Minicoy Island Research Articles

Integrating marine debris into socioeconomic monitoring: Informing local actions in Minicoy Island, India and charting a new global approach

In 2019, the authors introduced the topic of anthropogenic marine debris into the Global Socioeconomic Monitoring Initiative for Coastal Management (SocMon) during an assessment conducted at Minicoy Island in India. SocMon is a process-based approach and set of tools for conducting community-based socio-economic monitoring of changes in coastal communities that has been adopted and adapted worldwide through the Global SocMon network. It provides an experiential learning opportunity that often leads to community driven action. By adding marine debris into this assessment, it is hoped that the data collected, along with the authors' experience and analysis, will provide a baseline and support resource management changes locally and provide lessons for other SocMon researchers. Further, this paper shows that SocMon provides an opportunity to assess changes caused by plastics or other marine debris not only in the physical environment, but also within a community and society.

Variations in Seasonal Phytoplankton Assemblages as a Response to Environmental Changes in the Surface Waters of Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep

Phytoplankton, the primary producers in all aquatic systems, play an important key role in biogeochemical processes that are linked to higher trophic levels and climate variability. The spatio temporal composition and abundance of micro phytoplankton species was examined in relation to physical and chemical surface water variables (i.e., Salinity, temperature and nutrients). The primary objectives of the study were to observe the variations in phytoplankton species assemblages as a response to environmental variables. Hierarchiel cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling were used to find out distinct seasonal groups based on the composition of phytoplankton. The results indicate that several key environmental factors like temperature, salinity and nutrients like nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silicate influenced seasonal phytoplankton assemblages within the lagoon waters. The distribution of phytoplankton population showed main groups where the blue green algae populations favored the warmer conditions of pre-monsoon period, whereas the diatom population primarily flourished in the post monsoon and monsoon period. The present study deals with the phytoplankton community structure in the Indian Ocean, Lakshadweep Archipelago, Minicoy Island, particularly in the surface water with respect to environmental variables to understand the region-specific dominant community and its governing environmental settings.

Techno-economic analysis of solar photo-voltaic/diesel generator hybrid system using different energy storage technologies for isolated islands of India

This paper exclusively investigates techno-economic performance of solar photo-voltaic (SPV)/diesel generator (DG) hybrid system using four different battery energy storage (BES) technologies namely lead acid battery, lithium ion battery, vanadium redox battery, and zinc bromine flow (ZBF) for the isolated Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands of India. The analysis has been performed using Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software at Baratang and Minicoy islands of Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep, respectively, in which SPV/DG/ZBF hybrid system (20 kW SPV, 7 kW DG, 100 kWh ZBF batteries and 20 kW converter) found to be most techno-economic viable optimized solution for both locations. The net present cost, levelized cost of energy, and operating cost of this configuration are found to be $23927.21, $0.167/kWh and $338.20, respectively, for Baratang island; and $22366.64, $0.155/kWh and $217.49, respectively, for Minicoy island. Using this system as baseline configuration, analysis was extended to different BES technologies to evaluate the performance parameters like system cost, return of investment, simple payback period, energy produced, pollutant emissions, renewable penetration etc. The effectiveness of the ZBF technology is justified with the obtained results which show highest value of return of investment and renewable penetration with lowest simple payback period and pollutant emission. Finally, sensitivity analysis of the system was performed using a unique three-dimensional approach.

Surface cyclopoid copepod assemblages in relation to environmental conditions near undisturbed coral reefs of Minicoy, southeastern Arabian Sea, a part of the Indian Ocean

