Lakshadweep Islands Research Articles

Assessment of Bleaching Stress Vulnerability of Lakshadweep Islands using Google Earth Engine (GEE)

Coral reefs, among the Earth’s most diverse and valuable ecosystems, face unprecedented challenges due to climate change. Coral bleaching is a phenomenon wherein corals lose their symbiotic zooxanthellae owing to various stressors, leading to a whitening effect of the coral tissues. In recent decades, climate change has intensified coral bleaching events. Multiple stressors, including elevated Sea Surface Temperature (SST), extreme irradiance levels, and various biotic and abiotic factors trigger bleaching events. Coral bleaching is primarily driven by thermal stress caused by elevated SSTs. Climate change has worsened bleaching’s frequency and intensity. Global bleaching events are often linked to planetary ocean-atmospheric circulation processes such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). This study focused on assessing the vulnerability of coral reefs in the Lakshadweep region of India from 2016 to 2023 using National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Data Record Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature (NOAA CDR OISST) daily data. GOOGLE EARTH ENGINE (GEE) is a cloud computing platform which is used to collect and generate the base data for this study. The vulnerability assessment utilized two bleaching indices: SST anomaly and Degree Heating Week (DHW). Analysis of DHW data reveals that 2020 experienced the highest SST anomaly residence time due to IOD event of 2019, as compared to 2016 and 2023 which are known El Niño years. All Lakshadweep islands exhibited vulnerability, although in varying degrees across different areas. Based on the magnitude, intensity, and frequency of bleaching stress, the islands are categorized into different categories of vulnerability. This study identifies Baliyapaniyam, Cheriyam-Kalpeni and Suhelipar reefs as very highly vulnerable reefs in Lakshadweep. This study highlights the urgent need for monitoring and management measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coral reef ecosystems using spatial vulnerability patterns.

Operationalizing participatory governance in small-scale fisheries: Researcher-practitioner reflections from the Lakshadweep Islands, India

Operationalizing participatory governance in small-scale fisheries: Researcher-practitioner reflections from the Lakshadweep Islands, India

Trends in Prevalence and Predictors of Anemia in Adolescents Between the Ages of 15 and 19 Years in India and Its States: Evidence From the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 and 2019-21.

Limited research has been conducted on trends in anemia among a nationally representative sample of adolescents in India. We aimed to determine the trends in anemia prevalence and predictors of anemia among adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years in India and its different states. We utilized data from India's National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) conducted during 2015-16 and NFHS-5 conducted during 2019-2021, comprising 237,446 adolescents aged between 15 and 19 years. The prevalence of anemia was 54% (95% CI 53.8-54.4) in NFHS-4 and 59.2% (CI 58.9-59.5) in NFHS-5. Twenty-one of 28 Indian states and five of eight union territories (UTs) reported an increase, depicting state-wise variation. While Assam, Jammu and Kashmir showed a substantial rise, the UTs of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands recorded great declines. Younger age and rural residence were significant predictors of anemia (p<0.05) in NFHS-5 but not in NFHS-4. Anemia prevalence among adolescents in India increased significantly in NFHS-5 compared to NFHS-4. Strategies to reduce anemia among adolescents need to focus on affected states and UTs, pregnant adolescents, those with unimproved sanitation, no education, and rural residents.

Conference Equity in Community Medicine: A Brief Analysis of Financial and Geographical Barriers to Participation at Community Medicine Conferences

Background: Academic conferences in community medicine offer valuable learning platform for postgraduate residents and faculty. However, to demonstrate commitment towards conference equity, financial and geographical barriers need to be enumerated and eliminated. Materials &amp; Methods: Academic medical conferences representing the specialty of community medicine or preventive and social medicine, held between 1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024, were included under the study. Variables identified for the study included registration fees, location, affiliation to professional society, geographical scope, presence of virtual/hybrid component, and availability of scholarship/travel grant for postgraduate residents. Results: None of the conferences were held in resource-constrained states of India – the North Eastern Region (except Assam) and islands of Andaman, Nicobar, and Lakshadweep. Only 2 out of 31 conferences had virtual or hybrid component and none of the conferences offered financial support for postgraduate residents. The study found no significant difference in conference registration fees between members and non-members for postgraduate residents and faculty. Conclusions: Registration fees and location of conferences are critical geographical and financial barriers to effective participation. Membership to societies offer no advantage over non-membership in terms of financial benefits of participation at conference.

Biofilm-forming bacteria associated with corals secrete melanin with UV-absorption properties.

