Wetlands of North East India : Ecology, Aquatic Bioresources and Conservation

Contents: Preface. 1. Ecology and conservation of Loktak Lake, Manipur: an overview/L. Kosygin and H. Dhamendra. 2. Current status and fisheries enhancement of Rudrasagar Lake in Tripura/S. Munilkumar, A. Paul and A. Dey. 3. Beels of Assam : an overview/P. Das, B.K. Behera and S.V. Ngachan. 4. Ecological status of Deepor Beel, Assam with special reference to its fish and fisheries/B. Acharjee, A. Dutta, D.K. Sharma, P. Das and B.K. Behera. 5. Sacred Khecheopalri lake ecosystem in the Sikkim Himalaya: an overview of its management/A. Jain, E. Sharma, S.C. Rai, J. Pal and H. Birkumar Singh. 6. Floodplain wetlands of Arunachal Pradesh with special reference to fish and fisheries/P. Nath and S.C. Dey. 7. Physico-chemical and biological characteristics of Loukoip wetland, Manipur/H. Dhamendra. 8. Water quality assessment of two water reservoirs of Imphal, Manipur/K.K.K. Mani Bhushan Singh, A. Arunachalam and L. Rawat. 9. Biological monitoring of water quality of Mirik Lake in the Darjeeling Himalaya on the basis of algal communities/D. Mondal, J. Pal, A.K. Biswas and T.K. Ghosh. 10. Fish diversity of North East India/W. Vishwanath. 11. Current status and diversity of ornamental fishes in the floodplain wetlands of upper Brahmaputra basin/J.N. Das and S.P. Biswas. 12. Diversity and ecology of amphibian fauna in the wetlands of Arunachal Pradesh, India/S. Choudhury Bordoloi and M.M. Borah. 13. Wetland birds of Manipur: an overview/Kh. Shamungou and K. Jugeshor. 14. Wetland economic plant resources of Manipur: a profile/A. Jain, S. Roshnibala, H. Birkumar Singh, P.B. Kanjilal and R.K. Sharma. 15. Seasonal and depth-wise variations in the population of enterobacters of Loktak Lake, Manipur/N. Sanamacha Meetei, W. Vishwanath and H. Tombi Singh. 16. Strategies for improving fish production in Loktak Lake, Manipur/B.K. Behera, P. Das and S.V. Ngachan. 17. Diversity, abundance and biomass of planktons in Loktak Lake, Manipur/L. Bijen Meitei, Th. Binoy Singh and H. Tombi Singh. 18. Diversity of Myxobolus (Protozoa: Myxozoa) infecting fresh water fishes of Manipur--a preliminary study on systematics and control measures/N. Mohilal and Th. Hemananda. 19. Prospects and utilization of wetland fish resources in Manipur using traditional preservation techniques/Ch. Sarojnalini, T. Suchitra and N. Jaya. 20. Fish marketing in Manipur/N. Premananda and O. Shashikumar Singh. 21. Conservation of Osteobrama belangeri (Valenciennes) in Manipur: current status and future strategies/Ch. Basudha and N. Samarjit Singh. 22. Impact of human activities and fertilizer industry effluent on water quality and planktonic growth in Disang river at Namrup, Assam/J. Chakravorty and S.J. Khound. 23. Water quality and fish fauna of the Irumbi river, Manipur with a note on prospects of fish and shellfish culture/I. Kosygin, N. Premananda and H. Dhamendra. 24. Ethnomedicozoological study of the aquatic fauna of Manipur/K. Keisham. 25. Community participation and public awareness in the wetland resources management of Manipur/L. Somananda Devi, R.K. Gyaneshwari and R.K. Rajeshwari Devi. 26. Organic farming: an approach for tomorrow’s wetlands ecology/M. Sumarjit Singh. 27. A note on fishers in the high altitude lake ‘Mehao’ in Arunachal Pradesh/B.A. Laskar and D.N. Das. Index.

“Wetlands perform a host of ecological and hydrological functions that benefit mankind. Some of the most important functions of wetlands are their roles in water supply, water purification, recycling of nutrients, recharging of ground water, maintaining stream flow and flood control etc. Wetlands are considered to be the best habitats for fish, wildlife, fodder, fuel, and offer recreation to the society. In spite of its great ecological significance, in recent times, the wetlands are neglected and their habitats degraded due to indiscriminate exploitation of its resources in many parts of India, particularly in the NE region. Now the management and conservation of the wetlands and sustainable utilization of their resources has become one of the greatest challenges of 21 century.

The present book is a synthesis of an intensive research made by several professors, scientists and ecologists over decades on the wetlands of the NE region. Over 26 articles on various aspects of wetlands viz. ecology, limnology, hydrology, microbiology, biology, biodiversity, conservation, community participation, traditional utilization of resource etc. are included. These research articles will play a key role in opening new vista in the field of wetland research and conservation. The book would be immensely useful to everyone dealing with ecology and conservation of wetlands such as wetland managers, conservationists, scientists, researchers, teachers, decision-makers, students and local communities as well.” (jacket)