AbstractThe cruise conducted in the spring inter‐monsoon (pre‐monsoon) of April 2015 in the frame of a funded project epitomized an open ocean survey that allowed procuring a quasi‐synoptic picture of cyclopoid copepod community structure in 18 open ocean stations of the Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep archipelago, off the southwestern Indian coast, based on the analysis of standing stock and composition in the integrated 0–10 m water column. The main objective was to explore the community structure of cyclopoid copepods prevailing here and which environmental variable influences the same. It is witnessed that sea surface temperature (SST) (30.42 ± 0.19°C), sea surface salinity (SSS) (33.56 ± 1.15 psu), and dissolved oxygen (DO) (4.32 ± 0.06 ml/L) with SSS and DO are the best matching variables diversifying cyclopoid copepod species (av. abundance 700 ± 386 no. of individuals/100 m3). Average zooplankton biomass (0.03 ml/m3) and abundance (8,989 ± 3,866 no. of individuals/100 m3) were also observed. Fifty‐one cyclopoid copepod species belonging to four families and seven genera were identified, with the dominance of high saline species such as Sapphirina, Copilia, Farranula, and Oncaea. An abundance biomass curve (ABC) plot analysis indicated an undisturbed community with normal environmental conditions. TAXDTEST (taxonomic distinctness) depicted a diverse condition where all points clustered together within a 95% confidence level. Our results indicate that the cyclopoid copepod assemblage near Minicoy Island is a diverse, undisturbed community and hypothesize that the stable environmental conditions during pre‐monsoon (spring inter‐monsoon) preferred the diversification of cyclopoid copepods with the prevalence of high saline species. The data evolved could be used as a standard reference/benchmark to detect any deviation from an undisturbed/diverse community status of Minicoy Island in the looming scenario of climate change in and around the Indian Ocean.

Assessment of litter in the remote beaches of Lakshadweep Islands, Arabian Sea

The objective of this study was to obtain baseline data on litter from three beaches of the Lakshadweep Islands (Kadmat, Suheli Par, and Minicoy). At each site, three transects of 20 × 20 m of the foreshore and intertidal zone were sampled during low tide. All macro litter (size >2.5 cm to <1 m) within each transect were collected and counted. A total of 1231 litter items belonging to 22 categories were recorded. The highest average abundance (193 ± 97 items/400 m2) of marine litter was found in Kadmat, followed by Suheli Par (154 ± 31items/400 m2) and Minicoy (63 ± 49 items/400 m2) islands. The Clean Coast Index (CCI) suggests that Minicoy Island has a clean beach (CCI 3.15) while Suheli Par (CCI 8) and Kadmat (CCI 10) were moderate. The primary contributing sources of litter on the beaches were fishing (45%) and public (34%). Better management practices are required to control litter sources.

Near reef abundance and on–offshore distribution of tuna larvae around Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep Sea, India

ABSTRACTNear reef abundance and coast–offshore distribution of tuna larvae around Minicoy Island were studied based on three cruises carried out on board FORV Sagar Sampada during 2014–15. The samples were collected by oblique tows using bongo twin nets (300 micron) for three seasons (Fall inter-monsoon (FIM), Spring inter-monsoon (SIM) and Summer monsoon (SM)) in six on–offshore stations ranging from 1 to 20 km off-shore of the Minicoy. Results indicated that the tuna larvae aggregate in the near reef waters and total tuna larvae abundance (all the species combined) shows a decreasing trend towards off-shore. Tuna larvae are found to be more abundant during SM and FIM. Comparison of the species-wise variation in tuna larvae for one season (SM) indicated that the larvae of Euthunnus affinis (32.5%) dominated among the tuna species, followed by Auxis spp. (31.6%), Thunnus spp. (3.9%) and Katsuwonus pelamis (2.7%). A pattern of highest larvae abundance in the near reef areas was observed except for Thunnus larvae. GAM indicated that mean seawater temperature and mean seawater salinity are the major environmental factors that significantly influence the larvae abundance, particularly for Thunnus followed by Katsuwonus pelamis, E. affinis and Auxis spp. The study confirms that the environmental parameters show high variation between stations and among transects as a result of the complex oceanographic characteristics around the islands. Further studies with better understanding of the larvae dynamics and their association with the environmental parameters including physical processes are essential to elucidate these relationships more clearly.

