their active

constituents and the new brand of drugs can be

obtained with high efficiency and a low price. As in

all, the respective communities can protect the

plants use by the tribal and the problem of

deforestation can also be solved or controlled.

References Biswas, K. and Chopra, R.N., 1956.Common

medicinal plants of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalaya, Bengal Govt. Press, Calcutta.

Cheetri, D.R., Basent, D., Chiu, R.F., Kalikotay, S. and Cheetri, G., 2005. Current status of ethnomedcinal plants in the Darjeeling himalaya, Current science, 89(2): 264-268.

Cotton, C.M., 1998. Ethnobotany Principles and

Applications, 3rd

edition, John Wiley and Sons publisher, NewYork, USA.

Das, A.P., 1995.Diversity of angiospermic flora of Darjeeling hills, In: Taxonomy and Biodiversity, edited by A.K. Pandey, CBS Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

Das, A.P. and Mandal, S., 2003. Some medicinal Plants of Darjeeling Hills, WWF-India, West Bengal State Office, Kolkata.

Gurung, S. and Palit, D., 2007. Medicinal plant lore among Lepchas in Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India, In: !ational Symposium on Medicinal and aromatic plants for Economic Benefit of Rural People (MAPER), Pp 37-41, Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission Institute of

Advanced Studies, Kolkata.

Jain, S.K., 1981. Glimpses of Indian Ethnobotany, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta.

Rai, P.C., Sarkar, A., Bhujel, R.B. and Das, A.P., 1998. Ethnomedicinal studies in some fringe areas of Sikkim and Darjeeling Himalaya. Journal of Hill Research. 11: 12 – 21.

Rai, S.K. and Bhujel, R.B., 1999. Notes on some less known ethnomedicinal plants from the Darjeeling Himalaya. . Journal of Hill Research, 12: 160-163.

Rai, S.K. and Bhujel, R.B. 2002. Ethnic uses of some monocotyledonous plants in the Darjeeling Himalayan region, In: Perspectives of Plant Biodiversity, edited by AP Das, (Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun), Pp.635 – 644.

Rai, L.K and Sharma, E., 1994. Medicinal plants of Sikkam Himalayas status, uses and potential, Bisen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh , Dehradun.

Saini. R.P., 2000. Medicinal plants of Darjeeling hills-A study by Silviculture hills Division. Indian Forester., 128: 822 – 837

Yonzone, G.S., Yonzone, D.K.N. and Tamang, K.K., 1984. Medicinal plants of Darjeeling district. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany, 5: 605 – 616.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Sighting of Asian Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) from West Bhubanban (near Agartala city), West Tripura district, Tripura

Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee*, D Laskar, J Majumder, R Lodh and T Das

Ecology & Biosystematics Laboratories,

Dept. of Zoology, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar-799130, West Tripura, Tripura, India


© NECEER, Imphal

On 27th September 2010, a colourful frog was found

in the kitchen garden of the first author at West

Bhunanban, 2 kms away from Agartala city, West

Tripura. Geographically it lies between 23051.565´

N and 91015.737´ E with an altitudinal gradient of

48 m above sea level. It was a small sized frog with

squat round body and short and thick hind feet.

Body colour was mahogany brown backs and cream

stomachs. The distinctive stripes down the side can

range from copper-brown to salmon pink in colour.

Fingers were long without webs and tips were

swollen as adhesive pads. The sub-articular tubercles

were distinct and present on fingers and toes.

Shovel-shaped metatarsal tubercles were present,

inner larger than the outer ones. Tibio-tarsal

articulation reached the shoulder when hind limbs

were extended and bent. The frog was identified as a

Painted Frog (Kaloula pulchra) after carefully

examining it with the help of the field guide of

Daniel (1963a,b, 1975); Vyas and Parasharya

(2004). The photograph (Figure 1) was identified to

be that of Kaloula pulchra and was recorded from

West Bhubanban, near Agartala city, Tripura.

The Painted Frog, Kaloula pulchra Gray, 1831

belongs to the family Microhylidae and is widely

distributed in Peninsular India and Sri Lankan

region. It is distributed over a 2,283,959 km2 area

from Nepal and north-eastern India through

Myanmar and Thailand to southern China,

Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi (Inger

and Lian, 1996). In Indian region this species is also

strewn in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Madhya

Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat

and Tripura (Dutta, 1997; Sarkar, et al., 2002; Vyas

and Parasharya, 2004). The frog inhabits a wide

range of habitats, including wetlands, riverbanks,

forests and residential, agricultural and urban areas

(IUCN et al., 2004).

Figure 1. Kaloula pulchra

In earlier studies regarding the presence of this

species was only confined in the sole locality of

Jampui Hills (Vanghmun Village, 23° 58' N, 92° 16'

E) where it was encountered near a forest trail (S.

Mahony, pers comm.; Sarkar, et al., 2002; Sengupta

et al., 2009). Present records of the species from

West Bhubanban, near Agartala city, West Tripura

district show that the species is widely distributed in

West Tripura district as well as North Tripura

district of Tripura state.

References

Daniel, J. C. 1963a. Field guide to the amphibians of

western India, Part I. Journal of the Bombay

�atural History Society 60 (2): 415-438.

Daniel, J. C. 1963b. Field guide to the amphibians of

western India, Part II. Journal of the Bombay


Daniel, J. C. 1975. Field guide to the amphibians of

western India, Part III. Journal of the Bombay


Bhattacharjee et al, 18 -19

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

19

Dutta, S. K. 1997. Amphibians of India and Sri

Lanka (Checklist and Bibliography). Odyssey

Publishing House. 342pp. Inger, R. F. and Lian,

T. F. 1996. The �atural History of Amphibians

and Reptiles in Sabah, Borneo, Sdn. Bhd Natural

History Publications. IUCN, Conservation

International and Nature Serve. 2004. Global

Amphibian Assessment (15 October, 2004):

www.globalamphibians.org.

Sarkar, A. K., Das, S. and Ray, S. 2002. Amphibia.

In: State Fauna Series: Fauna of Tripura. 7(pt

1). Vertebrate. Ed. Director. Zoological Survey

of India, Kolkata. pp. 179-190. Sengupta, S.,

Das, A., Das, S., Hussain, B., Choudhury, N. K.,

and Dutta, S. K. 2009. Taxonomy and

Biogeography of Kaloula species of Eastern

India. The �atural History Journal of

Chulalongkom University 9(2): 209-222.

Vyas, R. and Parasharya, B. M. 2004. Painted Frog

(Kaloula pulchra) from Anand and Surat,

Gujarat, India. Zoos’ Print Journal 19 (4): 1444

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

20

Dendrobium of ‘Joypur Reserve Forest’ of Dibrugarh District of Assam, India

Khyanjeet Gogoi

Rupai High School, Rupai Siding, Tinsukia - 786153, Assam


© NECEER, Imphal

ABSTRACT

102 species of orchids including the floriculturally significant D. aphyllum, D. aduncum,

D. cumulatum, D. fimbriatum, D. lituiflorum, D. moschatum, D. nobile, D. sulcatum,

D.transparens etc. were recorded from Joypur Reserve Forest, in an intensive survey

during 2006-2009. The Dendrobes are described, highlighting their important features

for easy identification.

KEYWORDS: Dendrobium, Joypur, Rain forest, Enumeration.

Dendrobium is one of the important and intere-

sting epiphytic groups of orchids known for their

beautiful and long-lasting flowers of diverse

morphological features. It is the second largest

genus of the family Orchidaceae, comprises more

than 1,000 species and is widely distributed in

Sri Lanka, India, China, Japan, Malaysia,

Australia and New Zealand. In India it represents

102 species and nearly 20 species grow in Assam

(Barua, 2001).

Study area

Joypur Reserve Forest in the district of Dibrugarh and

under the Dibrugarh forest Division is situated within

95°22´ E. to 95°30´ E. and 27°00´ N. to 27°16´ N. It

covers an area of 10,876.68 hectares, bounded by

Arunachal Pradesh in its East and South, Sibsagar

District in its West. This reserve forest is classified as

type IB.C.I Assam valley wet Evergreen forest type

(Champion & Seth, 1968). It forms a part of the

world heritage of tropical/sub tropical wet evergreen

forest, multistoried in structure and rich in

biodiversity, more popularly known as ‘Rain forest’.

The area falls under humid zone, which is

characterized by high precipitation. The high

humidity and heavy rain fall are significant features

of evergreen forest in this region. The amount of

rainfall tapers towards the end of the rainy season but

there is some amount of partially in every month.

Maximum annual rainfall recorded is 3,640 mm.

Temperature ranges maximum of 36°C and minimum

6°C. Joypur Reserve Forest consists of 102 species

orchids belonging to the 46 genera among them 13

species are Dendrobium. In this paper a brief

description, along with photographs has been

provided for easy identification of the Dendrobiums.

Materials and methods The present investigation is the outcome of several

field trips encompassing all the season have been

carried out in Joypur Reserve Forest during 2006-

2009. The specimens collected in the flowering and

fruiting stages and maintained it for availability of

plant materials during taxonomic evaluation. Then

specimens were processed in to dried and mounted

herbarium specimens. Identification were done using

standard orchid manuals and by matching at the

Herbarium of the Department of Botany Guwahati

University (Assam). The Herbarium specimens are

deposited in the Herbarium, Department of Botany

Guwahati University.

Species description

Dendrobium acinaciforme Roxb, Pradhan, Indian

Orchid-II, 344, 1979; Barua , Orch. Fl. Kamrup dist.

151, 2001; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad.,

283, 1998; Hedge, Orch. of Arunachal Prad. 60,

1984; Deorani & Naithani, Orch. of Nagaland, 164,

1995; Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind Orch; 70, 1994;

Misra, Orch. of India, 291, 2007.

Stem 10-30 cm. long, compressed,leafy, with long

naked extremities; leaves 3.5-5 cm. × 6-8 mm.,

lanceolate, distichous, fleshy, enciform, acute,

sessile, laterally compressed; inflorescence racemose,

flowers solitary from axils of bracts, yellowish-white,

small, about 1cm. long, sepals broadly acute or

obtuse, 5-nerved, dorsal sepals elliptic-ovate, 3.5×2

mm., lateral sepals slightly obliquely ovate, 6×3 mm.,

Gogoi 20 -26

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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Figure1. 1. Dendrobium acinaciforme, 2. Dendrobium aduncum, 3. Dendrobrium cathcartii, 4. Dendrobium

cumulatum, 5. Dendrobium fimbriatum var. fimbriatum, 6. Dendrobium fimbriatum var. oculatum, 7.

Dendrobium lituiflorum, 8. Dendrobium nobile, 9. Dendrobium stuposum, 10. Dendrobium sulcatum, 11.

