This study was designed to study gross morphological and basic osteometric features of the digit bones of Chinkara. The osteometry were performed manually through a digital vernier calliper on twenty (20) adult Chinkara (10 each male and females). The digits of Chinkara in each limb comprised the lateral and medial proximal, middle and distal phalanx. The first two phalanges were long bones. The shaft of the phalanx proximalis (P1) was thick proximally than distally and slightly arched. The phalanx media (P2) was shorter in length than the proximal. Its proximal articular surface was divided into two glenoid cavities "axial and abaxial' by a dorsopalmar ridge. The phalanx distalis (P3) was triangular, with four surfaces and six borders. The descriptive analysis indicates, no statistically significant (p>0.05) differences between the lateral and medial phalanges of all measured parameters. All the measured parameters for the digits of the forelimb were statistically significantly different (p>0.05) between male and female adult Chinkara except greatest Length (Lg) of the phalanx media of the forelimb. Similarly, significant differences (p>0.05) were present in all the studied parameters of the P1, P2 and P3 of the hindlimb except for maximum breadth of the shaft (Bs) of the P2.

Authors' Contribution YL and PX conceived and designed the study. PX and YL conducted field survey. SZ performed the satellite image interpretation. YL, PX and BL analyzed the data and drafted this manuscript. Key words Wuyi mountain area, Rodents, Diversity index, Similarity index, Live traps methodRodents are important components of animal communities in forest ecosystems. This study investigated rodent species diversity in Jiangxi Wuyi Mountain National Nature Reserve of China in 2014-2015. Rodents were trapped at nine selected sampling sites varying in altitude for evaluating their diversity. Consequently, 16 rodent species belonging to eight families were recorded. Out of 376 individuals of rodent species trapped (capture rate = 4.7%), Apodemus agrarius, Eothenomys melanogaster, Niviventer fulvescens and N. confucicianus were identified as dominant species with relative abundances over 10%, in which N. fulvescens and N. confucicianus were trapped in eight and seven habitat types, respectively, indicating a larger altitude span of their distribution ranges. Bamboo planting areas were found to possess more rodent species than other habitats. Crocidura Dracula, Micromys minutus, Lepus sinensis, A. agrarius, Rattus nitidu, Tamiops swinhoei and R. norvegicus were each trapped in only one habitat. Among habitats, bamboo planting areas showed the highest diversity index and richness index of rodent community, while farmland harbored the highest dominance index and lowest diversity index. Rodent communities were classified into three categories, namely meadow type, forest type, and farmland type. The present study provides a comprehensive inventory of rodent species diversity of the reserve, and is of great significance in the protection and construction of biodiversity in the forest ecosystem of Wuyi Mountain area.

Abstract. Ogi NLIM, Herawati EY, Risjani Y, Mahmudi M. 2021. Biodiversity of epiphytic periphyton in the leaves of the seagrass bed of Talawaan Bajo Estuary, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4857-4864. This study aimed to analyze the diversity of epiphytic periphyton on the leaves of the seagrass bed of Talawaan Bajo estuary North Sulawesi Indonesia. The study was performed in three sampling points by using the line transect method with 50x50 cm2. The sampling points were located in front of the residential area, the mangrove forest, and in budo Cape. Seagrass and periphyton communities were analyzed for species density, relative frequency, diversity, evenness, and dominance index. Water quality and heavy metal Hg were also measured. The results showed that Cymodocea rotundata was the dominant seagrass based on species density and frequency distribution. Periphyton composition on the leaf of C. rotundata consisted of Bacillariophyceae (16 genera), Cyanophyceae (3 genera), Chlorophyceae (9 genera), Dinophyceae (1 genus), and Rhodophyceae (1 genus). The water quality, such as phosphate, current, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and Hg content in the water, contributed to changing the environmental condition of Talawaan Bajo waters. Therefore, the efforts to manage coastal resource conservation in the Talawaan Bajo estuary require more concern from the government and stakeholders of Talawaan Bajo.