NOPR Collection:

Breeding biology of shrimp Parapenaeopsis stylifera (Milne Edwards) (Crustacea: Decapoda) along the Neendakara zone, SW coast of India

Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Breeding biology of shrimp Parapenaeopsis stylifera (Milne Edwards) (Crustacea: Decapoda) along the Neendakara zone, SW coast of India Authors: Sunil, V; Suryanarayanan, H Abstract: Investigations on gonado‑somatic index, stages of maturity and fecundity of Parapenaeopsis stylifera were carried out from the Neendakara zone, Kerala coast for a period of one year. Females with mature ovaries occurred throughout the year showing that they spawn continuously the peak season being May and July. The gonado‑somatic index exhibited a variation from 3.39 to 10.54(%). The mean fecundity of 87,641 was observed. There was a linear relationship between the fecundity and the length of shrimp, weight of shrimp, length of ovary and weight of ovary. Page(s): 78-80

Sepia prabahari sp. nov. (Mollusca/Cephalopoda), a new species of Acanthosepion species complex from Tuticorin bay, southeast coast of India

Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Sepia prabahari sp. nov. (Mollusca/Cephalopoda), a new species of Acanthosepion species complex from Tuticorin bay, southeast coast of India Authors: Neethiselvan, N.; Venkataramani, V. K. Abstract: A new cuttlefish Sepia prabahari sp. nov. collected from Tuticorin bay(8^o47’N, 78^o9’E) is described with a comparison of the closely related species Sepia pharaonis. Sepia prabahari sp. nov. shows a clear-cut sexual dimorphism with respect to length and shape of arms. In males, first and fourth pair of arms distinctly extended and whip like. However, in females, first and fourth arms are neither distinctly extended nor whip like. Sepia prabahari sp. nov. closely resembles the juvenile of Sepia pharaonis as both of them have distinct tiger-stripe pattern on the dorsal side of the mantle. However, Sepia prabahari sp. nov. can easily be distinguished from the closely related species S.pharaonis based on the arrangement of suckers in the tentacular club. The tentacular club of S. prabahari sp. nov. is with minute suckers of equal size without any enlarged suckers, in contrast to that of S. pharaonis with big suckers, of which about 6 suckers in medial rows are much enlarged. In S .prabahari sp. nov. the left ventral arm of male is hectocotylised with 8 transverse series of normal basal suckers followed by 7 series of modified suckers, in contrast to 10-12 basal transverse series of normal suckers followed by 7 series of modified suckers in S.pharaonis. Further, S prabahari sp. nov belongs to Acanthosepion species complex (Rocheburne, 1884) as its inner cone of the cuttlebone is distinct, forming rounded and cap-like cavity in contrast to that of plate like callosity in S.pharaonis and hence belongs to Sepia sensu stricto species complex. The diagnostic characters of the species belong to the Acanthosepion species complex of the genus Sepia of Indian waters with that of S. prabahari sp. nov. are also discussed. Page(s): 45-51

Cultivation of marine red alga Gracilaria edulis (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) from spores

Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Cultivation of marine red alga Gracilaria edulis (Gigartinales, Rhodophyta) from spores Authors: Jayasankar, Reeta; Varghese, Sally Abstract: Gracilaria edulis, a major Indian agarophyte, has been successfully cultivated in an experimental scale from spores at sea off Narakkal, Kochi. Artificial objects like floating raft, nylon ropes and net pieces were provided in the open sea for collection of spores of Gracilaria edulis. They were allowed to grow to mature size of 30 cm. After 76 days of culture period, fully grown healthy plants of Gracilaria edulis were harvested from the nylon rope by hand pruning. Further growth was much faster. A total yield of 7.220 kg plants was obtained during 122 days of the culture period. The work has resulted in the successful cultivation of the species from the east coast to a coastal area of the west coast, Narakkal, and also in the identification of a fertile culture ground (open sea off Narakkal, Kochi) along the Kerala coast during favourable period of growth. Page(s): 75-77

Endophytic fungi associated with the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis (Hydrocharitaceae)

Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Endophytic fungi associated with the tropical seagrass Halophila ovalis (Hydrocharitaceae) Authors: Devarajan, P. T.; Suryanarayanan, T. S. Abstract: Leaf blade, petiole and rhizome of the seagrass Halophila ovalis were examined for the presence of endophytic fungi. Although the seagrass harboured endophytic fungi, their number and colonization densities in seagrass tissues were low. This is presumed to be due to a combination of physical and chemical factors. Page(s): 73-74