Dendrobium terminale, 12 Dendrobium transparens.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

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petals lanceolate, 1-nerved, 3×1.5 mm., lip shortly

clawed, erect, 7×7 mm., obovate, rounded cuncate at

base, whit or creamy with a pale yellow blotch in the

middle with red rods, coloumn minute, 1 mm. long;

foot 4.5 mm. long.

Flowering time: August-September.

Specimen Examined: Gogoi - 0117 (Assam).

Dendrobium aduncum Wall Ref in Hook Fi. Brit.

Ind. 5,730, 1890; Bruhi, Guide Orch. Sikkim, 60,

1926; Pradhan Ind. Orch.2, 324; Kumar and

Monilal, Cat. Ind. Orch., 70, 1994; Hedge, Orch. of

Arunachal Prad. 60, 1984; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl.

Arunachal Prad., 283, 1998; Misra, Orch. of India,

291, 2007.

Plants with pendulous pseudobulbs, 30-90 cm. long,

sometimes more, leaves many , 5-7.5x1-1.8 cm.,

linear lanceolate, acute acuminate, minutely and

unequally bifid at apex ; flowers in many zigzag

racems (check the terminology), each racems of 4-9

flowers , flowers 1.2-2 cm .across pale purple ;

dorsal sepals ovate, acute 1.5x0.8 cm.;lateral pairs

triangular ,sub rhomboidal 1.6x1.3 cm.; petals

1.5x0.8 cm., broader; lip 1.2x0.9 cm., cymbiform,

cuspidate ciliate adpressed to the concave column;

pubscent except for a squarish glistening area on the

disc, column foot long; mentum saceate; anther

papilliose, dark purple.

Flowering time: May-June


Dendrobium aphyllum (Roxb) Fisher,in Gamble,

Fl. Press. Madras 3, 1416, 1928; Hook, Fl. Brit. Ind.

5, 738, 1890; Hedge, Orch. of Arunachal Prad. 60,


1995; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 287,

1998; Pradhan, Ind. Orch,2, 321, 1979; Roy, Orch.

Ind. 60, 1979; Banerji, Orch. Nepal, 64, 1978,;

Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind Orch; 70, 1994; Barua,

Orch. fl. Kamrup Dist; 169, 2001; Misra, Orch. of

India, 292, 2007.

Plants with pseudobulbs, 60-120 cm. long,

pendulous, leafless when flowering; leaves linear-

lanceolate, deciduous, sessile, sheathing, internode

3-4 cm.; flowers 1-3 each node, pale rose, 4.5-5 cm.

across, sepals subequal, oblong lanceolate, sub-

acute, petals broader, elliptic, rounded; sepals and

petals purple-rose; lip yellow, pubscent, 3-3.5x1.5-

2.2 cm., orbicular at the base, shortly convolute-

ciliate, pale yellow with radiating streaks at the base;

fruits 6-7x0.8 cm.

Key to the varieties:

1a. Leaves ovate-elliptic or sub orbicular, much

shorter towards the base of the stem, ovate

lanceolate to oblong and longer towards the

apex. var. katakinum

1b. Leaves ovate lanceolate and oblong through

out the stem decreasing length to the upward.

var. aphyllum.

1a. Dendrbium aphyllum (Roxb) Fischer var.

katakinum Iswar Barua.

Pseudobulb pendulous; leaves shorter at the

base of the stem and gradually longer towards

the apex; basal leaves ovate-elliptic, sub

orbicular, 3-4x2 cm.with rounded or sub acute

apex ;apical leaves ovate, lanceolate oblong

with acute or acuminate or sub acuminate apex,

8x3cm; lateral sepals slightly keeled a long mid

vein beneath, rather elliptic oblong and not or

slightly falcate, lip 5 purple nerved.

Flowering time: May

1b. Dendrbium aphyllum (Roxb) Fischer var.

aphyllum Leaves ovate-lanceolate, oblong through out

the stem, acute or acuminate the apex,5-12x3-

4cm.; decreasing length towards the upward;

sepals oblong- lanceolate more or less falcate

not keeled; lip with distinct ridges.

Flowering time : May -June

Specimen Examined: Gogoi - 0077, 0098

(Assam).

Dendrobium cathcartii Hook. f. Fl. Brit. India, 5,

727, 1890, Hedge, Orch. of Arunachal Prad. 60,

1984; Chowdhery Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 290,

1998; Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind Orch; 70, 1994;

Misra, Orch. of India, 292, 2007.

Epiphytic, stem 50-70 cm. long, erect, terete, stout,

internode 3-3.5 cm., leaves dorsiventral, linear-

lanceolate, unequally byfid, 10-12×1-1.5 cm.,

narrowed, sheathing at base; flowers in pairs, leaf-

opposed, greenish-yellow, 2 cm. across, fragrant;

sepals unequal, dorsal sepal lanceolate-ovate, acute,

lateral sepal lanceolate; petal shorter than the sepals,

incurved, lip yellow with purple, elliptic-oblong,

acute, flat, mentum stout, curved shorter than the

lateral sepals, capsules ovoid.

Flowering time: April-May


NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

23

Dendrobium cumulatum Lindl. In Hook. f. Fl. Brit.

India, 5, 731, 1890; Hedge, Orch. of Arunachal

Prad. 61, 1984; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Arunachal

Prad., 295, 1998, Pradhan, Ind. Orch. 2, 342, 1972;

Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind Orch; 70, 1994; Misra,

Orch. of India, 292, 2007.

Epiphytic, stem erect, 15-60 cm. long, narrow at the

base, slender, pendulous, laterally flattened,

internodes striate; leaves 5-10×1-2 cm., oblong-

lanceolate, acute; inflorescence corymbiform 4-5

cm. long; flowers 3.5 cm. long, flowers white with

purple, pendent; floral bracts lanceolate; dorsal sepal

elliptic, subacute, lateral sepals falcate, similar,

acute, subcylindrical incurved; petals much broader,

obovate or rounded, obtuse erose; lip obovate-

spathulate, claued at base, erose, emarginated at

apex, white suffused with yellow, base produced

into an elongated structure and bearing a tooth at

junction with the apex of the mentum, mentum large

and narrow; column very short.

Flowering time: May-June.

Specimen Examined: Gogoi- 0265 (Assam).

Dendrobium fimbriautm Hook f. in Hook Fl. Brit.

Ind. 5, 745, 1890; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Aunachal

Prad., 301, 1998; Bruhl, Guide Orch. Sikkim, 64,


1995; Hegde, Orch. of Arunachal Prad. 62, 1984;

Pradhan Ind .Orch.2, 309, 1979; Roy, Orch. Ind., 58,

1979; Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind. Orch., 70, 1994;

Barua, Orch. Fl. Kamrup Dist., 163, 2001; Misra,


Epiphytic, pseudobulbs 75-150 cm. long, erect or

suberect; tapering towards the apex, light yellowish

green, internods 1.5-3.5 cm., sheathed, striate, older

stems are leafless and arcuate or pendulous; leaves

several, lanceolate acuminate, gradually tapering to

an aute apex ,10-15x 1.5-2.8 cm; racemes on leafy

or leafless stem, lateral, pendulous, subapical, 15-20

cm long, 8-12 flowers each; flowers 4-5 cm. across,

bright yellow, sweet scented, sepals broadly oblong,

rounded, entire 2.5x1.3 cm. petals broader

suborbicular 2.5x1.7 cm.; lip orbicular fimbriate,

pubescent 3x2.5 cm.; bright yellow, wavy margins,

with or without a deep purplish brown blotch in the

middle; reddish streak at base, column foot 0.9 cm.

long.

Key to the varieties:

1a. Lip with a dark maroon blotch, Var. oculatum.

1b. Lip without a dark maroon blotch, Var.

fimbriatum.

1a. Var. oculatum Hook. f. Fl. Brit India, 5,745,

1890.

Flowers yellow or bright orange yellow, lip

with dark maroon blotch.

Flowering time: March-May.

1b. Var. fimbriatum; in Chowdhary, Orch. Fl.

Arunachal Prad.,301,1998.

Flowers bright orange yellow, lip without a

dark maroon blotch.

Flowering time : April – May

Specimen Examined: Gogoi - 0102, 0303

(Assam).

Dendrobium lituiflorum Lindl, in Hook, Fl. Brit.

Ind.5,740, 1890; Hegde, Orch. of Arunachal Prad.

63, 1984; Pradhan, Ind. Orch.2, 361, 1979; Kumar

and Monilal, Cat. Ind. Orch., 71, 1994; Barua, Orch.

fl. Kamrup Dist., 174, 2001; Deorani & Naithani,

Orch. of Nagaland, 185, 1995; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl.


293, 2007.

Plants with pseudobulbs up to 60-80 cm. long,

pendulous, slender, purplish brown; internodes 2-3

cm., leaf sheaths spotted purple; leaves 7.5-10.x

1.6-2 cm, linear-lanceolate, decidous, absent at the

time of flowering ;flowers in fasicles of 2-5, 4-5 cm.

across, pale purple; sepals oblong-lanceolate, acut

3x1 cm. purple, whitish blow; petals ovate-oblong,

acute, 3x1.7 cm., purple, white at the base; lip

trumpet shaped, 3.5x2.5 cm. , mouth orbicular,

white, pale purple at tips, with purple disc, fruit 5-

5.5 cm.

Flowering time: March-May


Dendrobium moschatum (Buch-Hum) Sw. in

Hegde, Orch. Arunachal Prad. 64, 1984; Pradhan,

Ind. Orch.2, 308, 1979; Roy, Orch. Ind., 59, 1979;

Banerji, Orch. Nepal, 63, 1978; Bruhl, Orch.

Sikkim, 64, 1926; Kumar and Monilal, Cat. Ind.

Orch., 71, 1994; Deorani & Naithani, Orch. of

Nagaland, 187,1995; Barua, Orch. Fl. Kamrup Dist.,

159, 2001; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad.,

311, 1998; Misra, Orch. of India, 294, 2007.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

24

Dendrobium calceolaria Caruy ex Hook; Fl. Brit.

Ind. 5, 744, 1890.

Plants with pseudobulbs, 1-2 meter long, terete

striate, pointed towards the apex, erect or sub erect;

leaves several, 10-15x 3.5 cm., alternate acute or

faintly notched, ovate to lanceolate ovate;

inflorescence arising from apical region of the

leafless or leafy stem; 10-30 cm. Long; flowers 4-

15, 5-7 cm across, showy, orange yellow; sepals

broadly ovate,obtuse,dorsal sepals 4 x1.8 cm., lateral

sepals 4 x1.7 cm.; petals 4.3 x3 cm., broadly ovate,

rounded , sessile or subsessile or clowed; lip hairy,

shorter than petals, forming a hemispherical or pear-

shaped open mouthed pouch with the upturned

margins, two dark maroon blotches present inside

the base; Column yellow with purple tinge at top;

ovary upto 5 cm.; fruit 7-9x1.5 cm.