Distribution of mosquito fauna in Minicoy - Lakshadweep islands, India

The aim of the study was to know breeding sources, distribution dynamics, species diversity and entomological indices of mosquito fauna to predict risk of vector borne disease (VBDs) transmission. Immature sampling sites were selected randomly. Houses were inspected for the presence of larval infestation, Immature were collected by dipping and pipetting method. Predominant breeding sources at Minicoy were found to be coconut shells, discarded plastic containers, open wells, discarded drainage tank, flower pot and earthen pot. Four vector and one non-vector species were collected during monsoon season such as Aedes (Aedes) alopictus (53.23%), Aedes (Aedes) aegypti (39.75%), Anopheles (Cellia) stephensi (1.75%), Culex (Culex) quinquefasciatus (5.25%) and Armigeres (Armigeres) subalbatus. Entomological indices such as House Index (HI), Container Index (CI), Breateu Index (BI) and Pupal Index (PI) showed high values such as 25.26, 4.8, 36.02 and 90.86 respectively during monsoon season. As a result of high level of BI risk of disease transmission is high in Minicoy Island. The entomological indices for Dengue vectors are high, hence stringent vector control measures needs to be implemented at Minicoy Island.

A new species of Tortanus (Atortus) (Copepoda, Calanoida, Tortanidae) from Minicoy Island, southeastern Arabian Sea

A new species of the planktonic calanoid copepod genus Tortanus, subgenus Atortus, is described from a coral reef lagoon of Minicoy Island, southeastern Arabian Sea. The new species is included in the tropicus group, which is mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of Southeast Asia. The species can be distinguished from all other species of the tropicus group by the asymmetrical fifth pedigerous somite with notched left margin and triangular lobe in the right, hyaline coupling device with larger left process, 2 ventrolateral spines in the genital compound somite, and caudal rami with 2 medial rounded processes in the female. In the male, serrated ridge of the right antennule slightly raised from the surface plane, beak-shaped medial process on the right fifth leg coxa, triangular medial process on the basis, and strongly curved subdistal seta on the left fifth leg. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences of the specimens obtained with 642 base pairs confirmed the female?male correspondence and revealed the genetic identity of the species, which is herein compared with mtCOI sequences of congeners.

The peopling of Lakshadweep Archipelago

The archipelago of Lakshadweep is considered as a stopover to the maritime route since ancient time. It is not very clear when the human first occupied these islands, however in the long history of the islands, the local legends suggest that Lakshadweep has been ruled by different kingdoms. To have a better understanding of peopling of Lakshadweep, we have analysed 557 individuals from eight major islands for mitochondrial DNA and 166 individuals for Y chromosome markers. We found a strong founder effect for both paternal and maternal lineages. Moreover, we report a close genetic link of Lakshadweep islanders with the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India. Most of the Lakshadweep islands share the haplogroups specific to South Asia and West Eurasia, except Minicoy Island that also shares haplogroups of East Eurasia. The paternal and maternal ancestries of the majority of island populations suggest their arrival from distinct sources. We found that the maternal ancestry was closer to South Indian populations, whereas the paternal ancestry was overwhelmed with the haplogroups, more common in the Maldives and North of India. In conclusion, our first genetic data suggest that the majority of human ancestry in Lakshadweep is largely derived from South Asia with minor influences from East and West Eurasia.

Cyclone &lt;i&gt;Ockhi&lt;/i&gt; and its Impact Over Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

Cyclone &lt;i&gt;Ockhi&lt;/i&gt; and its Impact Over Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

Island Ecosystems Host Rich Diversity in Coconut (Cocos nucifera): Evidences from Minicoy Island, India

Oceanic island ecosystems present immense opportunities for the study of species evolution due to their isolated geographical nature and presence of highly rich species diversity. Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of four distinct coconut groups, viz. Giant, Ordinary, Micro and Mini Micro types of Minicoy Island, India, was carried out using morphological traits and microsatellite markers. The morphological data set, analysed using principal component analysis, revealed high genetic variability for fruit component traits. The occurrence of Laccadive Mini Micro Tall palms, bearing the smallest coconuts in the world, was observed in the island. The nuts of these palms had a low copra content of 5 g/nut, but high oil content of around 73%. A total of 70 alleles were detected among the four distinct coconut groups of the Island using 19 polymorphic microsatellite markers with a mean of 3.68 alleles per locus. The fixation index ranged from 0.153 to 0.424 indicating highly variable levels of inbreeding in these populations. Pair-wise population matrix formed by Nei’s genetic identity showed that Laccadive Mini Micro Tall was genetically distinct from all other groups. The study revealed the presence of rich coconut diversity in islands and highlights the importance of exploration and conservation of such diverse accessions with rare genes for utilizing them in crop improvement.

