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The Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica Roxburgh) of Subansiri River may be in great danger of extinction due to the construction of the 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Project, which started in 2006. A recent survey indicates that there are now 29 Ganges dolphins, up from 21 in 2006. It is feared that drastic changes would occur in the downstream hydrology and ecology of the Subansiri River after the installation of the project, scheduled for 2012. The water discharge during a major part of the day in dry months would come down to a meager 6 cumecs from the present average of 450 cumecs (1 cumec is shorthand for cubic meter per second; also cms, or m 3 /s (m 3 s -1 ). Riverine mega fauna like the dolphin would be worst hit by this extremely low discharge. Dumping of an extra amount of sediment from different construction phases has already increased sediment load in the Subansiri downstream and degraded some earlier pockets of dolphin up to 20 km below the dam site. There is reason to believe that high sediment influx might have silted up some of the deeper pools downstream, a preferred habitat of dolphins, forcing them to congregate close to the confluence of the Subansiri.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of scales in six species of the fish genus Channa revealed certain features relevant to taxonomic significance. The location of focus, inter-radial distance and width of circuli, inter-circular space, width of radii, shape and size of lepidonts, etc. were found to be different in different species. The importance of SEM of scales in poorly understood taxonomy and phylogeny of the fish genus Channa is discussed with the help of relevant literature. Further, the role of SEM of fish scales for taxonomic applications is discussed in detail.

Reproductive biology of spiny eel Macrognathus pancalus Hamilton, 1822 was studied from the waterbodies of upper Assam, India. Sexual dimorphism was easily distinguished based on their body shape and colouration. Among the 467 fish samples examined, 312 males and 155 females were identified and the Male:Female (M:F) ratio ranged from 1:0.08 in November to 1:2.17 in June with overall sex ratio of 1:0.5. Five maturity stages were identified in a year and percentage distribution of each stage was calculated. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) ranged from 0.42 to 8.08 for females and from 0.33 to 1.25 for males. The length at 50% of the fishes attained maturity (Lm50) was 9-12 cm in males and at 12-15 cm in females, indicating males matures at moderately smaller size than their female counterparts. Ova diameter ranged from 0.3 to 1.3 mm; absolute fecundity ranged from 765.48 to 1691.96 and relative fecundity from 57.9 to 152.17. M. pancalus spawned once in a year with peak spawning between June and August.