Flowering time: May-June.


Dendrobium nobile Lindl in Hooker Fl. Brit. India,

5, 740, 1890; Bruhl, Guide. Orch. Sikkim, 65, 1926;

Hegde, Orch. Arunachal Prad. 64, 1989; Pradhan,

Ind. Orch. 2, 315, 1979; Roy, Orch. India, 60, 1979;

Banerji, Orch. Nepal, 64, 1978; Deorani & Naithani,

Orch. of Nagaland, 189, 1995; Kumar and Monilal,

Cat. Ind. Orch. 71, 1994; Chowdhry, Orch. Fl.


294, 2007.

Pseudobulb 30-70 cm. long; some times more, erect

or pendulous, tufted, some what laterally slightly

compressed, 1.2-1.5 cm. thick, yellowish green on

maturity; leaves many, 8-12x2.5-3 cm., persistant,

ovate lanceolate, apex unequally bilobed;

inflorescence 1-5 flowered, flowers arranged on

short peduncles at nodes,5-7 cm. across, white

merging with purple at apex, wavy in texture; sepals

linear-oblong, obtuse, 3x0.9 cm.; petals much

broader, 3x1.5 cm.; lip purple at tip, 3.5x2.5 cm., at

middle followed by deep purple central blotch,

anther purple ; fruit 11x2.5 cm.

Flowering time: March-April

Specimen Examined: Gogoi- 0346 (Assam)

Dendrobium stuposum Lindl in Hook. f. Fl. Brit.

India, 6, 186, 1890; Ghani, Orch. of Burma, 122,

1995; Pradhan, Indian Orch., II, 324, 1979;

Chowdhery Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 322, 1998;

Deorani & Naithani, Orch. of Nagaland, 196,1995;



Epiphytic, pseudobulbs 15-35 cm. high, erect,

tufted, narrow at the base, thicker at apex, sulcate,

terete; leaves 6-8×1-2 cm., sessile, linear-oblong or

oblong-lanceolate, unequally lobed; peduncle

leteral, short, bracteate on leafy or leafless stems;

inflorescence 1-4 flowered, flowers about 2 cm.

across, white with a spot of dull yellow on the lip;

sepals ovate, dorsal sepal acute, lateral sepals keeled

and acuminate; petal oblong-obovate, minutely

apiculate, margins ciliolate; lip with dull yellow

blotches, oblong-obovate, 3 lobed, lateral lobes erect

and ciliolate at the apex, midlobe orbicular ovate,

disc gland tipped hairy, column broad.

Flowering time: June.


Dendrobium sulcatum Lindl in Hook. f. Fl. Brit.

India, 5, 749, 1890; Ghani, Orch. of Burma, 123,

1995; Pradhan, Indian Orch., 304, 1979; Hedge,

Orch. of Arunachal Prad. 64, 1984; Chowdhery,

Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 322, 1998; Kumar and

Monilal, Cat. Ind Orch; 72, 1994; Misra, Orch. of

India, 295, 2007.

Epiphytic, pseudobulbs 20-45 cm. long, semi-erect,

tufted, compressed, clavate, sulcate, green to

greenish yellow; internodes 3-5 cm. long, sheathed;

leaves 2-5, 10-20×3-5 cm., elliptic-ovate,

coriaceous, with strong lateral nerves, acute towards

the apex of the pseudobulbs; inflorescence

pendulous, 5-10 flowered, given off from leafy or

leafless stems; flowers orange-yellow, 2.5-3.5 cm.

across, sepals equal, oblong-ovate, subacute; petals

broader, concave, obtuse; lip orange yellow,

suborbicular when spread out, sub-entire, concave,

edges hairy, raised and partly curved inwards, base

with deep brown colored striac; coloumn short and

broad.

Flowering time: April-May.


Dendrobium terminale Par. & Reichb. f. in Hook. f.

Fl. Brit. India, 5, 725, 1890; Ghani, Orch. of Burma,

124, 1995; Pradhan, Indian Orch., 343, 1979;

Chowdhry, Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 193, 1998;



Epiphytic, stem 10-15 cm. long, erect, terete,

slander at base, leaves fleshy, 10-20×5-8 mm., broad

at the base, equitant, subacute at apex; flowers 1-2,

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

25

10-12 mm. long, terminal, white flushed pink, lateral

sepals 10-12 mm. long, falcately elliptic, dorsal 3-4

mm. long narrower; lip elongated, triangular, yellow

lined in the middle of upper surface; mentum broad,

blunt very long, column short.

Flowering time: September.


Dendrobium transparens Lindl, in Hooker Fl. Brit.

Ind. 5, 738, 1890; Pradhan Ind. Orch.2, 316, 1972;

Roy, Orch. Ind., 60, 1979;Banerji, Orch. Nepal, 65,

1978; Bruhl, Guide Orch. Sikkim, 64, 1926; Kumar

and Monilal, Cat. Ind. Orch., 72, 1994; Deorani &

Naithani, Orch. of Nagaland, 197,1995; Chowdhry,

Orch. Fl. Arunachal Prad., 327, 1998; Misra, Orch.

of India, 295, 2007.

Plants with pseudobulbs 30-60 cm. long, pendulous,

terete, swollen at base, faint yellow, more then 5

leaved; leaves 7.5 – 10x 1.2 cm., linear, lanceolate,

acute, recurved; inflorescence 2-4 flowered, born on

leafless stem, flower 4-5 cm. across; sepals

lancoelate acute 2.8-3x1.3 cm., sepals and petals

white linged with purple at tips, lip oblong cuncate

at base, 3.2x1.9 cm., white with large purple patch

on the disc; disc pilose with a central fleshy sulcate

line, fruit 6x1-1.5 cm.

Flowering time: April-May


Conclusion 13 species of Dendrobium were presently collected

from Joypur Reserve Forest. These includs 9 species

(D. aphyllum, D. aduncum, D. cumulatum, D.

fimbriatum, D. lituiflorum, D. moschatum, D. nobile,

D. sulcatum, D.transparens ) that are floriculturally

sigificant and comprise an important genetic

resource. The present study of the Dendrobium of

the Joypur Reserve Forest is an embodiment of a

work of limited magnitude. Information so gathered

are of considerable academic, explorative and

informative value. As most of the areas of this forest

are not intensively studied, the interesting flora is

still to be exposed. While featured study of the

present nature could reveal so much of the richness

of a particular taxon. A continued in depth study is

bound to yield extremely fruitful results on the rich

flora of the entire forested area. However, basic

studies of the present nature cannot be

underestimated and surely enriches knowledge base.

Detailed study of morphological features of various

species of Dendrobium was collected and Taxa

identified on the basis of their features. All the

species show resemblance with the earlier

description, though not described from this area.

Little variation noticed may be due to geographical

and ecological conditions. Orchid flora of this forest

constitute valuable natural resource. Proper

enumeration of these species and their conservation

are very much needed and greatly emphasized.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Dr. Kashmira Kakoti, Dr.

A. Cristy Williums, Deputy Commissioner-

Dibrugarh and Divisional Forest Officer- Dibrugarh,

Assam for constant supervision and valuable

suggestions during the course of present studies.

References Abrahum, A. and Vatsala, P. 1981. Introduction to

Orchids, Trivandram.

Banerji, T. L., 1978. Orchids of �epal. Bishen Singh

Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Barua, I. C. 2001. Orchid Flora of KamrupDistrict.

Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun India.

Bhagabati, A.K., Kalita, M. C. & Baruah, S. 2006.

Biodiversity of Assam. Assam Science Society,

Guwahati, Assam, India.

Bruhi,Paul, 1926. A Guide to the Orchid of Sikkim.

Thacker & Spink & Co., Simla, India

Champion, H. G. and Seth, S. K. 1968. A revised study of

the forest type of India, Govt. Of India Press, Nasik,

India.

Chowdhery, H. J. 1998. Orchid Flora of Arunachal

Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra

Dun, India.

Chowdhery, H. J. and Pal, G. D. 1997. Orchidaceae of

Arunachal Pradesh. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal

Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Chowdhery, S. 2005. Assam’s Flora. Assam Science

Technology and Environment Council, Guwahati,

Assam, India.

Deorani S. C. and Naithani, H. B. 1995. Orchids of

�agaland. Oriental Enterprises, Dehra dun, India.

Deva, Som and Nathani, H. B.1968. The Orchid Flora of

�orth-West Himalaya. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal


Gamble, J.S. 1928. Flora of presidency of Madras. Vol-

III. Adlard and Sons Ltd.,London.

Gogoi, K. 2005. The Genus Dendrobium in Dibru-

Saikhowa �atoinal Park and Biosphere Reserve, in: J.

Orchid Soc. India: 17-25.

Gogoi, K., Borah, R. L. and Sharma, G. C. 2009. Orchid

flora of Joypur Reserve Forest of Dibrugarhdistrict of

Assam, India in: Pleione, 3 (2): 135-147.Gogoi, K.,

Borah, R. L. & Sharma, G. C. 2010. Orchid flora of

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere

Reserve, Assam, India in: Pleione, 4 (1): 124-134.

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26

Grant, 1895. The Orchids of Burma, Hanthawaddy Press,

Rangoon.

Hegde, S. N.1984. Orchids of Arunachal Pradesh. Govt.

of Arunachal Pradesh,Itanagar,India.

Hooker, J. D.1890. Orchidaceae. In: Flora of British

India. L.Reeve and Co., Ashford, Kent. Vol-V: 687-

864 & Vol-VI:1-198.

Kumar Sathish and Manilal, 1994. A Catalogue of Indian

Orchids. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra

Dun, India.

Lindley, J. 1857. Contributions to the Orchidology of

India-I.in: Journal of Linnean Society. 1: 170- 190.

Lindley, J. 1859. Contributions to the Orchidology of

India-II.in: Journal of Linnean Society. 3: 1-63.

Lindley,J.1830-1840. Genera and species of

Orchidaceous Plants, London.

Lindley, J. 1852-1859. Folia Orchidacea-An enumeration

of the known species of orchids, London.

Misra, Sarat, 2007. Orchids of India, Bishen Singh

Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Pangtey, Samant & Rawat. 1991. Orchids of Kumaun

Himalaya, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra

Dun, India.

Pradhan, M. 2004. 100 Sikkim Himalayan Orchids,

Mumbai, India.

