Neera Sen Sarkar | University of Kalyani (original) (raw)

Papers by Neera Sen Sarkar

Botanica Marina, Jan 10, 2024

International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology, 2018

Abstract Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecos... more Abstract Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems like estuaries, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, sandy beaches, rocky coasts, coral reefs, and many such variations in ecosystem diversity, India is also predictably blessed with a treasure of marine biotic resources. A conservative estimate of about 80% of all such resources is found in the coastal zones. Such diversity is attributed to the complex habitats created by the dominant benthic primary producers along with the phytoplankton of the productive shallow waters, further stimulated by terrestrial inputs and upwelling incidents. The primary producers that belong to the heterogeneous assemblage of ‘algae’ are the most important contributors to ecosystem functions in such regions. Distribution patterns and regional assemblage composition of algal species worldwide have been important fields of study. Recent studies suggest that energy and habitat area play an important role in determining the present-day distributional patterns observed for marine algae along with the role of historical processes. A discussion on the utilization status of such resources in India starts on the note that India has quite a phenomenal resource base. The three most important contributors to such resources include the red algae, brown algae and green algae. The current paper deals with a review and discussion of the extent of marine resources in India, their use and sustainability issues and a special note on the algal resources of Sundarbans and the potential use patterns of the same. Keywords: Algal resources, Resource utilization, Sustainability, Indian Sundarbans

The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region, 2019

The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated... more The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated or distantly related groups of organisms. This confers them a variety of morphology, structure, process, and characteristics unknown in any other single group of organisms. Sundarbans spread across India and Bangladesh is reportedly quite rich in terms of its algal flora, the presence of 762 species of algae has been documented, and the present treatise has been prepared combining all available literature that have documented algal species’ richness in Sundarbans. This includes information regarding their presence in different zones of Sundarbans with notes on the habitats they occupy. A spatial distribution model based on autocorrelation has been generated for the algal species reported. The dynamics of the system and the algae inhabiting this ecosystem are dependent on many different environmental variables; and a combined representation of a few such selected variables on a spatial range across India and Bangladesh has been generated for the purpose, based on works by different groups in the Sundarbans. This is accompanied by a discussion on the efficacy of diatoms as palaeo-ecological proxies and indicators of climate change.

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), 2015

Species constituting diatom assemblages in sediments provide important information regarding the ... more Species constituting diatom assemblages in sediments provide important information regarding the past and present environmental conditions related to soil and water physico-chemistry and also biodiversity dynamics data. This information can reveal the developmental history of the region. Diatoms are sensitive to stochastic changes in the environment, making them extremely reliable bio-indicators. The purpose of the present study was to decipher such biodiversity related information provided by the diatom assemblages from the Indian Sundarbans. Diatoms were identified in the top 50 cm layer of two sediment cores: a newly silted up deltaic landmass with mangroves in early succession stage, and an island within the Protected Area Network with mangroves in late succession stage. Fifteen diatom species, with no past records in the sediments of Indian Sundarbans were identified and described. Four species among them are sporadically mentioned in previous phytoplankton records fi-om the Sundarbans, but these are not confirmed taxonomically. This paper provides identification and nomenclatural notes on all 15 species. High abundance and species richness of the centric forms Coscinodiscus spp., Cyclotella spp., and Thalassiosira spp. at both the sites is attributed to their proximity to estuarine rivers and their regular inundation, leading to settling of planktonic forms within sediment cores. Many pennate forms, namely Amphicampa eruca, Amphora holsatica, Diploneis spp. (except Z). smithii), Epithemia turgida, Eunotiapectinalis, Giffenia cocconeiformis , and Rhaphoneis rhombus which are being reported for the first time fi-om this region have never been part of described planktonic communities in estuarine waters, validating their' soil diatom' status. Typical fi-eshwater diatoms, namely Aulacoseira granulata and Epithemia turgida, in the sediments indicate lower salinity in these areas, not much earlier than present times.

Geothermal springs are mostly formed due to tectonic movements of the earth or volcanic eruptions... more Geothermal springs are mostly formed due to tectonic movements of the earth or volcanic eruptions leading to the release of hot water in the form of artesian wells. The environment is very suitable for the growth of thermophilic Cyanobacteria. Nevertheless, some members of Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) are also found in such geothermal springs, although, very high water temperature and alkaline water is generally not very conducive for diatom growth. The present study involves report and enumeration of 16 species of heat resistant diatoms for the first time from two different sites of the hot springs of Bakreswar. The sites vary onsiderably in terms of temperature and anthropogenic pressures. The genera - Coscinodiscus sp., Synedra sp., Pinnularia sp., Rhopalodia sp., Gomphonema sp., Hantzschia sp. etc. form important constituents of the diatom assemblages. The study establishes lower Species Richness (9) at higher temperatures (>48oC) which is the Reserve Tank (Site-1) compared t...