Behaviour of Short-finned Pilot Whales Globicephala macrorhynchus (Gray, 1846) (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Delphinidae) in the southeastern Arabian Sea

We report the presence and behaviour of a pod of short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus in the southeastern Arabian Sea. The pod was observed in the southeastern side of Minicoy Island, in the Nine degree channel (09°219′23′′N;74°39′529′′E) on 03.02.2013. Later, on 06.02.2013,the same pod of pilot whales were observed near Kalpeni Island (10°02′402′′N; 73°39′579′′E) 130 km northwest of the previous location. The average length of the whales was estimated as 550 cm and weight as approximately 1200 kg. They were travelling in a northwesterly direction. The pod size of the whales sighted was twelve and several species specific behaviour such as side rolling, spyhopping, lobtailing, peduncle arching and movement patterns such as synchronous travelling and logging could be observed. The occurrence of scars and injuries on the body of four whales in the pod are also reported.

Biodiversity and seasonal variation of benthic macrofauna in Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

From the Indian coast only limited data are available on the benthic fauna of the seagrass communities. In this study, seasonal variation in the distribution of macrobenthos and influence of environmental parameters was explored at four seagrass beds and two mangrove stations along the Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India, from September 1999 to August 2001. A total of 160 macrobenthic species from eight major groups represented the macrofauna of the Minicoy Island. Of the identified taxa, molluscs 70 (gastropods 41.46%, bivalves 7.5%), polychaetes 27 (16.88%), crustaceans 30 (18.75%), echinoderms 11 (6.88%) and remaining others. Average seasonal abundance of benthic macrofauna ranged from 219 to 711 ind./m2, species diversity varied from 1.45 to 3.64 bits per individual, species richness index ranged from 4.01 to 26.17, evenness 0.69 to 1.66. In general, the higher abundance and species diversity was noticed in southern seagrass stations and northern seagrass stations, but in the mangrove stations comparatively low species diversity was observed. Three-way analysis of variance indicated that all communities resulted as being significantly different between seagrass and mangrove station, mainly when the seasonal interaction was considered. Multivariate analyses were employed to help define benthic characteristic and the relationship between environmental parameters at the six monitoring stations. Results of cluster analyses and multidimensional scale plot suggest that for mangrove region, different physiographic provinces, lower salinity, dissolved oxygen and sediment biotic structure have a higher influence on the species composition and diversity than other oceanographic conditions.

A Study on Academic Anxiety among Adolescents of Minicoy Island

A Study on Academic Anxiety among Adolescents of Minicoy Island

New polychaete records from seagrass beds at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

Species composition, distribution and taxonomic description of polychaete fauna in the seagrass beds of the Minicoy lagoon, Lakshadweep, India were studied during 1999–2001. In 4 stations, 27 species of polychaetes belonging to 14 genera were identified. Of these 27 species, 10 species of polychaetes, belonging to 8 genera under 6 families, comprise new distributional records from Minicoy Island, and the descriptions of these species are provided. Among these, Glycera lancadivae, G. tesselata, and Eurythoe matthaii are found to be the most dominant species.

GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR LAKSHADWEEP ISLAND—A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACT The major problem encountered by the islanders in the Lakshadweep group of Islands, India, is the limited availability of fresh water for drinking and cooking purposes. Groundwater is the only source of fresh water. The demand for groundwater is increasing every year due to growing population and urbanization. A proper understanding of the groundwater condition is important in order to meet this increasing demand and to formulate future development and management strategies. It is in this context, principal hydrogeological units, water table fluctuation pattern, general groundwater potential, existing groundwater withdrawal structures and draft, water quality, etc., have been studied in the Minicoy Island of Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India, through field investigations and secondary data collection. To improve the availability of fresh water to meet the increasing drinking water demand various management strategies such as, roof-top rain water harvesting, artificial recharge of groundwater through already existing wells and ponds, public participation in water conservation and wise-use of groundwater, etc, have been attempted. The experience and success of these experimentations are briefly presented in this paper.