Pradhan, U.C.1979. Indian Orchids Guide to

Identification and Culture. Kalimpong, India. Vol-I &

II.

Raizada, M.B., Naithani, H.B. and Saxena, H.O. 1981.

Orchids of Mussoorie. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal


Roy, A. S. 1979. Orchids of India. National Book Trust.

New Delhi, India.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

27

Ethno-medicinal studies on indigenous wetland plants in the tea garden tribes of Darrang and Udalguri district, Assam, India S Saharia

1 and CM Sarma

2

1 Department of Botany, Mangaldai College, Mangaldai - 784125, Assam

2 Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Guwahati -781014, Assam

Author for correspondence: [email protected] © NECEER, Imphal

ABSTRACT The undivided Darrang district includes Darrang district and Udalguri district (BTAD). Darrang is located at 26°9´ N; 91°45´ E and 26°45´ N 92°22´ E and Udalguri district is located at 26°46´ N 92°08´E and 26°77´N 92°13´ E. The whole area is gifted with a large number of plants including plants in ox-bow lake (beels), ponds, swamps, marshes, water reservoir, water logging area etc. which make habitat for plants normally utilized by the tea tribes having 1,63,693 (This figure doesn’t match with the text inside, it should be 15,49,285) population of the total population from two districts, distributed in total 28 tea garden estates. Almost sixty five wetland and semi-aquatic medicinal plants used by the tea garden tribes have been enumerated. Description, their local/vernacular names and the plant parts used for medicinal purposes have been studied. The work aims at the preservation and preparation of this knowledge of the wetland plants possessing medicinal properties for the ailments (which type of ailments? Should give at least an example) and further fruitful investigation on modern scientific lines. KEYWORDS: Wetland plants, tea tribes, preservation, ailments.

Ethnobotany is a multidisciplinary study involving

the relationship between plants and the aboriginal

people and a fair familiarity with the flora and the

vegetation of the region. North Eastern India offers

an immense scope for such ethnobotanical studies

since it is mostly inhabited by numerous aboriginal

tribes having rich folklore. The tea garden

community is an important tribe of Darrang and

Udalguri districts and they are highly concentrated

in northern part of the district. “The northern

teabelt” comprises 3 tea gardens having 7,593 tea

tribes men in Darrang district whereas 25 tea

gardens consist of 1,26,100 population of the tea

tribe in Udalguri district in aggregate (2001, census).

The uses of plants in various medicinal purposes by

the tea garden tribes are facilitated due to presence

of numerous wetlands (nearly 103 Nos.) in the

districts (ARSEC 1997). These wetlands are sources

of important aquatic and semi- aquatic medicinal

plants. The tea garden tribes of the districts use more

than 75 wetland plants for various herbal remedies

from swamps, marshes and other wetlands of the

district. The frequency of plant parts medicinally

used are- whole plants, bark, fruits, leaf, juice, root

etc. The plant parts used by people for different

applications include infusion or decoction, chewing,

pounding or extraction, paste, and some parts are

rubbed or boiled. Several methods of application of

medicine are observed which are orally

administered, locally applied, inhaling or smoking

and massaging.

Study area

The study area includes the undivided Darrang-the

geographical Darrang and Udalguri district

comprising 28 total numbers of tea gardens. Darrang

is located at 26°9´ N 91°45´ E / 26°45´ N 92°22´ E.

The total area of the district is about 1,427.49 sq.

km, while the population of the district is about

7,92,614 population density is 555 person per sq.

Saharia and Sarma 27-33

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

28

km. The district is bounded by Udalguri district in

the north, Sonitpur district in the east, Morigaon

district in the south and Kamrup district to the west.

(Statistical office, Darrang, Udalguri-2001, census).

Figure 1. Map of Darrang district

Udalguri is located at 26°46´ N 92°08´ E / 26°77´ N

92°13´ E. It has an average elevation of 180 meters

(590 feet). Udalguri district is one of the twenty

seven (27) districts of Assam. Total geographical

area of the district is about 1,985.68 sq. km. (based

on GIS + Atlas), while the population of the district

is 7,56,671 with density of 381 persons per sq. km.

This district is bounded by Bhutan and Arunachal

Pradesh in the north, Sonitpur district in the east,

Darrang district in the south and Baksa district in the

west.

Figure 1. Map of Udalguri district

Materials and methods Different aquatic and semi- aquatic plant species

found in the area were collected carefully and

systematically and identified by the experts of

different localities and also with the help of

Herbarium of Gauhati University. Frequent field

trips were conducted to various localities of

undivided Darrang district regarding the survey of

tea estate area, people and their culture and customs.

Ethnobotanical information was gathered through

personal interviews with the practitioners and

patients of different places. The folk-medicine

among the tea garden communities is an excellent

art, practiced mainly by the old people. After

collection the species were dried properly and

preserved in the herbarium sheet by spraying 0.2%

mercuric chloride over the species. After the

scientific name, the vernacular names or local name

were recorded.

Enumeration of plants In the following enumeration (Table 1), only some

important semi-and aquatic medicinal plants are

mentioned. The species are arranged according to

alphabetical order. Names used by tea tribes or

Assamese wherever available, are given and this is

indicated by T and As. Respectively

Summary and conclusion In undivided Darrang district (Darrang and

Udalguri), particularly in the tea garden area no

work has so far been done on the ethnobotanical

study of aquatic and semi aquatic plants of the tea

garden community and neighbouring area of the

gardens. An intensive study was therefore, felt

necessary to know about the immense wealth of the

different plant species available as well as plant

species used by the tea garden tribe community in

the two districts. It has been observed that varieties

of wild plants are used by the tea garden people and

the surrounding people of the tea garden from the

wetlands and other localities. They use not only the

edible ones but also numerous medicinal and

otherwise economic herbs for curing different

diseases, common to the locality. While considering

the importance of ethnobotanical studies it should be

remembered that many times the natives do not like

to share their knowledge with others. Also, for

majority of the diseases it so happens that not a

single plant is administered but is given in

combination with many plant parts, all of which

again may not be encountered in a particular field

trip. Sometimes, the same plant is suggested for

more than one diseases. In such cases it is very

difficult to assess which plant is actually effective in

curing a particular disease. Only clinical trials on

these plants can give some indications.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

29

Table 1. Botanical name of plants, family, vernacular name, parts used and its ethnobotany. Scientific name of the Plant/Family Vernacular Name Parts used Ethnobotany

Acorus calamus L

(Araceae)

Boch (T. As.),

Sweet flower flag (Eng.)

Dried rhizome Plant said to purify air and hang on roof of the room.

Rhizome: Juice of rhizome with Curcuma longa is prescribed as expectorant, used in the treatment of

cough, asthma of the children mostly, also in

dysentery, diarrhoea and fever.

Aeschynomene aspera L (Fabaceae) Kunhila

(T. As.)

Wood Woods are used for making ornaments like beads,

moura etc.

Ageratum conyzoides L

(Asteraceae)

Gondhowa –bon (T.

A)

Leaf, root,

flower, seed

Leaf and shoot used as antiseptic on cuts and wounds

and healing to check bleeding. Leaf Juice for piles, uterine disorder.

Alisma plantago (Alismataceae) Pani kaduli (T, As) Rhizome

Tuber

Edible, Vegetable

Alocasia macrorrhiza L G. Don syn. A. indica Lour spach (Araceae)

Man Kochu (As.) Kachu (T) Gaint

taro (Eng)

Leaf, Petiole Petiole cooked and eaten, paste of rhizome is applied on abscesses to expel pus. The juice of petiole is

dropped into the ear of children for toothache and

cough.

Alpinia nigra Gaertn. Burtt, syn. A.

allughas (Retz.) (Zingiberaceae)

Tora (T.As.) Leaf,

Rhizome,

Shoots

Ropes are made from leaf sheath. Rhizome extract is

used as vermifuge to children. Tender shoots are

roasted and eaten as curries, sold in market.

Alternanthera sessilis L. R. Br. Ex. DC (Amaranthaceae)

Mati kanduri (As.) Kanduri

(T)

Shoot. Leaf Tender shoot and leaf boiled or roasted and given in dysentery, used as stomachic and as a digestive.

Tender shoots and leaves used as vegetable.

Arundo donax L. (Poaceae) Nal (As.) Khagari (T) Great reed

(Eng.)

Whole plant Used as suitable fodder

Azolla pinnata (Azollaceae) Puni (T,As) Whole plant Used as Biofertilizer.

Bixa orellana L (Bixaceae) Sendur goch (T, As.)

Seeds, pulp and root.

Seeds and roots are, astringent and febrifuge. Pulp is also astringent.

Centella asiatica L. Urban. syn.

Hydrocotyle asiatica L (Apiaceae)

Manimuni (T)

Bor Manimuni (As.)

Whole plant,

leaf, fruits, root, wigs,

seeds Root is

the most active part

Entire plant is taken as vegetable or in curries

considered to be restorative for women after child birth. Used in chronic dysentery, poultice is applied

on carbuncle, cuts, as antiseptic in wounds.

Carex muricata L. (Cyperaceae) Hunda (T, As.) Rhizome Rhizome is used in marriage ceremony.

Ceratophyllum demersum

(Ceratophyllaceae)

Sirolia (T,As) Leaf

Shoots

Leaf juice is used to stop vomiting, as cooling agent.

Cleome viscosa L. (Capparidaceae) Hulhul (As.) Seeds Seed powder is used in the treatment of round worms.

Colocasia esculenta L. (Araceae) Saru (T)

Kachu (As.) Taro (Eng.)

Leaf,

Stalk Rhizome

Tender leaves along with stalk are cooked with fish

or with other sour vegetables. Curry preparation with leaf stalks goroifish and black pepper or chilli is

given to women after child birth which is a treatment

for anemia.

Commelina benghalensis (Commelinaceae)

Kona simalu (T, As.)

Leaf, Shoot Tender leaves and shoots are eaten cooked as vegetable. Paste is made from stem and leaves and

used in bone fracture, curry made of tender shoots and flesh of Channa orientilis (chengeli) is given in

irregular menstruation (1 tea spoonful twice daily till

cure).

Commelina diffusa Burm (Commelinaceae)

Kona simalu Leaf, Shoot, Latex

To stop bleeding of wounds/cuts, used as fodder.

Cynodon dactylon L. (Poaceae) Dubari bon (As.)

Dub Bon (T)

Bermuda grass

(Eng.)

Whole plant Essential for rituals, juice is used in the treatment of

piles and on cuts and wounds. Its juice is used in the

retention of urine (juice is mixed with sugar and

honey) juice is mixed with rice powder and used in

the delayed puberty (2 teaspoonful twice daily for seven days)

Cyperus aromaticus (Cyperacae) Ghah bon (T, As.) Rhizomes Tubers are medically used in skin disease.

