Various bird pests caused severe economic losses to valuable crops and fruit orchards all over the world. Among the birds, house sparrow is also considered to cause heavy plunder, not only to seeds of crops but also seedlings especially in organic farming. In present study two bird repellents, methylanthranilate and anthraquinone tested against house sparrows on maize seeds and seedlings in aviary conditions. Trial group in aviary-I, the treated maize seeds and seedlings with different doses of both bird repellents, control group in aviary-II, untreated seeds and seedlings were provided for three hours in the early morning. In each aviary, two closed circuit cameras were also installed to monitor the behavioral responses against different concentrations of both chemical repellents. Statistical analysis showed that there existed highly significant (P<0.01) variations among the trial and control groups for seeds and seedlings. By comparing both repellents, significant (P<0.05) differences were detected and anthraquinone showed better efficacy when compared to methylanthranilate, but in maize seedlings both repellents equal repellent properties. Non-significant (P>0.05) differences were observed in different grading of both natural chemical repellents for maize seeds while significant (P<0.05) variations were noticed for maize seedlings when provided to sparrows. By videotaped behavior sparrows presented manifest head juddering and feather upsetting activities by consumption of treated seeds and seedlings with higher concentrations of both natural bird repellents. Keywords

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Genetic variation in fish stocks decreasing due to water pollution in the freshwater rivers, streams and canals. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity and polymorphism in Oreochromis niloticus collected from the Wadi Hanefah Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by using RAPD-PCR. Total thirty fish specimens were harvested from each of four pre-determined locations of the reservoir which were designated as H1, H2, H3, and H4. Five random decamer primers were used to assess the diversity in the stock of O. niloticus. In this fish stock 48 bands were polymorphic and 12 were monomorphic. The maximum polymorphism (100%) was recorded in the fish samples procured from H4, followed by 88.75, 87.33 and 76.12% of the tilapia collected from H3, H2, and H4, respectively. Nei’s genetic distance value was ranged as 0.0005 to 0.1006. Maximum and minimum genetic distance was recorded as 0.1006 and 0.005 in tilapia harvested from H1 and H2 locations. Average heterozygosity was ranged from 0.3009 to 0.3744. This information about the genetic polymorphism of O. niloticus may be used by the concerned authorities to evolve strategies to conserve the diversity of tilapia in the country.

This study’s objective was to assess a seasonal impact of industrial and sewage waste disposal on water quality of the river upstream Trimu Head. Considering the significance of the river, drain wastewater was analyzed during the summer and the winter seasons from pre-determined locations. Water quality parameters were recorded higher than the maximum permissible limits prescribed by WHO for freshwater bodies. Level of these Physio-chemical variables was higher in the winter due to the least amount of water from domestic sewage. Although some of these parameters indicated sedimentation hitherto the water quality of River Chenab was found very poor due to the pollution bestowed by tributary waste water from drains. Findings of this investigation suggest the importance of continuous monitoring and assessment to improve the water quality of the river. This study provides a baseline data which may be compared to assess any further deterioration in the water quality and may also be used to plan future monitoring and required restoration of habitat for the safe supply of fish to the population of this region.

Background:The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is a freshwater fish that is cultured throughout the world. C. carpio belongs to the family Cyprinidae, the largest family among freshwater teleosts, accounting for 10 % of total fish production. Specifically, the common carp is cultured in more than 100 countries in worldwide and accounts for over 3 million metric tons of total annual freshwater fish production. The population of common carp (C. carpio) is declining in freshwater reservoirs because of various human activities, such as overfishing, pollution, hybridization with domestic carp, and loss of breeding grounds because of habitat degradation. Results:In total, 30 specimens were collected from each of four different locations (WH1, WH2, WH3 and WH4) in the reservoir. Five random decamer primers were used to assay polymorphisms within and between the population of C. carpio. A total of 60 bands were produced by these primers, out of which 50 bands were polymorphic and 10 bands were monomorphic. The mean highest polymorphism (100 %) was observed in the specimen collected from WHS4 stock, followed by 89.05, 87.62 and 76.66 % of the fish collection from WH3, WH2, and WH4, respectively. Nei's genetic distance values ranged from 0.0006 to 0.1005. Highest and lowest genetic distance were 0.1005 and 0.006 in fish collected from WH1 and WH2, respectively. Average value of heterozygosity ranged from 0.3008 to 0.3748.A C. carpio UPGMA dendrogram was constructed to observe fish phylogeny. Phylogenetic clusters by RAPD indicated that fish stock of WH2, WH3, and WH4 were closely related to each other. Conclusion:It was concluded that RAPD analysis can be successfully used as a marker to generate information regarding the percent homology within stock of common carp, which may be used to trace the progeny to the parents and is helpful for the improvement of breeding programs.