Corals are colonized by a plethora of microorganisms, and their diversity plays a significant role in the health and resilience of corals when they face oxidative stress leading to bleaching. In the current study, we examined 238 bacteria isolated from five different coral species (Acropora hyacinthus, Pocillopora damicornis, Podabacea crustacea, Porites lobata, and Pavona venosa) collected from the coral reef ecosystems of Kavaratti, Lakshadweep Islands, India. We found that bacteria such as Psychrobacter sp., Halomonas sp., Kushneria sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Brachybacterium sp., Citrobacter sp., and Salinicola sp. were commonly present in the corals. On the other hand, Qipengyuania sp., Faucicola sp., Marihabitans sp., Azomonas sp., Atlantibacter sp., Cedecea sp., Krasalinikoviella sp., and Aidingimonas sp. were not previously reported from the corals. Among the bacterial isolates, a significant number showed high levels of biofilm formation (118), UV absorption (119), and melanin production (127). Considering these properties, we have identified a combination of seven bacteria from the genera Halomonas sp., Psychrobacter sp., Krasalinikoviella sp., and Micrococcus sp. as a potential probiotic consortium for protecting corals from oxidative stress. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the coral microbiome and opens up possibilities for microbiome-based interventions to protect these crucial ecosystems in the face of global environmental challenges.

Lakshadweep and Indian Island Tourism: A Comparative Perspective

Lakshadweep and Indian Island Tourism: A Comparative Perspective

Prediction of Submergence of Islands Due to Glacier Melting &amp; Sea Level Rise using Deep Learning

Prediction of Submergence of Island Due to Glacier Melting &amp; Sea Level Rise will have significant contribution in the field of Environmental Engineering. This research paper present comprehensive overview of development and implementation this project, which designed to predict the submergence of island especially Lakshadweep Islands which is union territory of India. Capitalizing technologies like LSTM for forecasting sea level rise over period of time and Linear Regression for forecasting glacier melting and python for model training. To enhance the user experience also making it easy to understand the prediction we integrated JavaScript via python ELL framework to show charts and outputs. This paper discusses about the technical innovations, methodology and result of the project. It also spotlights its potential to help people living in islands which are submerging to evacuate them before this threat. This project aims to develop system to migrate people living on island and saving thousands of lives. Key Words: Submergence, LSTM, JavaScript, EEL, Model Training, Linear Regression, User Interface

Two new polyclad (Platyhelminthes: Polycladida) flatworm species from the Lakshadweep Islands, India

Two new species of marine flatworms, Paraplanocera kalpeniensis sp. nov. and Pseudoceros bifascia sp. nov., are described. The specimens were collected from the Lakshadweep Islands (situated in the Arabian Sea) in India and belong to the suborders Acotylea and Cotylea, respectively. Pink coloration with a few irregular white blotches on the dorsum and a white rim surrounding violet and purple marginal bands distinguishes Paraplanocera kalpeniensis sp. nov. from other congeners. Pseudoceros bifascia sp. nov. is characterised by two coloured bands on the pseudotentacles; white background colour with a black pattern on the dorsum; a thin broken orange sub-marginal band followed by a thick white rim and a thin fluorescent coloured longitudinal stripe that runs from cerebral eyespots to the posterior end. This is the fifth description in the genus Paraplanocera from the Indian Ocean and second from the Indian waters. With the inclusion of two new species, the total number of polyclad species found in Indian waters is now seventy-three.

A new marine littoral species of Oudemansia Schött (Collembola, Neanuridae) from Lakshadweep Island, India with a key to world species of the genus

A new species, Oudemansia dhritiae sp. nov., is described from Lakshadweep Island, India. It is characterised by unguis with a single internal tooth and without any lateral teeth; mandibles with 11 teeth, six dental setae, and antennae IV with 6 sensilla. Identification key to the world species of Oudemansia Schött, 1893 is provided.

Analysis of long-term trends of rainfall and extreme rainfall events over Andaman &amp; Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands of India

The two major archipelagos of India, the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep situated in the climate-hazardous areas of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea respectively are largely affected by weather systems developing over the sea and heavy rainfall activities. The recent two daily gridded rainfall data sets published by IMD; Rajeevan et al. (2010) at 1° × 1° spatial resolution and Pai et al. (2014) at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution extending for a period of more than 100 years have been extensively used by researchers to study the rainfall characteristics at various spatiotemporal scales over the Indian mainland. However, these data sets do not include the grids over these two island meteorological subdivisions of India mainly because of the absence of daily rainfall observation for this long period. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop daily gridded rainfall data over these island subdivisions for the recent 70 years (1951 to 2020) in two spatial resolutions, viz., 1° × 1° and 0.25° × 0.25° using all the available islands station data during the period and carry out statistical analyses of various rainfall characteristics over these islands. The 0.25° × 0.25° data set was observed to be more comparable with the official rainfall time series of IMD for both these two Island subdivisions, and hence this data set has been used to carry out the trend analysis of Daily events of rainfall DER (&gt; = 5 mm) for these two island subdivisions for the whole data period of 1951-2020 and the climate regime shift period of 1971-2020. DER was classified into two categories DMR (5-100 mm), daily moderate rainfall events and DHR (100 mm and above) daily heavy rainfall events. Signs and magnitude of the long-term trends in the frequency of DER (with DMR &amp; DHR) showed significant changes during the recent period 1971-2020.