Cyperus rotundus L (Cyperaceae) Keya bon (T, As.) Rhizomes Tubers paste is used as appetizer. Decoction in given

after crushing with root of Solanum torvum, and

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

30

stem of Tinospora cordifolia in the treatment of

puerperal diseases, tubers paste mixing with honey given in dyspepsia

Drymaria cordata L wild ex. Roem

syn. D. diandra (Carryophyllaceae)

Laijabori (T, As.) Leaf, stem,

whole plan

Leaf paste is applied on forehead in headache, Few

drops of leaf extract are instilled into the nose in

sinusitis and epitaxis, used as vegetable, Used for rejoining of broken bones.

Eclipta postrata L syn. E. alba

(Asteraceae)

Kehraj (T, As.) Leaf

Shoot

Shoot juice with few drops of mustard oil is given in

diarrhoea of infants and urinary bleeding of women. Leaf juice mixed with coconut oil is applied to cure

white spots due to burning. It is good for blackening

and strengthening of the hair and for strengthening the gum. Used as vegetable and gives appetite.

Elodea canadensis

(Hydrocharitaceae)

(Water thyme) Flowers,

Roots

Flowers and dried roots are used to increase human

fertility.

Eleocharis plantagina (Poaceae) Ghah bon (T, As) Whole plant Used as fodder.

Eragrostis gangetica (Poaceae) -------------- Shoot Used as fodder.

Enhydra fluctuans Lour

(Asteraceae)

Helonchi Sak (As.) Leaf

Shoot

Tender shoots are eaten fried or eaten cooked with

other vegetables. Juice of the plant is used in

gonorrhea. Paste is applied on body to control prickly heats, juice is given in spermatorrhoea

Euryale ferox (Nymphyaceae) Nikori (T, As) Leaf, Shoots A good vegetable.

Houttuynia cordata Thunb

(Saururaceae)

Machandari (T. As.) Leaf, whole

plant, root

Decoction of entire plant with leaves of Centella

asiatica in equal amount, black pepper and slight salt is given in flatulence and dysentery, blood dysentery.

It is used in colic and bilious pain (juice)

Hydrocotyle javanica Thunb. syn.

H. nepalensis HK (Apiaceae)

Saru manimuni

(T. As.)

Leaf, whole

plant, root

About 20 gm plant pounded with equal amount of

tender leaves of Psidium guajava and extracted juice

is given in amoebic dysentery,

Hydrolea zeylanica (Hydrophyllaceae)

Indranil ( As.)

Leaf Shoot

Used as antiseptic in cuts and wounds.

Hydrilla verticillata L

(Hydrocharitaceae)

Pani birina (T, As) Whole plant Fertilizer, Water purifier.

Hygroryza aristata (Poaceae) Dol ghah (T, As)

Whole plant Used as fodder.

Ipomoea aquatica Forsk

(Convolvulaceae)

Kolmou (As.)

Karmi (T.)

Leaf, whole

plant, root

Tender leafy shoots are eaten fried or cooked. About

30 to 50 ml of leaf extract is orally taken to control bleeding during child birth.

Ipomoea fistula (Convolvulaceae) Amarlota (T.As) Whole plant Used as fodder

Jussiaea repens (Onagraceae) Kesori ghah (As.) Whole plant Used as good fodder.

Lemna polyrrhiza (Lemnaceae) Maju puni (As) Puni

(T)

Whole plant Biofertilizer, Duck weed.

Lindernia crustae

(Scrophulariaceae)

Kasidoria

(T, As.)

Whole plant Used in dysentery, ringworm.

Ludwigia adscendens L Hara. syn.

(Onagraceae)

Pani-khutura

(As.) Daicha (T.)

Shoot

Leaf

Tender shoots are eaten fried or cooked with other

vegetables. Paste of leaves applied locally on fresh cuts as antiseptic, juice is useful in dysentery

Ludwigia octavalvis (Onagraceae) Panijalokia(T,As) Leaf

Shoots

Leaf juice is used in intestinal worm, used in

dysentery and fever.

Marsilea quadrifolia

(Marsiliaceae)

Pani tengesi (T, As) Whole plant Used as fodder, vegetable

Monocharia hastata L syn. M. hastaefolia (Pontederiaceae)

Bhat-meteka (T, As.)

Whole plant Juice of Vitex negundo and rhizome of Curcuma longa in equal amount used as stomachic. It is good

fodder, tender petioles, leaves are used as vegetable.

Monocharia vaginalis Burm.

(Pontederiaceae)

Nara-mateka

(As.)

Whole plant Tender petioles, leaves and flowers are used as

vegetables, sold in markets.

Najas indica (Najadaceae) Leaf, Shoots Feed for fish, used as packing material.

Nelumbo nucifera. Gaertn

(Nelumbonaceae)

Padum (T.)

Padum Phul (As.)

Sacred lotus (Eng.)

Seeds

Fruits

Leaf

Seeds are used as raw, flowers and leaves are used in

religious aspect and in rituals. Flowers are eaten raw

specially by the children. Fruits are used for cardiac treatment.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

31

Nelumbo nouchali. Burm. syn. N. lotus L (Nymphyaceae)

Baga Bhet (T.As.) Red water lily

(Eng.)

Fruits Seeds

Ripe fruits are eaten raw (seeds) specially by the young boys and girls, flowers are eaten fried.

Nymphaea stellata Wild (Nymphyaceae)

Bhet (T.As.) Indian blue water

Lily (Eng.)

Fruits, flowers Ripe fruits are eaten raw by the young boys and girls. Flowers eaten fried.

Nymphoides indica L

(Menyanthaceae)

Batubhet (T,As) Fruits, stem Ripe fruits are taken raw specially by the children.

Oenanthe javanica (BL) DC

(Apiaceae)

Pan tarori

(T.As.)

Shoot, whole

plant

Vegetable, plant extract is used in mild fever.

Ottelia alismodes L Pers

(Hydrocharitaceae)

Pani kola

(T, As.)

Leaf Leaf paste is used as poultice.

Oxalis corniculata L (Oxalidaceae) Tengeshi (As.)

Kedumanjan (T.)

Indian sorrel (Eng.)

whole plant Decoction is given in the treatment of dysentery,

blood dysentery & liver disorder

Oxalis viridis L

(Oxalidaceae)

Bor tengeshi

(T,As)

Whole plant Used in stomach disorder, Ornamental plant.

Panicum maximum L (Poaceae)

Whole plant Forage for animals

Phragmites karka Trin ex. Steud,

(Poaceae)

Ekara (T.As.) Stem, whole

plant, root

Poultice is given on eyes in swelling of eyes and

other eye diseases. It is used as householding

material.

Pistia stratiotes

(Aracea)

Bor puni (T,As) Whole plant Juice is used in asthma and cough. Used as

biofertilizer

Polygonum hydropiper L (Polygonaceae)

Pothowa Bihlongoni (As.)

Jiyanti (T.)

Shoot, root, stem, whole

plant

Five tender shoots ground with 10 cloves of Alliun sativum, 5 dried flower buds of Syzygium

aromaticum mixed with 25 ml water and given in

chest pain used as insecticides

Polygonum orientale L. (Polygonaceae)

Bihlongini Leaf, Shoot

Concentrate infusion of plants used to poison fish, juice prescribed for tubercular swellings and in

acidity.

Polygonum plebejum R. Br. (Polygonaceae)

Bihlongini Root, leaf Crushed leaves are taken in pneumonia, roots are used in bowel complaints.

Potamogeton indica

(Potamogetonaceae)

Potamogeton

(Pond weed)

Tuber Tubers are used in the treatment of gonorrhea.

Ricinus communis L

(Euphorbiaceae)

Eracha (T.)

Eragosh (As.)

Root

Leaf

Root paste of older plant is used for abortion, small

quantity in empty stomach for 2-3 consecutive days,

fresh leaves are laid on the abdomen to relieve in renal complaints. Heated oil leaves are applied for

rheumatic pain, swelling.

Rumex nepalansis Spreng

(Polygonaceae)

Tar bowra

(T, As.)

Leaf

Root.

Leaf juice is used in hopping cough, Roots in

wounds and muscle swelling.

Salvinia cucullata Roxb.

(Salvaniaceae)

Puni (T, As) Whole plant Biofertilizer

Spilanthes paniculata. Wall, ex. Dc.

(Asteraceae)

Jati Malkathi

(As. T.)

Leaf Tender leaves are used in cough and cold.

Spirodella polyrrhiza L

(Lemnaceae)

puni (T)

Soru puni (As)

Whole plant Fodder for fish and duck.

Themeda villosa Dur (Poaceae) Birina (T. As.) Whole plant Suitable fodder for cattle, plants are used as householding and packing material.

Trapa natans L syn. T. bisponosa

Roxb. (Trapaceae)

Singori (T.)

Pani Singori

(As.) Water Chestnut (Eng.)

Seeds

Fruits

Seeds are eaten raw. Raw fruits are used raw in the

treatment of diarrhoea and dyspepsia.

Triphonium trilobatum L shott.

(Araceae)

Chema Kochu

(T. As.)

Shoot The shoots are cooked fried with other vegetable. It

is digestive and used in the treatment of acidity.

Vallisneria spiralis (Hydrocharitaceae)

Fita ghah (As) Whole plant Fertilizer, water purifier, ornamental use.

Wolfia arrhiza Wimm. Puni (T)

Sorupuni (As)

Whole plant Biofertilizer,duck weed.

Xanthium strumarium (Asteraceae) Agora (T,As) Seeds Fruits

Oil from seeds are used to cure pain.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

32

Nymphoides indica

Xanthium strumarium

Hydrilla verticillata

Monocharia hastate

Salvinia cucullata

Commelina benghalensis

Figure 3. Some important wetland medicinal plants.

References

Ahmed AA and Borthakur SK. 2005. Ethnobotanical

wisdom of Khasis (Hynniew Trips) of Meghalaya,

Bishen Singh, Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun.

Alexiades M. 1996. Selected guidelines for Ethno

botanical Research. New York Botanical Garden,

Bronx, USA.

Arya KR. 2006. Important Herbal Remedies from Folklore

of Uttaranchal and their Pharmaceutical application –

Medicinal. Plants: Ethno Botanical Approach (ed.)PC

Trivedi, Jodhpur.

Barua P and Sarma GC. 1987. Studies on the medicinal

uses of plants by the North East tribes – 14. J. Econ.

Tax. Bot. II (I) 71-76

Bhagabati AK, Bora AK and Kar BK. 2007. Geography of

Assam. Rajesh publications, New Delhi.

