Scientific Reports in Life Sciences

Loss of soil biodiversity through judicious use of synthetic pesticides; A case study of Trans Nzoia county Kenya

2023-11-05T17:10:54+03:00

Trans Nzoia County is one of Kenya’s leading food basket regions and enjoys favourable climatic conditions for crop production. With climatic change, farmers face challenges of soil infertility and pest and disease infestation, contributing to crop yield losses. Trans Nzoia County farmers rely heavily on synthetic pesticides to boost crop production and yields. In Kenya, 44% of the chemical pesticides used are banned in the EU market. Of these, 76% of the total volume sold contains active ingredients such as glyphosate, mancozeb, and paraquat, categorized as highly hazardous pesticides. Pesticide-intensive agriculture is on the rise in Trans Nzoia County, and the associated pollution are the driving factor in the precipitous decline of soil biodiversity, such as ground-nesting bees and beetles. Also, overreliance on synthetic pesticides contributes to the loss of beneficial soil microorganisms such as mycorrhizal species and earthworms responsible for nitrogen fixation, organic matter decomposition, and water and nutrient absorption. The author provides insights into the extent of the loss of beneficial soil organisms through synthetic pesticides. This review discusses the impacts and costs of pesticide use on soil organisms and policy responses.

Biodiversity of Bajwat Wetland and Wildlife Sanctuary, Sialkot, Pakistan

2024-01-20T23:47:28+03:00

Bajwat Wetland and Wildlife Sanctuary (BWWS) is an internationally important wetland that is located near Sialkot district, Punjab, Pakistan. The present study was conducted for 11 months from October 2020 to August 2021. One to two surveys were conducted per week at dawn and dusk. Data was collected both by direct and indirect observation methods. A total of 23 species of mammals, 22 of herpetofauna, 37 of fish and 107 bird species were recorded during the study period. Out of 107 bird species, 49.53%, 33.64%, 16.53%, 3.73% were resident, winter, summer, and year-round visitors respectively. One bird species Dendrocitta vagabunda (Rufous treepie), also known as Indian treepie is also recorded in the study area that was not reported in earlier studies. Different indexes were also calculated for the avifauna which showed the area was rich in biodiversity. Although Bajwat Wildlife Sanctuary was found very rich in animal fauna however, many threats such as destruction, fragmentation of habitat illegal hunting, human interference in animal breeding sites, lack of awareness, and pollution of water were recorded. These threats might be due to the careless attitude of the wildlife department. It is suggested that the study site should be conserved for noticed threats on priority basis by implementation and regulation of already formed wetland and wildlife sanctuaries rules.

Breeding biology of protected pheasants; a case study of Safari park Malakand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

2023-12-19T20:13:16+03:00

Reproduction is the main function of organisms to produce offspring. Pheasants are birds that breed from March to June every year. Most pheasants lay a clutch of 8 to 15 eggs, sometimes up to 18, but usually 10 to 12 eggs, and the eggs are olive in color. The incubation period for these eggs is approximately twenty-two to twenty-eight days, after which the eggs will hatch and the female will take care of the offspring. In this study, the breeding biology and population status of protected pheasants in Malakand Wildlife Park were examined. The pheasants are carefully cared and well-managed in this studied wildlife park. Information is collected each week from different field visits and questions from existing staff and experts. Data on clutch size and hatching success of different pheasant species were analyzed. The average number of broods for ring-necked pheasants is 15 and for white pheasants is 16. The average of green birds is 9. Likewise, the average of white birds is 7, the average of Indian peacocks is 7, and the average of black pheasants is 4. The growth rate of ring-necked pheasants is 26.6%, the rate of white pheasants is 7.89%, and the rate of black-shouldered pheasants is 16%. The proportion of green pheasants is 37.14%, and that of white pheasants and peacocks is 37.14%. This study aims to understand the brood size and hatching success of different pheasant species protected in Malakand Wildlife Safari Park.

Some soil parameters in relation to macrophyte abundance along the Manatee habitat along River Benue, Nigeria

2024-01-20T22:59:48+03:00

Some soil parameters as well as the aquatic flora along river Benue were analyzed.The results indicated that ten plants were identified as manatee food plants and these include; Cynodon, dactylon, Digitaria horizontalis, Eichornia crassipes, Ipomea aquatica, Vossia cuspidata, Viteveria flavibarbis, Quisqualis indica, Polygonium acuminatum, Pistia stratiotes and cardiospermun halicacabum, the most palatable species were Vossia cuspidata, Viteveria flavibarbis, Digitaria horizontalis, Eichornia crassipes in decreasing order. There was significant differences in the pH value of soils in the four sampling stations. The pH value for Abinsi (6.50) and Makurdi (6.68) were not significantly different from those of Gbaji (7.70) and Gbajimba (7.68). This is interesting in that the gradient along the river would have indicated otherwise. The potassium content of the soil in the four sampling stations did not indicate any significant differences as well as the phosphorus content of the soil. The potassium content of the soil ranged from 2.74Mg/kg in Makurdi to 2.78Mg/kg in Abinsi while the phosphorus content was between 0.46 Mg/kg for Gbaji to 0.72Mg/kg in Abinsi. The soil Nitrogen content indicate significant differences in the four sampling stations in the study area. The value in Abinsi (3.74Mg/kg) and Gbajimba (4.10Mg/kg) are significantly different from those of Gbaji (5.12mg/kg) and Makurdi (4.22Mg/kg) and Abinsi-Gbajimba and that of Gbaji. The soil parameter in the four sampling stations relate with the plant species richness of the stations and agrees with the report of FAO (2018) that soils and vegetation have a reciprocal relationship.

The First Record of Euphorbia hirta L. (Euphorbiaceae) in the flora of Libya

2023-12-06T02:55:05+03:00

Euphorbia hirta L. belong to the family Euphorbiaceae is a crispy hairy cauterized by its large laceolate – elliptic serrate leaves with cyathia grouped in axillary capitate cymes. This species is recorded here for the first time in the flora of Libya, the specimens were collected from Gabes about 100 km east of Tobruk city in North East part of Libya. Morphological description is provided to facilitate further identification of this species and to warrant its future detection as well, the plant specimens are given voucher number (7689528), and then the Voucher specimens were deposited at the National herbarium of Botany Department, Faculty of Science, University of Tripoli (ULT).

The first report of Hoploleura sciuricola infestation in a gray squirrel in Iran

2023-02-17T09:53:14+03:00

The popularity and maintenance of the Iranian gray squirrel have been increasing in the last decade. However, due to the special conditions of keeping and the exotic nature of this animal, the possibility of transmission of pathogenic objects such as bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and the transmission of many common diseases between humans and animals are raised in a case study of a collar infestation. The female squirrel was observed to be 65 days old and morphological examinations revealed the possibility of infestation with Hoploleura sciuricola lice. Previously, there were no reports of infestation with this louse in Iran. To accurately determine the sex and species of this louse, two pairs of primers designed from the mitochondrial gene (COX-I) that had protected regions in the genus of this louse were used, which led to the confirmation of the identity of the infestation and the first report of the existence of this louse in Iran was confirmed.