Toothed whales in the northwestern Mediterranean: insight into their feeding ecology using chemical tracers

Risso’s dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales rarely strand in the northwestern Mediterranean. Thus, their feeding ecology, through the analysis of stomach contents, is poorly known. The aim of this study was to gain further insight into the segregation/superposition of the diet and habitat of Risso’s dolphins, pilot whales and sperm whales using chemical tracers, namely, stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) and organochlorines. Significantly different δ¹⁵N values were obtained in Risso’s dolphins (11.7 ± 0.7‰), sperm whales (10.8 ± 0.3‰) and pilot whales (9.8 ± 0.3‰), revealing different trophic levels. These differences are presumably due to various proportions of Histioteuthidae cephalopods in each toothed whale’s diet. Similar δ¹³C contents between species indicated long-term habitat superposition or corroborated important seasonal migrations. Lower congener 180 concentrations (8.20 vs. 21.73 μg.g⁻¹ lw) and higher tDDT/tPCB ratios (0.93 vs. 0.42) were observed in sperm whales compared with Risso’s dolphins and may indicate wider migrations for the former. Therefore, competition between these species seems to depend on different trophic levels and migration patterns.     

Stakeholder perspectives on use, trade, and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of central Nepal

People’s livelihood in several Himalayan regions largely depends on collection, use, and trade of medicinal plants. Traditional use is generally not a problem, but commercial gathering of selected species to meet increasing national and international demand can result in over-exploitation. Sustainable management of medicinal plants requires a clear understanding of the respective roles, responsibilities and viewpoints of the various stakeholders involved. Through personal interviews and group discussions, this study aimed at investigating the views of two stakeholder groups on use, trade and conservation of medicinal plants in the Rasuwa district of Nepal. Local people and district and national organizations agreed that medicinal plants are collected for a combination of commercial and personal uses. Perceptions on market availability differed significantly: 100 % of the respondents from district and national organizations saw markets as easily available, against only 36 % for local people. This could explain why medicinal plants were perceived by local people to contribute less to income generation than to livelihood improvement. Different viewpoints were also expressed concerning the status of medicinal plants in the district: 81 % of the respondents from district and national organizations considered that medicinal plants were threatened, compared to only 28 % for local people. Despite this disparity, both stakeholder groups agreed upon potential threats to medicinal plants: over-harvesting; habitat loss due to land-use change and deforestation; and over-grazing by livestock. Several challenges were identified regarding sustainable management of medicinal plants, such as ambiguous policies; lack of resources, information and infrastructures; habitat degradation; and over-exploitation. Despite these challenges, respondents agreed that the medicinal plants sector offers huge opportunities in the Rasuwa district, given resource availability, community awareness and motivation, and the priority given to the sector by governments and other agencies. Proper collaboration, communication and coordination among stakeholders are needed to grab these opportunities.     

On the observed infrared fluxes from extragalactic Hii regions

We have calculated for extragalactic Hii regions, the expected relationship between the radio flux at 11 cm and the infrared flux at 11 and 20 m based on the grain models and the parameters which fit the observations of galactic Hii regions. It is shown that the measured infrared fluxes of extragalactic Hii regions are consistent with the expected infrared fluxes for these objects.     

Gravity Field and Subsurface Geometry of the Kalpatta Granite, South India and the Tectonic Significance

The Kalpatta granite, of Pan-African age occurs in the southern granulite terrain of Peninsular India. Bouguer anomaly map of the Kalpatta and adjoining areas reveals a gravity low of 8–10 mGal centered over the Kalpatta granite and a minor low of 4–6 mGal over the adjacent Ambalavayal granite pluton. The residual anomaly map prepared for the Kalpatta granite has been utilized to obtain depth extent and 3-D geometry of the pluton. The analysis suggests that the Kalpatta granite is an elliptical and somewhat pear shaped body with horizontal dimensions of 6–11 km and extending to a depth of 6.5km, has steeply inward dipping contacts and the shape seen on the surface continues throughout its depth. The smooth oval shape could indicate low ductility contrast, deeper level of emplacement and permissive nature of the pluton. The 3-D depth model indicates an oblique section with much deeper levels exposed in the south, in other words, the crustal block encompassing the pluton has suffered a NNW tilt during uplift after the emplacement. It is further inferred that there was no post intrusive shape modification, the NW tilting of the region and denudation gave rise to the present outcrop pattern of the body.     

Morphometric analysis of Morar River Basin, Madhya Pradesh, India, using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Hydrogeological mapping and drainage analysis can form an important tool for groundwater development. Assessment of drainage and their relative parameters have been quantitatively carried out for the Morar River Basin, which has made positive scientific contribution for the local people of area for the sustainable water resource development and management. Geographical Information System has been used for the calculation and delineation of the morphometric characteristics of the basin. The dendritic type drainage network of the basin exhibits the homogeneity in texture and lack of structural control. The stream order ranges from first to sixth order. The drainage density in the area has been found to be low which indicates that the area possesses highly permeable soils and low relief. The bifurcation ratio varies from 2.00 to 5.50 and the elongation ratio (0.327) reveals that the basin belongs to the elongated shaped basin category. The results of this analysis would be useful in determining the effect of catchment characteristics such as size, shape, slope of the catchment and distribution of stream net work within the catchment.