Boissya CL and Majumdar R. 1980. Some folklore claims

from the Brahmaputra valley (Assam) Ethnomedicine

6: 139-144

Borthakur SK. 1996. Post natal care of women in

traditional system in Assam, Ethnobotany 8: 57-55

Darrangar Lok Sanskriti Samiksha: Darrang Zila Sahitya

Sabha, Mangaldai

Deka D R and Sarma P. 2007. Geo-enverinmental status of

wetlands, a case study on the beels in Demoria region,

Kamrup District (Metro) of Assam proceeding of 52nd

annual technical session of Assam Science Society, 8:

50-57.

Dutta P and Lahon B. 1997. Prospect and potentialities of

beel fishery in Assam, Compendium, Workshop on

development of beel fishery in Assam, 21- 22 April

1997.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

33

Hajra PK. 1991. Nature conservation in Khasi folk belief

and taboos, In SK Jain (Ed.) Contribution to Indian

Ethnobotany, Sci. Publ. Jodhpur.

Islam M. 1995. Certain less know wild edible plants of

North East India, J. Bot. Sci. Soc. 2: 42-48

Jain SK. 2004. A manual of Ethnobotany. Sci. Publ.

Jodhpur.

Kanjilal UC, Das A, Kanjilal PC and DC, RN. 1934-1940.

Flora of Assam vols. 1-5, Govt. of Assam, Shillong

(Vol. 5; by N.L. Bor.)

Mahanta PK and Gogoi P. 1988. Ethnobotanical studies on

Assam, survey of unusual Vegetables. Advances in

Plant Sci. 1 (2): 329-334

Rao RR. 1991. Ethnobotanical studies on some Adivashi

tribes of North East India with special refernce to the

Naga people. In SK Jain (Ed.) Contribution to India

Ethnobotany. Sci. publ. Jodhpur.

Sarkar S and Sarma CM. 2006. Ethnobotanical studies on

indigenous medicinal plants used by immigrant

Muslims of Bongaigaon District. In : Trivedi PC (ed.)

Medicinal Plants ethno botanical approach, Agrobios,

Jodhpur, PP-219-228

Tiwari KC and Majumdar R. 1998. Medicinal plants from

upper Assam border having specific folk uses.

Sachitra Ayurved 49 (3): 207-215

Wood Ward EE. 1956. Literature search for uses of new

botanical drugs. Adv. Chemser. 16: 162-167.

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

34

Valuation of bivalves of Aghanashini estuary, Indian west coast

Ramachandra T.V.*, Boominathan, M. and Subash Chandran M.D

Energy & Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012, India

Corresponding author: [email protected]

© NECEER, Imphal

ABSTRACT

Estuaries are highly productive, dynamic and unique ecosystems providing food,

transport, recreation, etc. Mangrove vegetation, ranking high in productivity, is often

associated with tropical and sub-tropical estuaries. Estuaries play predominant role in

the socio-economics of the coast by providing valuable resources like fishes, bivalve

molluscs, crabs, shrimps, etc. This case study focuses on bivalves of the Aghanashini river

estuary of South Indian west coast, is an effort to document the edible bivalve diversity

and the often neglected socio-economic life based on it. Estimates have been made of

people involved in bivalve collection and trade, quantity and species collected and the

overall role of bivalves in sustaining a rural economy. Bivalves harvested are Paphia

malabarica, Katelysia opima and Meretrix meretrix, M. casta and Crassostrea sp. The

estuary provides diverse kinds of habitats (in terms of water depth, salinity, rockiness

and soil nature) for different bivalve species. Harvests are higher during post-monsoon

(November-May) compared to monsoon (June-October). The bivalve-based economy

has an estimated turnover of Rs. 57.8 million per year. It generates direct employment

for about 2,347 people, and nutritional security of millions more along the Karnataka

coast and also in neighbouring states. This study was undertaken at a time when an

ultra-thermal plant was to be set up in this estuarine base inconsiderate of its ecology

and economics.

KEYWORDS: Bivalves, livelihood, nutrition security, socio-economic valuation,

shellfishery, Aghanashini estuary

Bivalves belong to Mollusca which is the second

largest phylum among the invertebrates. They have

been exploited worldwide for food, ornamentation,

pearls, etc. throughout human historywrong way of

writing reference and its everywhere in this paper.

Mainly, bivalves of orders ostreids, mytilids and

pectinids are harvested for food globally. Annual

harvests of bivalves for human consumption

represent about 5% by weight of the total world

harvest of aquatic resources

(Roberts,1999).

Geological evidence from South Africa indicates that

systematic human exploitation of marine resources

started about 70,000 to 60,000 years ago (Volman,

1978). In India, 5,070 species of Mollusca have been

recorded of which, 3,370 species are from marine

environment (Venkataraman & Wafar, 2005). These

also include economically important edible species

of bivalves such as oysters Crassostrea madrasensis

and C. gryphoides, clams Meretrix casta, M.

meretrix, Paphia malabarica and Villorita

cyprinoides and green mussel Perna viridis

(Chatterji et al, 2002). Eight species of oysters, two

of mussels, 17 of clams, six of pearl oysters, four of

giant clams and one of window-pane oyster are

exploited extensively from the Indian marine regions

(Venkataraman & Wafar, 2005) . Rushikulya

estuary, Orissa has 317 species of molluscs Ghosh,

1992). 34 of 70 creeks of Maharashtra support clam

fishery (Mane, 1973) and clam fishery in

Maharashtra is mainly dependent on M. meretrix,

Ramachandra 34 -41

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

35

Katelysia opima and Paphia laterisules (Ranade,

1964). Molluscs especially clams, are abundant in

South Kanara district, Karnataka and are harvested

by traditional methods during non monsoon period

(James et al, 1975; Chatterji et al, 2002). The

CMFRI (Central Marine Fisheries Research

Institute) estimate shows of increasing trend with

4,583 t of bivalves (in 2006), compared to 905 t (in

1997). Total molluscs collection in Karnataka shows

similar trend with 16,225 t (in 2006) and 239 t in

1985 (www.cmfri.com/html/cmfriDATA01.html).

The bivalves are rich in nutrients, particularly

proteins, fats and minerals. The Indian edible

bivalves have protein content ranging from 5-14%,

fats (0.5-3%), calcium (0.04-1.84%), phosphorus

(0.1-0.2%) and iron (1-29 mg/100 g) of the fresh

weight (CSIR, 1962a). In this paper, we present a

case study of the traditional bivalve fishery of

Aghanashini river estuary situated towards the center

of south Indian west coast, in the State of Karnataka.

Although this kind of informal shellfishery (Kyle et

al. 1997) is a major activity here, there is hardly any

study carried out on it. The Aghanashini originating

in the Western Ghats and joining the Arabian Sea is

one of the most unpolluted rivers of the west coast,

having no industry or townships situated alongside

it. It has been a center for the traditional gazni fields

growing salt tolerant Kagga variety of rice. Many of

these fields have been converted into shrimp farms

in the recent decades. The shrimps form a major

source of foreign exchange for the region. In

addition to these, there are regular fishing activities,

bivalve fisheries and salt production. The estuary is

also home to about three million mangrove trees,

most of them recently planted, which form a major

attractant for over 100 species of birds; a substantial

percentage of them are migrants from northern

latitudes during the winter season. The estuary plays

an important role also as spawning grounds for

several marine fish and shrimp species.

Notwithstanding its biodiversity and ecosystem

values and role as food bowl of the region, the

estuary was chosen for establishing an ultra-mega

thermal power plant. However, this project was kept

in abeyance due to opposition from local people and

environmentalists. The present study was carried out

in this background as a part of our overall efforts to

understand and estimate the biodiversity and

ecosystem values as well as the magnitude of goods

and services that the estuary contributes towards

human welfare.

Study Area

The Aghanashini or Tadri River (total length 121

km) originates in the Sirsi taluk of Uttara Kannada

district in the central Western Ghats of Karnataka

State. Winding its way through deep gorges and

valleys the river meets the tides of the Arabian Sea

and forms an estuarine expanse (13 km long and 0.2

to 6 km wide) in the Kumta taluk. The estuary has its

outlet into the sea between the villages of

Aghanashini in the south and Tadri in the north. The

study area lies between the lat. 14.391° to 14.585° N

and long. 74.304° to 74.516° E. Located alongside

this estuary are about 25 villages. Bivalve harvesting

people are confined to 19 of these villages (Figure

1).

Figure 1. Sampling points in the study area Aghanashini Estuary.

Methods

The survey (both household and field) was

undertaken during June 2006 to March 2007.

Diversity and distribution of edible bivalve species,

was documented by field observations. Bivalve

harvesting villages were identified by interviewing

people living closer to Aghanashini estuary. In the

bivalve collecting villages, household surveys were

undertaken using questionnaires. Within the

identified villages we located the hamlets of

communities which have bivalve collection as major

activity. The local gram panchayath also guided us

regarding bivalve collecting families. About 10% of

these households of the bivalve collecting families

were surveyed primarily to estimate:

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

36

1. Number of individuals involved in bivalve

harvesting

2. Number of bivalve harvesting months and

3. Number of bivalve harvesting days per month.

In addition to these, 5% of the bivalve collecting

community households in each village was subjected

to another level of survey to elicit the following

information:

1. Quantity of bivalve collection per person per day

2. Valuation of bivalves collected and

3. Expenditure incurred in collection (including

local transport and processing).

We also estimated the additional income generated

from the sale of bivalve shells as well as from dried

bivalve meat, which constitute smaller components

of the economy. There is also a shell mining industry

in operation which mines for deposits of empty

shells from another part of the estuary where live

bivalves are not normally available. This industry

also procures from bivalve collectors, a small

quantity of empty shells incidentally gathered or

disposed off after removing the meat. Employment

generated from this activity is also estimated.

Results and discussion

Distribution of bivalves

The bivalve harvesters of Aghanashini estuary

normally collect eight species of edible bivalves.

However, yet another edible species, Arca granosa

known as blood clam, is rare and not of significance

to the collectors. The edible bivalves are popularly

categorised as clams, mussels and oysters. Table 1

provides species-wise habitat and distribution and

use of these bivalves in Aghanashini estuary and also

elsewhere in India. Spatial distribution of these

bivalves is given in Figure 2. All the harvested

bivalve species, except V. cyprinoides are found

within a distance of 4 km from the river mouth. In

this part of the estuary the summer (in April) salinity

at high tide, as estimated by Bhat (2003) is almost

closer to the sea water at 32-34 ppt. Of the bivalves

here the green mussel P. viridis (Figure 3a), grows

on steep rocky substratum towards the river mouth in

the sub-tidal zone in close proximity to the sea. Two

oyster species of Crassostrea (Figure 3b) occupy

inter-tidal zone on mud-flats mixed with sand and

shell fragments. P. malabarica (Figure 3c) inhabits

deeper water with sandy substratum normally not

exposed during low tides. K. opima (Figure 3d), M.

meretrix (Figure 3e) and M. casta (Figure 3f) are

associated with mud-flats of this zone. A. granosa

(Figure 3g) also occurs here. K. opima has its

distribution zone extending up to Paduvani (7 km

away) where summer (in April) salinity is 31-32 ppt.