Stone Anchors from Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

Lakshadweep Islands lie on the sea route between South Asia, Far East and African countries. Being on the trade route, boats and ships used the islands of Lakshadweep as a stopover to take on fresh water. Lakshadweep Islands played an important role in the shipping route before the opening of the Suez Canal. In order to understand the earliest human habitation at Lakshadweep Islands archaeological exploration was conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and (National Institute of Oceanography) NIO and varieties of pottery, Roman coins and Buddha heads were recovered at Androth, Kadmat, Kavaratti and Minicoy. In addition to these finds, in recent past an Indo-Arabian type of stone anchor has come to light at the Jama Mosque of Funhilol of Minicoy. The anchor was used as a lintel at the entrance of the mosque. Further study shows that ring stone anchors were used by the fishermen of Minicoy until the 20th century. Similarly, ring stone anchors which are popularly known as ‘fanaa’ were used by the fishermen of Maldives in recent years. The stone anchors of Minicoy and Maldives resemble stone anchors recovered from other parts of India. Ring stone anchors were used in Minicoy and Maldives till the advent of iron anchors. In this paper an attempt has been made to describe the Indo-Arabian stone anchor of Jama Mosque of Funhilol of Minicoy and ring stone anchor of Minicoy and their importance. Further, a comparative study of the ring stone anchors of India and other parts of the world has been made with the anchors of Minicoy and Maldives.

Microsatellite development and survey of genetic variation in skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis

A survey of five newly developed microsatellite DNA markers in skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis revealed high levels of polymorphism in two samples off the west coast of India (Minicoy Island and Kochi coast) and one sample off the Japan coast. Although significant differentiation (P &lt; 0·01) in the number of specific alleles was observed between Minicoy and Kochi samples, the F‐statistics values among the samples were very low (average = 0·0014) and not significant (P = 0·284).

Artificial neural network based models for forecasting electricity generation of grid connected solar PV power plant

This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) approach for forecasting the performance of electric energy generated output from a working 25-kWp grid connected solar PV system and a 100-kWp grid connected PV system installed at Minicoy Island of Union Territory of Lakshadweep Islands. The ANN interpolates among the solar PV generation output and relevant parameters such as solar radiation, module temperature and clearness index. In this study, three ANN models are implemented and validated with reasonable accuracy on real electric energy generation output data. The first model is univariate based on solar radiation and the output values. The second model is a multivariate model based on module temperature along with solar radiation. The third model is also a multivariate model based on module temperature, solar radiation and clearness index. A forecasting performance measure such as percentage root mean square error has been presented for each model. The second model, which gives the most accurate results, has been used in forecasting the generation output for another PV system with similar accuracy.

DMSP-SSM/I retrieval of proper surface winds during monsoon depression

Recently developed various global microwave algorithms for DMSP-SSM/I satellite data are used for the estimation of surface winds over the Indian ocean. Sea surface wind speeds from these algorithms are compared with sea surface wind speeds reported by coincidental Minicoy island (lowest height 2 m a.s.l.) station over the Arabian sea. A statistical comparison of these algorithms is made in terms of rms error, correlation coefficient, bias and standard deviation. Algorithm of Petty showed best results in the comparison. On the basis of this algorithm a notable characteristic feature such as acquiring of large area of strong surface winds (12-15 ms-1) to the south of dipping of monsoon trough in head Bay and then encircling of these winds during further development of low and depression (22-27 July 1992) is observed. This complete life cycle monitoring assessment of monsoon depression in respect of surface winds based on DMSP-SSM/I satellite data encourages to utilise our IRS-P4 (Oceansat-1) satellite data at different frequencies to emerge more details of various weather systems over the Indian region.