Biodiversity
« Previous EntriesCorticolous lichens as indicators of forest management regimes in the Dotalugala area of Knuckles mountain range – Sri Lanka
Thursday, December 9th, 2010G. Weerakoon1, S. Somaratne2, P.A. Wolseley3 and S.C. Wijeyaratne1
1Department of Botany, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
2Department of Botany, The Open University of Sri Lanka
3Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, United Kingdom
Lichens have been widely considered as bioindicators of forest health and ecological continuity as well as atmospheric pollution. The use of [...]
Invasive alien species in Indian ornamental industry
Thursday, December 9th, 2010
S. Rameshkumar, K. Manivannan, C.T. Sathappan and J. Padmanaban
Annamalai University, India
Quantum jump of increase in the awareness about global warming and environmental pollution made the mind set of industries, institutions, corporate and even common man to think about finding a solution to it. Establishment of ornamental gardens and green belt development in the surroundings [...]
Diversity and distribution of mangrove flora in the Attaragoda wetland, Galle with some notes on avifauna
Monday, March 22nd, 2010B. Jayasekara1, I.R. Wedage2 and P. N. Dayawansa2
Attaragoda is a mangrove wetland situated in the Southern Coast (Latitude: 6 1′ 60N, Longitude: 80
15′ 0E), 3km outside Galle. This luxuriant patch of mangrove forest faces immense pressure due to human activities. Diversity and distribution of mangrove species in relation to salinity levels and species
richness of avifauna [...]
Diversity of medicinal plants in the Mihinthale sanctuary
Monday, March 22nd, 2010A. Herath1, C. Karunanayake1 and S. Wijesundara2
Sri Lanka contains an enormous biodiversity of medicinal plants. Flora of Sri Lanka reports that there
are 3368 angiosperms in Sri Lanka, out of which 20% are medicinal. There is a growing demand for medicinal plants in primary health care. However, the local supply of medicinal plants can not meet [...]
Herpetofaunal diversity and distribution in Kalugala proposed forest reserve in Sri Lanka
Monday, March 22nd, 2010W.M.S. Botejue and J. Wattewidanage
This study reports species richness, abundance and diversity of herpetofauna in the Kalugala Proposed
Forest Reserve (KPFR). KPFR is a primary lowland tropical rain forest, surrounded by secondary and disturbed vegetation due to human activities like cultivation, logging and collecting firewood. Herpetofaunal communities of these different habitats (closed forest, ecotone, home gardens [...]
How do Sri Lankan shrub frogs Philautus popularis spend their night time: Field observations from Bolgoda wetland complex
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010H.G.S.K. Dayananda and D.D. Wickramasinghe
Sri Lanka is an amphibian hot spot providing home for 109 species. Nevertheless, studies on ecology and biology of amphibians of Sri Lanka are scarce and behaviour of frogs has drawn even less attention. Philautus popularis (Ranidae, Rhacophorinae; Manamendra-Arachchi & Pethiyagoda, 2005) is an endemic shrub frog which occurs in the [...]
Distribution and population parameters of selected tree species in Gilimale and Kithulgala Forest Reserve
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010S. S. Ranathunga and B.M.P Singhakumara
Field surveys have not been carried out in Sri Lanka to gather the population data on critically endangered tree species in their habitats. The population data on the critically endangered tree species are important to understand the present status of the population. In this study, the population data of seven [...]
Baseline Survey on Biodiversity in up country tea estates in Sri Lanka
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010G.G.T. Chandrathilake1
Conventional tea plantation was assessed in terms of biodiversity in up country tea estates in Sri Lanka. A rapid survey was carried out to document the both faunal and floral diversity associated in selected nine (9) tea estate in Nuwara Eliya district an areas that have not been properly surveyed for biodiversity. Based on [...]
Effects of carbofuran on survival and growth of Duttaphrynus melanostictus tadpoles
Thursday, March 4th, 2010M.R. Wijesinghe, B.A.D.M.C. Jayatillake and W.D. Ratnasooriya
This study investigated the impact of a commonly used carbamate pesticide, carbofuran, on survival, growth, development and activity of larvae of the Asian Common Toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus Schneider 1999. Continuous exposure trials of 15 days were conducted using tadpoles of Gosner stages 24-25 with a commercial grade carbofuran (Curaterr [...]
Diversity and microhabitats of termites in a natural and a secondary forest in Hantane hills, Kandy District
Thursday, March 4th, 2010I.I. Hemachandra, 1,2, J.P. Edirisinghe 1, W.A.I.P. Karunaratne 1, C.V.S. Gunatilleke3
Termites (Isoptera) are the most important decomposers in tropical rain forests and are vital in maintaining nitrogen and carbon cycles. They are sensitive to disturbances, especially to forest canopy losses and hence are one of the important bioindicator taxa. The documented termite fauna of Sri [...]
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