The clam V. cyprinoides (Figure 3h) inhabits the

farthest part of the estuary that is 10 km away from

the river mouth (salinity 26-34 ppt (Bhat, 2003)) and

beyond into the freshwater zone more than 18 km

away.

Figure 2. Spatial distribution of Calms, Mussels and Oysters in Aghanashini Estuary.

Figure 3. a P. viridis, b. Crassostrea sp., c. P. malabarica, d: K. opima, e: M. meretrix, f M. casta, g A. granosa, h. V. cyprinoides

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

37

Table 1. Species-wise habitat and distribution of edible bivalves in Aghanashini estuary and elsewhere in India

Scientific name Common

name

Habitat in Aghanashini

estuary Distribution and habitat in India Uses

Paphia malabarica False clam At water depth >1 m at low tide

East and west coasts sandy bottom, mid-littoral

Food for humans, lime production and poultry feed

Katelysia opima Mud-flats or sandy

bottom

Marine and estuarine shallow

waters, mud-flats or sandy bottom -do-

Meretrix meretrix Bay clam Mud-flats or sandy

bottom

West coast mud-flats or sandy

bottom, mid-littoral -do-

M. casta Backwater clam

Mud-flats or sandy bottom

Estuaries and backwaters of east and west coasts, mud-flats or sandy

bottom, mid-littoral

-do-

Villorita cyprinoides Black clam At water depth <1 m

at low tide

West coast backwaters and

estuaries -do-

Arca granosa Blood clam Sandy bottom inter-tidal

Back-waters and estuaries along the Indian coast, sandy bottom, inter-

tidal

Crassostrea sp. Oyster Inter-tidal mud-flats mixed with sand and

shell fragments

East and west coast estuaries, and backwaters

Food for humans, lime production fertilizer and

poultry feed

Perna viridis Green mussel Sub-tidal: steep, rocky areas near river mouth

East and west coast marine intertidal, sub tidal and estuarine,

rocky shores

Food for humans

Source: Apte 1998; Chatterji et al. 2002; CSIR 1962.

Bivalve harvesting and trade

Both men and women are engaged in harvesting of

bivalves, except P. viridis which only men harvest.

Women normally avoid dangerously deep waters and

rocky substratum towards the interface of the sea,

which is the preferred habitat of P. viridis.

Harvesting is done by hand, feet or with the aid of a

small hand-held digging stick. The collectors work

for three to four hours per day during the low tides.

Bivalves are collected in cone shaped nets, baskets,

plastic boxes, cement bags, etc. Small non-

mechanised crafts are normally used for collection

from deeper waters and for transport of bivalves

from the collection site to the villages. The boats

may be steered by men or women. Harvesting

methods, for various bivalves are briefly discussed

below:

• Clams: P. malabarica is most common in

Aghanashini estuary followed by K. opima, M.

meretrix, M. casta and V. cyprinoides. Searching

for P. malabarica is done in shallow water by

using hands or feet. K. opima, M. meretrix, M.

casta, associated with mud-flats are picked by

hand or dug out using sticks, mostly by women.

V. cyprinoides is collected from shallow water,

through direct searching using hands or feet

mostly by women.

• Mussels: P. viridis, the only edible mussel of

Aghanashini is usually found attached to the

steep sub-tidal rocky parts of the river mouth.

The species adheres to the substratum by thread

like structures called byssus and is manually

picked by men.

• Oysters: Crassostrea sp. form beds on the mud-

flats and also attach to the inter-tidal rocks.

Usually women extract the meat by opening the

oyster shell using a knife.

Processing

Dead bivalves and empty shells are removed from

the collection before marketing. These empty shells

are used for making lime and poultry feed. Small

quantities of bivalves, especially P. malabarica, are

boiled for couple of hours along with shells and then

meat is removed and sundried for preservation and

subsequent usage. An estimated 2,347 individuals

from 1,202 households are associated with bivalve

harvesting; of these 1,738 are men and 609 are

women, who belong to 19 estuarine villages, 1,202

families (Table 2 and Figure 1). The majority who

harvest bivalves for trade belong to local fishing

communities such as Harikanthras and Ambigas.

Halakkivokkals, Namdharis, and Gramvokkals, who

are traditionally agriculturists, also gather bivalves

mostly for domestic consumption and sometimes for

trade. Bulk of the harvesters are from Aghanashini

village (35.15%) followed by Divgi (18.75%),

Gokarn (9.67%), Torke (7.84%) and Mirjan (7.63%).

Aghanashini closer to the river mouth has a

substantial production of bivalves and also accounts

for the largest number of harvesters (825).

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

38

Table 2. Village-wise estimated number of bivalve collecting

(BC) households (HH) and number of individuals involved in bivalve harvesting

Village No. of

HH**

BC

HH

% of

BC HH

BC

men

BC

women

Total BC

persons

Hiregutti 596 1 0.17 1 1

Bargigazani 14 5 35.71 5 5

Aigalkurve 120 5 4.17 2 6 8

Bargi 359 7 1.95 7 4 11 Paduvani 331 13 3.93 3 11 14

Balale 213* 10 4.69 14 14

Betkuli 316 22 6.96 25 25 Lukkeri 280 32 11.43 34 34

Kodkani 407 29 7.13 25 10 35

Hegde 1311 31 2.36 29 19 48

Kagal 711 33 4.64 44 9 53 Madangeri 279 20 7.17 56 56

Morba 180 34 18.89 81 10 91

Toregazani 38 38 100 69 28 97 Mirjan 630 89 14.13 85 94 179

Torke 261 72 27.59 158 26 184

Gokarn 2,532 98 3.87 205 22 227 Divgi 524 323 61.64 237 203 440

Aghanashini 579 340 58.72 692 133 825

Total 9,681 1,202 12.42 1,738 609 2,347

**http://zpkarwar.kar.nic.in/CensusKumtaVWP.htm

Total number of bivalve collecting days in a year is

140 for male and 147 for females. Hence, bivalve

harvest in the estuary alone generates 332,843 days

of human employment per year. Bulk of the

employment for men is through the collection of P.

malabarica, which is found in deeper parts of the

estuary (water depth >1m at lowtide). However,

collecting P. viridis from steep and rocky parts of the

river mouth being a riskier tasks only a small

number of men (2.11% of men collectors) venture to

do it. V. cyprinoides is collected from shallow waters

by both men and women. Collection of the K. opima,

M. meretrix, M. casta and Crassostrea sp. from the

mudflats is mostly woman’s domain. Village and

season-wise estimated quantity of bivalves harvested

per day is listed in Table 3.

Table 3. Village and season-wise average quantity (Kg. wet

weight with shells) of bivalves harvested per day

Village Jun-Oct % of total

harvest Nov-May

% of total

harvest

Hiregutti 105.00 0.09 105.00 0.07

Aigalkurve 300.00 0.25 300.00 0.20

Bargigazani 337.50 0.28 337.50 0.22 Bargi 412.50 0.34 412.50 0.27

Balale 420.00 0.35 420.00 0.28

Lukkeri 431.25 0.36 637.50 0.42

Paduvani 489.00 0.41 588.00 0.39 Betkuli 708.75 0.59 843.75 0.56

Hegde 851.25 0.71 2,062.50 1.37

Kodkani 1,275.00 1.06 2,175.00 1.45 Madangeri 1,680.00 1.40 1,680.00 1.12

Morba 2,497.50 2.08 3,060.00 2.04

Toregazani 2,551.50 2.13 6,014.25 4.01 Kagal 4,890.00 4.08 4,230.00 2.82

Torke 5,782.50 4.82 7,188.00 4.79

Mirjan 5,940.00 4.96 7,320.00 4.88

Gokarn 9,945.63 8.30 11,922.00 7.95 Divgi 23,565.00 19.66 30,465.00 20.31

Aghanashini 57,683.20 48.12 70,270.96 46.84

Total 119,865.58 150,031.96

The quantity of bivalves harvested per day is 11.17%

more during November to May. Aghanashini and

Divgi village people alone contribute 67% of the

bivalve harvested per day. Village, season and

gender-wise average quantity of bivalves harvested

is given in Table 4a and 4b. The post monsoon

period of November to May is more congenial for

bivalve harvesting. Women collect bivalves from

shallow regions and mudflats compared to men who

harvests from deeper regions. Bivalves are abundant

in deeper parts of estuary compared to shallow

regions and mudflats. The average quantity

harvested is 65±24.78 kg/individual/day for men and

22±13.46 kg/day/individual for women. Spot

purchases of bivalves harvested are made by traders

who transport them to nearby towns and even to

neighboring states, especially to Goa. The local

marketing is usually carried out by the women of

fishing communities, who make household sales in

Kumta town and nearby villages. Some female also

carry the bivalves to the local fish markets. The

harvesters also use small part of the collection for

domestic use.