Journal of environmental biology / Academy of Environmental Biology, India, 2016

Epilithic diatoms from three geographically isolated hill streams of Central and Eastern India we... more Epilithic diatoms from three geographically isolated hill streams of Central and Eastern India were studied and analysed to find their efficacy in determining difference in ecological conditions of aquatic systems. Three sampling sites (site-1, site-2 and site-3) shared commonness of being hill streams of forests with difference in source points. 34 diatom species were identified with species-richness of 17 at site 1, 10 at site 2 and 19 at site 3. Two sets of hypotheses-null (H01, H02 and H03) and alternative (HA1, HA2 and HA3) were framed. Null hypotheses were rejected in favour of alternative hypotheses. Diversity t-tests yielded significant 't' values: at (α < 0.0001 and < 0.002, implying differences within the sampling sites. Furthermore, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon paired-sample tests were performed to test the alternative hypotheses, of which Kruskal-Wallis yielded significant difference between the sample medians with χ² = 5.457 at p = 0.03801, an...

Diatoms are microscopic, unicellular, eukaryotic algae belonging to the Class Bacillariophyceae w... more Diatoms are microscopic, unicellular, eukaryotic algae belonging to the Class Bacillariophyceae which are abundant in most aquatic habitats and serve as useful proxies for multi-dimensional analysis of ecosystems. They inhabit waters and soils of both saline and freshwater areas. Diatoms as primary producers are vital for life on Earth, serve as significant source of oxygen, have major impact on global carbon cycle and are food source for many organisms at other trophic levels. Moreover, diatoms provide an exceptional tool for examining environmental changes. Data on diatom abundance and diversity, both living and fossil are found to be very useful in environmental studies, since they are extremely sensitive to and respond rapidly to environmental changes with specific species being adapted to a particular environment. Most importantly, after death their silica frustules sink to the bottom, get added to the sedimentary records and preserve well within most sediments as diatomaceous ...

Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems li... more Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems like estuaries, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, sandy beaches, rocky coasts, coral reefs, and many such variations in ecosystem diversity, India is also predictably blessed with a treasure of marine biotic resources. A conservative estimate of about 80% of all such resources is found in the coastal zones. Such diversity is attributed to the complex habitats created by the dominant benthic primary producers along with the phytoplankton of the productive shallow waters, further stimulated by terrestrial inputs and upwelling incidents. The primary producers that belong to the heterogeneous assemblage of ‘algae’ are the most important contributors to ecosystem functions in such regions. Distribution patterns and regional assemblage composition of algal species worldwide have been important fields of study. Recent studies suggest that energy and habitat area play an important role in deter...

Traditional rice varieties (TRVs), continue to be cultivated defying the allurement of high-profi... more Traditional rice varieties (TRVs), continue to be cultivated defying the allurement of high-profits from cultivating high yielding varieties. The reasons why TRVs are still cultivated, withstanding extreme pressures leading to disappearance of many TRVs are interesting, especially for their associated non-market values. This study documents 50 TRVs being cultivated by farmers (n= 488) in three districts of West-Bengal, followed by a criterion-based analysis using UPGMA algorithm applied with Bray-Curtis similarity-index to determine clustering of TRVs based on why farmers prefer to cultivate them. The findings shall prove to be important in deciding priorities in conserving TRVs. Keywords: Criterion-based analysis, conservation, consumption-based values, non-consumption based values, value attributes Cite this Article Jimi Banik, Anupam Paul, Sudipta Mukherjee et al. Practicing Economy of Nature through Traditional Rice Variety Conservation: A Case Study from West Bengal, India. Res...

The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region, 2019

The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated... more The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated or distantly related groups of organisms. This confers them a variety of morphology, structure, process, and characteristics unknown in any other single group of organisms. Sundarbans spread across India and Bangladesh is reportedly quite rich in terms of its algal flora, the presence of 762 species of algae has been documented, and the present treatise has been prepared combining all available literature that have documented algal species’ richness in Sundarbans. This includes information regarding their presence in different zones of Sundarbans with notes on the habitats they occupy. A spatial distribution model based on autocorrelation has been generated for the algal species reported. The dynamics of the system and the algae inhabiting this ecosystem are dependent on many different environmental variables; and a combined representation of a few such selected variables on a spatial r...