Socio-economic status of the cattle farmers of Lakshadweep islands

Socio-economic status of the cattle farmers of Lakshadweep islands

Environmental and ecological risk of microplastics in the surface waters and gastrointestinal tract of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) around the Lakshadweep Islands, India.

The presence of microplastics (MPs) in marine ecosystems is widespread and extensive. They have even reached the deepest parts of the ocean and polar regions. The number of articles on plastic pollution has increased in recent years, but few have investigated the MPs from oceanic islands which are biodiversity hotspots. We investigated the possible microplastic contamination their source and characteristics in surface waters off Kavaratti Island and in the gastrointestinal tract (GT) of skipjack tuna, Katsuwonus pelamis collected from Kavaratti Island of the Lakshadweep archipelago. A total of 424 MP particles were isolated from the surface water samples collected from off Kavaratti Island with an average abundance of 5 ± 1nos./L. A total of 117 MPs were recovered from the GT of skipjack tuna from 30 individual fishes. This points to a potential threat of MP contamination in seafood around the world since this species has a high value in local and international markets. Fiber and blue color were the most common microplastic morphotypes and colors encountered, respectively, both from surface water and GT of fish. Smaller MPs (0.01-1mm) made up a greater portion of the recovered materials, and most of them were secondary MPs. Polyethylene and polypropylene were the most abundant polymers found in this study. The Pollution Load Index (1.3 ± 0.21) of the surface water and skipjack tuna (1 ± 0.7) indicates a minor ecological risk for the coral islands, while the Polymer Hazard Index highlights the ecological risk of polymers, even at low MP concentrations. This pioneer study sheds preliminary light on the abundance, properties, and environmental risks of MPs to this highly biodiverse ecosystem.

Genetic evidence for a single founding population of the Lakshadweep Islands.

Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands located in the Southeastern Arabian Sea. In the absence of a detailed archaeological record, the human settlement timing of this island is vague. Previous genetic studies on haploid DNA makers suggested sex-biased ancestry linked to North and South Indian populations. Maternal ancestry suggested a closer link with the Southern Indian, while paternal ancestry advocated the Northern Indian geneticaffinity. Since the haploid markers are more sensitive to genetic drift, which is evident for the Island populations, we have used the biparental high-resolution single-nucleotide polymorphic markers to reconstruct the population history of Lakshadweep Islands. Using the fine-scaled analyses, we specifically focused on (A) the ancestry components of Lakshadweep Islands populations; (B) their relation with East, West Eurasia and South Asia; (C) the number of founding lineages and (D) the putative migration from Northern India as the paternal ancestry was closer to the North Indian populations. Our analysis of ancestry components confirmed relatively higher North Indian ancestry among the Lakshadweep population. These populations are closely related to the South Asian populations. We identified mainlya single founding population for these Islands, geographically divided into two sub-clusters. By examining the population's genetic composition and analysing the gene flow from different source populations, this study contributes to our understanding of Lakshadweep Island's evolutionary history and population dynamics. These findings shed light on the complex interactions between ethnic groups and their genetic contributions in making the Lakshadweep population.

Morphological and Molecular Characterization of Two New Species of Ceratomyxa Thélohan, 1892 (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) from the Marine Ornamental Fish Zanclus cornutus (Linnaeus, 1758) off Lakshadweep Islands, Arabian Sea.

The present study provides the complete morphological and molecular description of two new species of myxosporeans, Ceratomyxa zancli n. sp. and Ceratomyxa cornuti n. sp. infecting the gallbladder of Zanclus cornutus from the Lakshadweep Islands, Arabian Sea. Zanclus cornutus were screened for the presence of myxosporeans, and the recovered myxospores were morphologically characterized using Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast (DIC) optics. The sequences of SSU rDNA were employed for molecular and phylogenetic studies. Both the parasites exhibited a prevalence of 21% each. C. zancli n. sp. is characterized by broadly cresentic myxospores with convex anterior and slightly concave to straight posterior margins and rounded ends. Spore valves two, unequal, measured 9.6 ± 0.7μm × 25.2 ± 1.3μm. Polar capsules two, unequal, spherical, measured 4 ± 0.6μm × 3.5 ± 0.6μm. Polar filament exceptionally long and arranged irregularly. Myxospores of C. cornuti n. sp. are elongated with convex anterior and slightly concave to straight posterior margins. Spore valves two, unequal, measured 7.00 ± 0.4μm × 26.56 ± 1.8μm. Polar capsules spherical, unequal, measured 3.52 ± 0.2 × 3.36 ± 0.35. Molecular analysis of C. zancli n. sp. (ON818297) and C. cornuti n. sp. (ON818298) resulted in 1469 and 1491bp long SSU rDNA sequences, respectively. Molecularly C. zancli n. sp. is close to C. diplodae and C. barnesi with 91.39% similarity, while C. cornuti n. sp. appears closer to C. robertsthomsoni with 97.46% similarity. In phylogenetic analyses, C. zancli n. sp. branched separately within the Ceratomyxa clade while C. cornuti n. sp. clustered with C. robertsthomsoni and C. thalassomae. Based on the differences in morphological, morphometric, molecular, and phylogenetic characteristics, as well as differences in the host and geographic location, the above two species of myxosporeans are considered novel. The study forms the first report of a species of Ceratomyxa from Z. cornutus.