Table 4a. Village and season-wise average quantity of bivalves

harvested (in kg. wet weight with shells) by men

Village QHD:

Jun-Oct

BCD

Jun -

Oct

Total harvest

(kg) -

Jun-Oct

QHD:

Nov-

May

BCD

in Nov

- May

Total harvest

(kg) -

Nov-May

Hiregutti 105 44 4,620 105 154 16,170 Bargigazani 338 32 10,800 338 64 21,600

Bargi 263 26 6,825 263 96 25,200

Aigalkurve 165 13 2,145 165 182 30,030

Paduvani 225 100 22,500 225 140 31,500 Balale 420 9 3,780 420 108 45,360

Betkuli 709 9 6,379 844 85 71,719

Hegde 638 13 8,288 1,849 120 221,850 Morba 2,475 8 19,800 3,038 78 236,925

Kodkani 1,125 10 11,250 1,875 132 247,500

Madangeri 1,680 96 161,280 1,680 168 282,240

Kagal 4,620 18 83,160 3,960 80 316,800 Toregazani 2,498 48 119,880 5,951 96 571,320

Mirjan 3,960 40 158,400 4,500 138 621,000

Torke 5,760 45 259,200 7,110 102 725,220 Gokarn 9,430 33 311,190 11,378 78 887,445

Divgi 15,960 10 159,600 21,330 90 1,919,700

Aghanashini 56,689 71 4,024,951 67,278 117 7,871,580

Total 107,058 5,374,047 132,307 14,143,159

BCD – Bivalve collecting days; QHD – Quantity harvested per day

Table 4b. Village and season-wise average quantity of bivalves harvested (in kg. wet weight with shells) by women

Village QHD:

Jun-Oct

BCD

in

Jun - Oct

Total

harvest (kg)

- Jun-Oct

QHD:

Nov-

May

BCD

in

Nov - May

Total

harvest

(kg) - Nov-May

Morba 23 34 765 23 119 2,678

Toregazani 54 30 1,620 63 96 6,048

Torke 23 51 1,148 78 102 7,956 Aigalkurve 135 10 1,350 135 133 17,955

Bargi 150 36 5,400 150 126 18,900

Kagal 270 7 1,890 270 98 26,460 Paduvani 264 10 2,640 363 90 32,670

Hegde 214 12 2,565 214 168 35,910

Kodkani 150 10 1,500 300 126 37,800 Gokarn 516 75 38,672 545 105 57,173

Lukkeri 431 10 4,313 638 102 65,025

Aghanashini 994 49 48,694 2,993 114 341,145

Mirjan 1,980 48 95,040 2,820 161 454,020 Divgi 7,605 11 83,655 9,135 120 1,096,200

Total 12,807 289,251 17,725 2,199,939

BCD – Bivalve collecting days; QHD – Quantity harvested per day

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

39

Table 5. Village, season and gender-wise income per year from

bivalve collection

Village

Men Women

Total (Rs.) June - Oct

Nov -

May June - Oct

Nov -

May

Aghanashini 14,247,842 17,979,543 158,992 704,600 33,090,977

Divgi 568,830 4,428,772 291,182 2,378,217 7,667,001

Mirjan 563,418 1,422,253 328,839 967,109 3,281,619

Gokarn 969,601 1,836,715 135,472 130,651 3,072,439

Torke 795,644 1,427,533 62,813 285,116 2,571,106

Toregazani 431,482 1,333,506 86,293 201,571 2,052,852

Madangeri 588,305 672,031 1,260,336

Kagal 289,145 719,192 6,867 62,622 1,077,826

Kodkani 41,044 589,468 5,036 79,019 714,567

Hegde 29,770 515,903 9,405 86,184 641,262

Morba 60,376 425,015 36,535 77,000 598,926

Paduvani 75,219 65,406 9,579 77,161 227,365

Betkuli 21,459 150,423 171,882

Aigalkurve 7,714 69,957 4,950 43,092 125,713

Balale 13,589 105,607 119,196

Lukkeri 11,397 89,487 100,884

Bargi 14,748 22,534 19,365 43,839 100,486

Bargigazani 38,767 50,173 88,940

Hiregutti 16,848 38,485 55,333

Total 18,773,801 31,852,516 1,166,725 5,225,668 57,018,710

Bivalve harvested in this estuary is estimated at

22,006 t/yr, which generates a total primary annual

net income of about Rs. 57.8 million (Rs. 57,018,710

from bivalve collection and Rs. 816,267 from

supplementary products like empty shells and dried

meat). Aghanashini village, which accounts for the

highest production of bivalves alone earns about Rs.

33 million (58% of total income). More details about

village, season and gender-wise income per year is

given in Table 5. The average income for the male

was Rs. 29,129 from 140 collection days for the

study year 2006-07, whereas it was Rs. 10,497 for

the female from 147 collection days. Some quantity

of bivalves collected is used for the production of

dried meat, which earns marginally more profit than

sale of fresh bivalves. The estimated annual income

from the sale of empty shells is Rs. 483,850 (Table

6) and from dried bivalve meat is Rs. 334,983 (Table

7).

Table 6. Village-wise income (Rs.) per year from shell sale

Village BHH SHH

No. of basket

(Shells) sales /

family

Rs. / basket Income (Rs.) /

family

Total (Rs.) /

village

Hiregutti 1 1 25 10 250 250

Aigalkurve 5 3 28 10 280 840

Kodkani 29 20 11 11 121 2,420

Balale 10 10 28 11 303 3,025

Paduvani 13 7 35 13 438 3,063

Hegde 31 19 16 11 176 3,344

Bargigazani 5 5 50 15 750 3,750

Madangeri 20 20 40 10 400 8,000

Mirjan 89 36 23 11 256 9,207

Torke 72 18 75 9 638 11,475

Gokarn 98 33 41 12 488 16,088

Toregazani 38 19 148 11 1,623 30,828

Kagal 33 26 118 12 1,416 36,816

Morba 34 26 143 12 1,710 44,460

Divgi 323 226 35 14 490 110,740

Aghanashini 340 139 118 12 1,416 196,824

Total 1,141 609 10,752 481,129 BHH – Bivalve collecting households; SHH – Shell selling households

Table 7. Village-wise income (Rs.) per year from dried meat sale

Village BHH DHH kg sales /

family Rs. / kg Expense (Rs.)

Income (Rs.) /

family

Total (Rs.) /

village

Bargigazani 5 5 2 200 300 1,500

Hiregutti 1 1 18 150 2,625 2,625

Paduvani 13 3 9 250 110 2,140 6,420

Torke 72 13 4 160 20 620 8,060

Aigalkurve 5 3 20 150 135 2,865 8,595

Kagal 33 13 6 175 200 894 11,619

Morba 34 17 8 166 88 1,159 19,709

Balale 10 5 40 100 25 3,975 19,875

Madangeri 20 20 8 175 150 1,163 23,250

Divgi 323 129 2 120 13 183 23,543

Toregazani 38 29 17 150 147 2,353 68,247

Aghanashini 340 170 8 127 175 834 141,696

Total 894 408 19,110 335,138 BHH – Bivalve collecting households; DHH –Dried meat selling households

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

40

Shell Mining

Parts of the estuary are leased out for the mining of

empty shells, which are used by various industries

for the production of poultry-feed, lime, fertilisers,

etc. The annual production of shells is around 80,

000 to 100,000 t and the market price ranges from

Rs. 750 to 950/t. About 600 persons (only men,

especially those operating native boats) are engaged

in shell mining in addition to transporters (about 200

persons). As shell mining depends largely on the

deposits of dead shells, in the long run it is not going

to be sustainable. Sustainable harvest has to be

limited to procurement of shells of live bivalves and

annual deposits of dead shells of unexploited

bivalves which needs further investigation. The

gross annual value of the shells is about Rs. 76.5

million.

Valuation of estuary based only on bivalve

production

The annual harvest of bivalves in Aghanashini

estuary is estimated to be 22,006 t (edible portion

about 9% of fresh weight). On an average an

individual consumes 50 g of meat for about 200

days a year. Therefore the bivalves of this estuary

alone contribute substantially towards protein and

mineral rich nutrition of about 198,000 people of the

west coast. About 186 ha of the estuary is estimated

to be used for bivalve harvesting (Figure 4).

Therefore the average annual income per every

hectare of bivalve harvesting area can be put at Rs.

306,552. It is an amazing yield/ha compared to any

other natural ecosystem or agricultural systems, and

that too this yield is without input of any kind into

the system by humans. Majority of the 105

harvesters whom we interviewed opined that over

the years, despite the harvests, there has been hardly

any change in the availability of bivalves. However,

a small number of harvesters expressed that there

has been a declining trend in recent years. It is learnt

that during 2007 – 08 period overharvesting due to

rising demand from Goa has created local scarcity

and spiraling of bivalve prices. Shell mining is done

in an area of 100 ha per year out of a total lease area

of 809.37 ha (20 years lease period). The shells

mined at prevailing market prices are worth Rs.

765,000/ha/yr. Hence, the total value of the estuary

based on live bivalve and shell production is worth

Rs. 1,071,552/ha/yr. This demonstrates the high

productive potential of the estuary compared to any

other economic sectors. This valuation does not

include other goods that the estuary provides such as

production of shrimps, fish, crabs, salt, mangroves,

etc. in addition to services such as fish spawning

grounds, nutrient cycling, hydrology, flood control,

soil protection, sink for carbon, etc. Estuaries are

ranked among the highest productive natural

ecosystems of the world. Based on all goods and

services that estuaries provide Costanza et al. year

(Costanza et al. 1997) estimated the value of an

estuary as USD 22,832/ha/yr. The west coast of

India is dotted with the estuaries of numerous rivers

which originate in the Western Ghats, one of the

global biodiversity hotspots. Yet there has been an

almost callous neglect and misuse of these high

ranking productive ecosystems causing inestimable

losses.

Figure 4. Bivalve harvesting and shell mining areas.

Conclusion Unplanned developmental activities based on ad-hoc

approaches in planning in recent decades have

telling effects on the Aghanashini estuary. In the

early 1970’s about 728.44 ha of productive estuarine

ecosystem areas were leased for industrial salt

production and subsequently abandoned due to

failure of the project. Thereafter in a frenzied drive

to promote shrimp production for export substantial

portion of the estuary was put to intensive shrimp

farming, destroying much of the mangroves as well

as the traditional salt tolerant Kagga rice fields.

There has also been a sharp decline in the rich bird

and fish fauna following these perturbations. The

most recent threat to the estuary has been from the

proposed Ultra Mega Power Plant. However, this

project has been shelved due to protests from the

NeBIO (2011) Vol. 2(1)

41

ecosystem people whose livelihoods were to be

imperiled by such an establishment and also from

environmentalists. The study underscores the need

for greater sensitivity and vision on the part of

planners and decision makers towards conservation

and sustainable management of pristine and

productive ecosystems, particularly of Western

Ghats west coast region. This study is an initial

attempt to evaluate some important aspects of

estuarine goods, which has a major role in livelihood

aspects of ecosystem people.. However, valuation of

the estuary services and goods of a estuary requires

further investigations for a comprehensive

understanding of various components.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr Prakash Mesta, Dr Nayak, V

N, and Dr Kusuma Neelakantan, Dept. of Marine

Biology, Karwar for the help extended in the

identification of bivalves and valuable suggestions.

Ravish, helped in the fieldwork. We thank the

villagers for their co-operation during survey. We

thank the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

Government of India for the financial assistance.

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NeBIO – an international peer reviewed quarterly journal published by North East Centre for Environmental Education and Research (NECEER), Imphal.

NeBIO publishes original research, short communication, book review, general and review articles on biodiversity and environment of North East India

and its adjoining region (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Southern China, Eastern Nepal and Myanmar).

NeBIO Research Journal is one of the initiatives of NECEER, Imphal. The journal aimed not only to encourage research works but also to bridge the gap

between various forms of methodologies, perspectives and knowledge production. The need for publishing such a journal was also prompted by the

fact that there has not been such an interaction between all those engaged in research areas and environmental education so far in the region

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