Optimizing sowing management for short duration dry seeded aman rice on the High Ganges River Floodplain of Bangladesh

Dry seeding of aman rice can facilitate timely crop establishment and early harvest and thus help to alleviate the monga (hunger) period in the High Ganges Flood Plain of Bangladesh. Dry seeding also offers many other potential benefits, including reduced cost of crop establishment and improved soil structure for crops grown in rotation with rice. However, the optimum time for seeding in areas where farmers have access to water for supplementary irrigation has not been determined. We hypothesized that earlier sowing is safer, and that increasing seed rate mitigates the adverse effects of significant rain after sowing on establishment and crop performance. To test these hypotheses, we analyzed long term rainfall data, and conducted field experiments on the effects of sowing date (target dates of 25 May, 10 June, 25 June, and 10 July) and seed rate (20, 40, and 60 kg ha−1) on crop establishment, growth, and yield of dry seeded Binadhan-7 (short duration, 110–120 d) during the 2012 and 2013 rainy seasons. Wet soil as a result of untimely rainfall usually prevented sowing on the last two target dates in both years, but not on the first two dates. Rainfall analysis also suggested a high probability of being able to dry seed in late May/early June, and a low probability of being able to dry seed in late June/early July. Delaying sowing from 25 May/10 June to late June/early July usually resulted in 20–25% lower plant density and lower uniformity of the plant stand as a result of rain shortly after sowing. Delaying sowing also reduced crop duration, and tillering or biomass production when using a low seed rate. For the late June/early July sowings, there was a strong positive relationship between plant density and yield, but this was not the case for earlier sowings. Thus, increasing seed rate compensated for the adverse effect of untimely rains after sowing on plant density and the shorter growth duration of the late sown crops. The results indicate that in this region, the optimum date for sowing dry seeded rice is late May to early June with a seed rate of 40 kg ha−1. Planting can be delayed to late June/early July with no yield loss using a seed rate of 60 kg ha−1, but in many years, the soil is simply too wet to be able to dry seed at this time due to rainfall.

Ganges River Region, India and Bangladesh, 1816 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Gangetic Hindoostan or the countries occupied by the Ganges and the branches, by John Cary. It was published by J. Cary in June 1, 1816. Scale [ca. 1:7,000,000]. Covers the Ganges River region, Bangladesh and Northeast India, and portions of China, Nepal, and Bhutan. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to a modified 'Asia North Lambert Conformal Conic' projection with a central meridian of 84 degrees East projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as drainage, cities and other human settlements, roads, territorial boundaries, shoreline features, and more. Relief shown by hachures. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection as part of the Open Collections Program at Harvard University project: Islamic Heritage Project. Maps selected for the project represent a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes. The Islamic Heritage Project consists of over 100,000 digitized pages from Harvard's collections of Islamic manuscripts and published materials. Supported by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and developed in association with the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University.

Retroposon analysis of major cetacean lineages: The monophyly of toothed whales and the paraphyly of river dolphins

SINE (short interspersed element) insertion analysis elucidates contentious aspects in the phylogeny of toothed whales and dolphins (Odontoceti), especially river dolphins. Here, we characterize 25 informative SINEs inserted into unique genomic loci during evolution of odontocetes to construct a cladogram. and determine a total of 2.8 kb per taxon of the flanking sequences of these SINE loci to estimate divergence times among lineages. We demonstrate that: (i) Odontocetes are monophyletic; (ii) Ganges River dolphins, beaked whales, and ocean dolphins diverged (in this order) after sperm whales; (iii) three other river dolphin taxa, namely the Amazon, La Plata, and Yangtze river dolphins, form a monophyletic group with Yangtze River dolphins being the most basal; and (iv) the rapid radiation of extant cetacean lineages occurred some 28-33 million years B.P., in strong accord with the fossil record. The combination of SINE and flanking sequence analysis suggests a topology and set of divergence times for odontocete relationships, offering alternative explanations for several long-standing problems in cetacean evolution.

Retroposon analysis of major cetacean lineages: The monophyly of toothed whales and the paraphyly of river dolphins

SINE (short interspersed element) insertion analysis elucidates contentious aspects in the phylogeny of toothed whales and dolphins (Odontoceti), especially river dolphins. Here, we characterize 25 informative SINEs inserted into unique genomic loci during evolution of odontocetes to construct a cladogram, and determine a total of 2.8 kb per taxon of the flanking sequences of these SINE loci to estimate divergence times among lineages. We demonstrate that: (i) Odontocetes are monophyletic; (ii) Ganges River dolphins, beaked whales, and ocean dolphins diverged (in this order) after sperm whales; (iii) three other river dolphin taxa, namely the Amazon, La Plata, and Yangtze river dolphins, form a monophyletic group with Yangtze River dolphins being the most basal; and (iv) the rapid radiation of extant cetacean lineages occurred some 28–33 million years B.P., in strong accord with the fossil record. The combination of SINE and flanking sequence analysis suggests a topology and set of divergence times for odontocete relationships, offering alternative explanations for several long-standing problems in cetacean evolution.

