Occurrence, Distribution and Morphological Description of 11 Species of Endemic Giant Pill-Millipedes of the Genus Arthrosphaera (Diplopoda: Sphaerotheriida: Arthrosphaeridae) in Southern India
The endemic giant pill-millipedes belonging to the genus Arthrosphaera has a long history of occurrence and distribution in the Indian Subcontinent. According to the earlier and recent records, up to 40 species of Arthrosphaera are confined to southern India and Sri Lanka. Being detritus feeders, they are sensitive to narrow range of abiotic factors and their population is dwindling due to severe human interference especially landscape modification or modern forestry/agricultural practices. There is an urgent need to update the status, occurrence and distribution in distinct ecological conditions of pill-millipedes in southern India as they are important component in organic matter decomposition as well as nutrient turn over in the forests or plantations. Based on recent surveys, the present study attempts to update occurrence, distribution and morphological description (light and scanning electron microscopy) with a diagnostic key for identification of 11 species of pill-millipedes occurring in the Western Ghats of India with commentary on their distribution pattern in different ecological conditions and impact of edaphic factors.
Observations on pill-millipedes of the Western Ghats (India).
This paper deals with general information on the distribution, ecology, bioconversion, systematics, conservation and highlights the gaps in our knowledge on the rare and endemic pill-millipedes belonging to the genus Arthrosphaera of the Western Ghats of India. So far about 50 morphospecies of Arthrosphaera have been reported from India and Sri Lanka. Arthrosphaera showed restricted distribution and endemic to specific geographic locations of the Western Ghats due to limited dispersal ability and they are rare in west coast locations. They invade organically managed plantations in the Western Ghats and their biomass was positively correlated with soil moisture, soil organic carbon and soil calcium. However, their richness was higher in the forests than plantations due to accessibility to heterogeneous organic matter. Four Arthrosphaera spp. maintained on the mixed leaf litter diet under laboratory conditions showed 75% survival at the end of 12 months. Arthrospaherapossess good ability of conversion of decomposed leaf litter in to organic manure in the form faecal pellets. Systematics of Arthrosphaera currently based mainly on morphology and a few studies dealt with chromosome and molecular biology. As these pill-millipedes are sensitive to narrow spatial scales, their occurrence or invasion of a specific location denotes improved soil qualities. Based on the ex situ maintenance, pill-millipedes serve as good candidates for compost production using biodegradable solid wastes. Strategies necessary for ex situ and in situ conservation of pill-millipedes have been suggested.
Emerging infectious diseases in cetaceans worldwide and the possible role of environmental stressors.
We reviewed prominent emerging infectious diseases of cetaceans, examined their potential to impact populations, re-assessed zoonotic risk and evaluated the role of environmental stressors. Cetacean morbilliviruses and papillomaviruses as well as Brucella spp. and Toxoplasma gondii are thought to interfere with population abundance by inducing high mortalities, lowering reproductive success or by synergistically increasing the virulence of other diseases. Severe cases of lobomycosis and lobomycosis-like disease (LLD) may contribute to the death of some dolphins. The zoonotic hazard of marine mammal brucellosis and toxoplasmosis may have been underestimated, attributable to frequent misdiagnoses and underreporting, particularly in developing countries and remote areas where carcass handling without protective gear and human consumption of fresh cetacean products are commonplace. Environmental factors seem to play a role in the emergence and pathogenicity of morbillivirus epidemics, lobomycosis/LLD, toxoplasmosis, poxvirus-associated tattoo skin disease and, in harbour porpoises, infectious diseases of multifactorial aetiology. Inshore and estuarine cetaceans incur higher risks than pelagic cetaceans due to habitats often severely altered by anthropogenic factors such as chemical and biological contamination, direct and indirect fisheries interactions, traumatic injuries from vessel collisions and climate change.