School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, 188 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Kolkata700032, ... more School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, 188 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Kolkata700032, West Bengal, India Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ocean Valley, Pragathi Nagar (BO), Nizampet (SO), Hyderabad 500 090, India Department of Botany, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235, Nadia, West Bengal, India National Remote Sensing Centre, Department of Space, Government of India, Balanagar, Hyderabad – 500 037, India

Bivalves have always served as a great delicacy worldwide. However, marine toxins that spread thr... more Bivalves have always served as a great delicacy worldwide. However, marine toxins that spread through the bivalves often pose a serious threat to the consumers. History suggests a number of incidents of fish poisoning all over the world, India has faced four similar major incidents. A number of toxins are responsible for fish poisoning of which paralytic shellfish poisoning and ciguatera fish poisoning happens to be widespread in Asian countries. Conditions promoting harmful algal bloom events (HAB) might be partially responsible for fish poisoning events because they provide for a nurturing environment for toxin producing algae that are in fish poisoning. The present work is an attempt to highlight factors causing HAB and their correlation with fish poisoning events with examples of fish poisoning events in India.

Plant Science Today

Algae are popular sources of food, fodder, feed, fuel, fertilizers, pharmaceutical and nutraceuti... more Algae are popular sources of food, fodder, feed, fuel, fertilizers, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, and other co-products. The reason for preferring algae as source of a wide array of commercial products is that provisions for algal biomass production for application in different fields are long-term, pro-environmental and sustainable. This is related to the numerous varieties of ways and places in which algae can grow naturally or can be cultivated for commercialization. The fact that different species of algae have traditionally been used as preferred food or delicacy throughout the world speaks volumes about the taste attributes of edible algae. However, the use of algae or its derivatives as taste or flavour enhancers has not been explored enough, though sporadic works and reports can be found worldwide. This review attempts to scout the role of algae in imparting flavours in various cuisines made from algae or algae derived products. Also a number of fish and marine ...

Botanica Marina, Jan 10, 2024

International Journal of Environment, Agriculture and Biotechnology, 2018

Abstract Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecos... more Abstract Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems like estuaries, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, sandy beaches, rocky coasts, coral reefs, and many such variations in ecosystem diversity, India is also predictably blessed with a treasure of marine biotic resources. A conservative estimate of about 80% of all such resources is found in the coastal zones. Such diversity is attributed to the complex habitats created by the dominant benthic primary producers along with the phytoplankton of the productive shallow waters, further stimulated by terrestrial inputs and upwelling incidents. The primary producers that belong to the heterogeneous assemblage of ‘algae’ are the most important contributors to ecosystem functions in such regions. Distribution patterns and regional assemblage composition of algal species worldwide have been important fields of study. Recent studies suggest that energy and habitat area play an important role in determining the present-day distributional patterns observed for marine algae along with the role of historical processes. A discussion on the utilization status of such resources in India starts on the note that India has quite a phenomenal resource base. The three most important contributors to such resources include the red algae, brown algae and green algae. The current paper deals with a review and discussion of the extent of marine resources in India, their use and sustainability issues and a special note on the algal resources of Sundarbans and the potential use patterns of the same. Keywords: Algal resources, Resource utilization, Sustainability, Indian Sundarbans

The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region, 2019

The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated... more The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated or distantly related groups of organisms. This confers them a variety of morphology, structure, process, and characteristics unknown in any other single group of organisms. Sundarbans spread across India and Bangladesh is reportedly quite rich in terms of its algal flora, the presence of 762 species of algae has been documented, and the present treatise has been prepared combining all available literature that have documented algal species’ richness in Sundarbans. This includes information regarding their presence in different zones of Sundarbans with notes on the habitats they occupy. A spatial distribution model based on autocorrelation has been generated for the algal species reported. The dynamics of the system and the algae inhabiting this ecosystem are dependent on many different environmental variables; and a combined representation of a few such selected variables on a spatial range across India and Bangladesh has been generated for the purpose, based on works by different groups in the Sundarbans. This is accompanied by a discussion on the efficacy of diatoms as palaeo-ecological proxies and indicators of climate change.