Short- and long-term temporal variations in salinity and the oxygen, carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of the Hooghly Estuary water, India

The Hooghly River estuary provides a unique experimental site to understand the effect of monsoonal river discharge on freshwater and seawater mixing. Water samples collected bi-weekly for a duration of 17 months were analyzed for salinity, delta O-18,delta C-13(DIC), as well as delta D to investigate the differential mixing of freshwater and seawater. The differences in salinity and delta O-18 of samples collected during low and high tides on the same day are strongly correlated suggesting a well mixed water column at our sampling site. Low salinity and depleted delta O-18 during monsoon is consistent with increased river discharge as well as high rainfall. We identified different slopes in a delta O-18 versus salinity plot for the estuary water samples collected during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons. This is driven by composition of the freshwater source which is dominated by rainwater during monsoon and rivers during non-monsoon months. Selected delta D analyses of samples indicate that groundwater contributes significantly to the Hooghly Estuary during low rainfall times of the year. delta C-13(DIC) measured in the water recorded low values towards the end of monsoon indicating low productivity (i.e. increased organic respiration) while progressively increasing delta C-13(DIC) values from October till January as well as during some of the pre-monsoon months can be explained by increasing productivity. Very low delta C-13(DIC) (similar to-20%0) suggests involvement of carbon derived from anaerobic oxidation of organics and/or methane with potential contribution from increased anthropogenic water supply. An estimate of seawater incursion into the Hooghly Estuary at different times of the year is obtained by using salinity data in a two-component mixing model. Presence of seawater was found maximum (31-37%) during February till July and lowest (less than or equal to 6%) from September till November. We notice a temporal offset between Ganges River discharge farther upstream at Farakka and salinity variation at the Hooghly Estuary. We believe that this time lag is a result of the physical distance between Farakka and Kakdweep (our sampling location) and put constraints on the travel time of river water during early monsoon. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Marketing of small indigenous species of fish (SIS) in three selected fish markets of Mymensingh

A socio-economic survey was conducted round the year in three fish markets at Mymensingh, Bangladesh. The selected markets were categorized as rural market (Sutiakhali market), a peri-urban market (Kamal Ranjeet market, BAU) and an urban market (Notun Bazar market, Mymensingh town). It was learnt from the survey that the availability of Small Indigenous Fish Species (SIS) declined to a great extent over the last few years and at presently many of such fish species are either threatened or at the edge of extinction. The supply of SIS was highest in KR market (37% of total) and more or less similar in Notun Bazar and Sutiakhali fish market (25 and 27% respectively). The total supply of SIS fluctuated from 25% to 35% throughout the year in these markets. About 48 SIS were found in the sampled markets over the survey period. The highest number of species (45) was found in KR market followed by Notun Bazar (42) and Sutiakhali (37) fish markets. During the survey, three critically endangered species namely, schilbid catfish, garua catfish and rita were found in these markets. Beside these, other 11 and 10 species were listed to be endangered and vulnerable respectively. The biodiversity of 21 SIS found in three markets were no threat at all. Three species (guntea loach, Indian glass barb and flying barb) were 'data deficient' as reported by the IUCN Red Book (IUCN-Bangladesh 2000). From the supply point of view small prawn, spotted snakehead, stinging catfish, pool barb, striped dwarf catfish, Gangetic mystus, walking catfish and tank goby were the prominent fish. The least available species found in this survey were lesser spiny eel, barred spiny eel, Gangetic ailia, freshwater garfish, zig-zag eel, flying barb, Ganges river sprat, freshwater river shad and dwarf gourami. The weight of SIS available in Notun bazar was highest and nearly double than other two markets. There was no significant difference recorded in the supply of SIS in Sutiakhali and KR markets. The average monthly SIS supply was 185, 192 and 467 kg in KR, Sutiakhali and Notun Bazar, respectively; therefore, the cumulative average supply was 844 kg per month in three markets. The price of SIS ranged widely from taka 50-450/kg depending on species, location of market, time of purchase and the condition of fish. In general small prawn, ticto barb, dwarf gourami, Gangetic leaffish, and Annandale loach were sold at a lower price (ranged taka 50-100/kg) and these species could be considered at the bottom of the market-price list. Other SIS like walking catfish, climbing parch, butter catfish, cotio and schilbid catfish valued as highest price (ranged taka 150-450/kg). There was no specific marketing chain for SIS in Mymensingh region. The components of marketing channels and their expansion varied with seasons and locations. The general pattern, however, was as this - after buying fish from fish farmer/fishermen, middlemen (locally known as Foria) used to buy fish to wholesale market and sell to the wholesalers. The retailers used to buy fish from wholesaler through auction to the highest bidders. The retailers then send the fish to particular market where the fish reached the consumers. The livelihood strategy of SIS retailers in three fish markets showed that socio-economic constraints such as low income, poor educational background, low economic status and lack of capital are the main constrains [sic]. Most of the retailers proposed that government should control the fish price throughout the year, so that the producers can get reasonable and stable price. Construction of cold storage and preservation facilities at market sites, improvement of road and communication, improvement of physical market facilities and reduction of market chain is essential. Credit facilities, improvement of their standard of living, health and sanitary condition, housing condition, children education and access to drinking water facilities were identified as additional aspects to improve socio-economic condition of SIS retailers.