A Study on the Adventure Tourism in India with Special Reference to Lakshadweep Island

A Study on the Adventure Tourism in India with Special Reference to Lakshadweep Island

Environmental monitoring of the Kavaratti lagoon, Lakshadweep Islands, Arabian Sea using larger foraminiferal distribution

Coral reef environments are known for the proliferation of algal symbiont-bearing foraminifera, which are sensitive indicators of water-quality conditions that support reef development. Keeping this in mind, 18 sediment samples were collected in the Kavaratti lagoon of Lakshadweep in 2004. The foraminiferal distribution and abundance of the major genera Amphistegina, Calcarina, Amphisorus and miliolids were compared with those reported nearly three decades ago. The aim was to identify changes in the foraminiferal data within the lagoon over time, through time-gap-sampling, to be able to assess environmental stress if any. The total foraminiferal number (TFN) in the lagoon ranges between 45 and 983 specimens per gram of dry sediments. The average TFN in the northern part of the lagoon (506/g) is lower than that in the southern part of the lagoon (612/g). Amphistegina and Calcarina, both being algal-symbiont-bearing foraminifera, show the tendency to occupy shallower depths of the lagoon. Amphisorus prefer the northern part of the lagoon, due to the prevalence of comparatively stronger currents. Over the past three decades, TFN in the lagoon has on an average gone down from 65,667 in 1976 to 56,100 (present study) specimens per 100 g of sediments. The larger foraminiferal distribution in the Kavaratti lagoon has slightly but undisputedly undergone quantitative and distributional changes over the past three decades. The FORAM Index suggests conducive environment for coral growth in the lagoon. However, definite deterioration due to dredging in the northern lagoon is indicated by the assemblage. The study also records signatures of domestic discharge and predicts a larger impact on the corals since 2004 to 2024.

Possible Link Between the Rainfall and Ridge Seismicity from Episodic GPS Data at Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea

Possible Link Between the Rainfall and Ridge Seismicity from Episodic GPS Data at Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea

Determination of natural radioactivity in coralline beach sands of Lakshadweep Islands (Kavaratti and Minicoy), India

Determination of natural radioactivity in coralline beach sands of Lakshadweep Islands (Kavaratti and Minicoy), India

The maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders and the last glacial maximum aftermath.

The prehistoric human settlement of the Lakshadweep islands remains a mystery for various reasons. Uncertainty about the existence of indigenous tribes in these islands and the lack of folklore records present major obstacles to the reconstruction of Lakshadweep ancestry. However, with extant population data, we seek to understand the maternal ancestry of theKavaratti islanders. Mitochondrial control region variation analysis of 80 individuals from this island shows maternal links with the populations in the northwestern region of the South Asian mainland. The founder clade R30b2, observed in the Kavaratti islanders, is so far present only in the Scheduled Castes from the Punjab region, Jat Sikhs and Nairs. All other mainland populations carry basal R30 or R30a subclades. The presence of a specific Uralic U4 lineage in our samples, in addition to the Indo-European affinity observed in the phylogeny tree, substantiates a northwestern maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders and implies an ancestral admixture with early humans in the Near East at the time of the last glacial maximum (LGM). Based on our Bayesian analysis, we furthermore propose that a group bearing mostly R30b2 during the LGM recovery, moved eastward and southward, where they received Indian-specific M haplogroups. Hence, the maternal ancestry of the Kavaratti islanders is evidently a consequence of the demographic changes in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent caused by the Last Glacial Maximum. The haplogroup distribution pattern and nucleotide sequence data produced in this study will enrich the forensic database of the Lakshadweep islands.

Winter spring assemblage pattern of harpacticoid copepods from lagoon waters of Agatti and Kavaratti, Lakshadweep islands, southeastern Arabian Sea

Winter spring assemblage pattern of harpacticoid copepods from lagoon waters of Agatti and Kavaratti, Lakshadweep islands, southeastern Arabian Sea