Karuthapandi M

The present study investigated zooplankton composition and diversity, along with physicochemical parameters from the littoral regions of Himayat Sagar Reservoir, Telangana, India. A total of 84 zooplankton species were found, including 60 rotifer species, 16 cladoceran species and eight copepod species. Keratella tropica, Lecane bulla, Coronatella rectangula and Mesocyclops sp. were observed frequently through the study period. The Shannon Diversity Index ranged between H′ = 1.8 and 2.1, with a high diversity observed during the summer season. Dominance was greater
during the monsoon and winter seasons, being represented by Brachionus calyciflorus, B. angularis, B. falcatus, Keratella tropica, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, Diaphanosoma sarsi and Mesocyclops sp. Correlation coefficients and principal component analysis indicated temperature, pH and nutrients had a major influence on zooplankton community changes in this reservoir. The environmental variables and diversity indices indicated seasonally fluctuating trophic conditions. Himayat Sagar Reservoir requires long-term monitoring for assessment and better management of its faunal diversity and water quality.

The present investigation was carried out to study the fauna of aquatic beetles of Koundinya wildlife sanctuary (India). A total of forty two species belonging to four families was recorded. The highest number of species was found in the family Dytiscidae followed by Hydrophilidae, Gyrinidae and Noteridae. All the species are recorded for the first time from the wildlife sanctuary and 9 species are new from the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The present study accessed the butterfly diversity of Kawal Tiger Reserve, Telangana between March 2018 to February 2021. It shows the occurrence of 95 species belonging to the families Nymphalidae and Lycaenidae 29 species each, Pieridae 18 species, Hesperiidae 12 species, and Papilionidae 7 species. Within these, 9 species belong to Schedule I &II of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 2022. The sampling has been carried out around 18 stations of the tiger reserve, in which Pulgampandri has 30 species and Rotiguda 25 species comparatively higher than that of other sampling stations. Prosotas noreia was rarely sighted and was first time recorded from the state of Telangana. Our goal is to explore and document butterfly fauna, which will serve as a valuable platform for butterfly conservation and quantitative diversity research.

The present study is on the morphology and molecular data of the genus Dineutus MacLeay, were collected from the Eastern Ghats mountains in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu states located in the eastern Ghats of India. The morphological identification was based on elytral spines, setation on paramere and structure of the median lobe. Molecular characterization was based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16s ribosomal RNA gene. Species identified as being D. indicus, D. spinosus, and D. unidentatus. Phylogenetic trees were constructed for both genes, and the COI fragment shows raw genetic distance between 10-12% among the three species of D. indicus, D. spinosus and D. unidentatus, whereas 16s gene shows a divergence of 4-5%. The present study contributes five novel mitochondrial COI and five ribosomal RNA sequences for D. spinosus and D. unidentatus for the first time from India.

The present study reported an aquatic Hemipteran species Ptilomera agriodes (Schmidt, 1926) distributed in different streams of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It is noted that there is no earlier report from these regions and this study documents P. agriodes for the first time. It is also found that the habitat of the species is only in streams and waterfalls of the Eastern Ghats.