Osmium isotope composition of leachates and bulk sediment from ODP Holes in the Bengal Fan

Os isotopic compositions and OS and Re concentrations were measured in H2O2-H2SO4 leachates and bulk sediment samples from Holes 717C and 718C of ODP Leg 116 in the Bengal Fan. Os isotopic results indicate that, at the sediment surface, the leachable Os fraction is derived from seawater. In contrast, leachable Os from Ganges River sediments has 187Os/188Os ratios (Pegram et al., 1994, doi:10.1016/0012-821X(94)90172-4) much higher than the marine value. This difference suggests that the leachable radiogenic Os carried by the river sediments is completely released to the oceans prior to sediment deposition in the Fan. A simple calculation, assuming these sediments to be typical of those delivered by the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, suggests that this process can account for a substantial part of the rise in the seawater Os isotopic ratio observed over the past 16 m.y. Bengal Fan leachate 187Os/188Os ratios increase with increasing depositional age, in contrast to the seawater Os isotopic ratio, which decreases with increasing age. Several lines of evidence suggest that, at the time of sediment burial, the leachate Os compositions most likely reflected the seawater values. Thus, the current divergence is probably the result of post-depositional processes. One such process, in situ radiogenic ingrowth of 187Os, can be excluded because the measured Re concentrations of these sediments are too low. Similarly, since most of the bulk rock Os isotopic ratios were lower than those of the associated leachates, the high leachate 187Os/188Os values cannot be explained by in situ sediment alteration. Instead, it is proposed that the increase with age results from radiogenic OS brought in by thermoconvective circulation from further upslope in the Fan. The ultimate source of this 187Os would then be alteration of radiogenic sediments or post-depositional radioactive decay of Re in sediments rich in organic carbon. Finally, the divergence between the results obtained on Bengal Fan sediments and those obtained in the open ocean (Pegram et al., 1992, doi:10.1016/0012-821X(92)90132-F) by the same leaching technique suggest that Os sediment leachate data must be interpreted with caution.

Jean Renoir. The River: Uma história ou um lugar? Passagem pela Índia

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação

(Table 1) Water storage changes of the 33 world's largest river basins between 2002-2009

Global change in land water storage and its effect on sea level is estimated over a 7-year time span (August 2002 to July 2009) using space gravimetry data from GRACE. The 33 World largest river basins are considered. We focus on the year-to-year variability and construct a total land water storage time series that we further express in equivalent sea level time series. The short-term trend in total water storage adjusted over this 7-year time span is positive and amounts to 80.6 ± 15.7 km**3/yr (net water storage excess). Most of the positive contribution arises from the Amazon and Siberian basins (Lena and Yenisei), followed by the Zambezi, Orinoco and Ob basins. The largest negative contributions (water deficit) come from the Mississippi, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Aral, Euphrates, Indus and Parana. Expressed in terms of equivalent sea level, total water volume change over 2002-2009 leads to a small negative contribution to sea level of -0.22 ± 0.05 mm/yr. The time series for each basin clearly show that year-to-year variability dominates so that the value estimated in this study cannot be considered as representative of a long-term trend. We also compare the interannual variability of total land water storage (removing the mean trend over the studied time span) with interannual variability in sea level (corrected for thermal expansion). A correlation of ~0.6 is found. Phasing, in particular, is correct. Thus, at least part of the interannual variability of the global mean sea level can be attributed to land water storage fluctuations.

Discarge compilation from The Global River Discharge (RivDIS) Project

The Global River Discharge (RivDIS) data set contains monthly discharge measurements for 1018 stations located throughout the world. The period of record varies widely from station to station, with a mean of 21.5 years. These data were digitized from published UNESCO archives by Charles Voromarty, Balaze Fekete, and B.A. Tucker of the Complex Systems Research Center (CSRC) at the University of New Hampshire. River discharge is typically measured through the use of a rating curve that relates local water level height to discharge. This rating curve is used to estimate discharge from the observed water level. The rating curves are periodically rechecked and recalibrated through on-site measurement of discharge and river stage.

Geographic Variation of Notified Ross River Virus Infections in Queensland, Australia, 1985-1996

The spatial and temporal variations of Ross River virus infections reported in Queensland, Australia, between 1985 and 1996 were studied by using the Geographic Information System. The notified cases of Ross River virus infection came from 489 localities between 1985 and 1988, 805 between 1989 and 1992, and 1,157 between 1993 and 1996 (chi2(df = 2) = 680.9; P < 0.001). There was a marked increase in the number of localities where the cases were reported by 65 percent for the period of 1989-1992 and 137 percent for 1993-1996, compared with that for 1985-1988. The geographic distribution of the notified Ross River virus cases has expanded in Queensland over recent years. As Ross River virus disease has impacted considerably on tourism and industry, as well as on residents of affected areas, more research is required to explore the causes of the geographic expansion of the notified Ross River virus infections.