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), 2015

Species constituting diatom assemblages in sediments provide important information regarding the ... more Species constituting diatom assemblages in sediments provide important information regarding the past and present environmental conditions related to soil and water physico-chemistry and also biodiversity dynamics data. This information can reveal the developmental history of the region. Diatoms are sensitive to stochastic changes in the environment, making them extremely reliable bio-indicators. The purpose of the present study was to decipher such biodiversity related information provided by the diatom assemblages from the Indian Sundarbans. Diatoms were identified in the top 50 cm layer of two sediment cores: a newly silted up deltaic landmass with mangroves in early succession stage, and an island within the Protected Area Network with mangroves in late succession stage. Fifteen diatom species, with no past records in the sediments of Indian Sundarbans were identified and described. Four species among them are sporadically mentioned in previous phytoplankton records fi-om the Sundarbans, but these are not confirmed taxonomically. This paper provides identification and nomenclatural notes on all 15 species. High abundance and species richness of the centric forms Coscinodiscus spp., Cyclotella spp., and Thalassiosira spp. at both the sites is attributed to their proximity to estuarine rivers and their regular inundation, leading to settling of planktonic forms within sediment cores. Many pennate forms, namely Amphicampa eruca, Amphora holsatica, Diploneis spp. (except Z). smithii), Epithemia turgida, Eunotiapectinalis, Giffenia cocconeiformis , and Rhaphoneis rhombus which are being reported for the first time fi-om this region have never been part of described planktonic communities in estuarine waters, validating their' soil diatom' status. Typical fi-eshwater diatoms, namely Aulacoseira granulata and Epithemia turgida, in the sediments indicate lower salinity in these areas, not much earlier than present times.

Geothermal springs are mostly formed due to tectonic movements of the earth or volcanic eruptions... more Geothermal springs are mostly formed due to tectonic movements of the earth or volcanic eruptions leading to the release of hot water in the form of artesian wells. The environment is very suitable for the growth of thermophilic Cyanobacteria. Nevertheless, some members of Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) are also found in such geothermal springs, although, very high water temperature and alkaline water is generally not very conducive for diatom growth. The present study involves report and enumeration of 16 species of heat resistant diatoms for the first time from two different sites of the hot springs of Bakreswar. The sites vary onsiderably in terms of temperature and anthropogenic pressures. The genera - Coscinodiscus sp., Synedra sp., Pinnularia sp., Rhopalodia sp., Gomphonema sp., Hantzschia sp. etc. form important constituents of the diatom assemblages. The study establishes lower Species Richness (9) at higher temperatures (>48oC) which is the Reserve Tank (Site-1) compared t...

Journal of environmental biology / Academy of Environmental Biology, India, 2016

Epilithic diatoms from three geographically isolated hill streams of Central and Eastern India we... more Epilithic diatoms from three geographically isolated hill streams of Central and Eastern India were studied and analysed to find their efficacy in determining difference in ecological conditions of aquatic systems. Three sampling sites (site-1, site-2 and site-3) shared commonness of being hill streams of forests with difference in source points. 34 diatom species were identified with species-richness of 17 at site 1, 10 at site 2 and 19 at site 3. Two sets of hypotheses-null (H01, H02 and H03) and alternative (HA1, HA2 and HA3) were framed. Null hypotheses were rejected in favour of alternative hypotheses. Diversity t-tests yielded significant 't' values: at (α < 0.0001 and < 0.002, implying differences within the sampling sites. Furthermore, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon paired-sample tests were performed to test the alternative hypotheses, of which Kruskal-Wallis yielded significant difference between the sample medians with χ² = 5.457 at p = 0.03801, an...

Diatoms are microscopic, unicellular, eukaryotic algae belonging to the Class Bacillariophyceae w... more Diatoms are microscopic, unicellular, eukaryotic algae belonging to the Class Bacillariophyceae which are abundant in most aquatic habitats and serve as useful proxies for multi-dimensional analysis of ecosystems. They inhabit waters and soils of both saline and freshwater areas. Diatoms as primary producers are vital for life on Earth, serve as significant source of oxygen, have major impact on global carbon cycle and are food source for many organisms at other trophic levels. Moreover, diatoms provide an exceptional tool for examining environmental changes. Data on diatom abundance and diversity, both living and fossil are found to be very useful in environmental studies, since they are extremely sensitive to and respond rapidly to environmental changes with specific species being adapted to a particular environment. Most importantly, after death their silica frustules sink to the bottom, get added to the sedimentary records and preserve well within most sediments as diatomaceous ...

Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems li... more Naturally endowed with a coastline of about 8,000 Km represented in a wide range of ecosystems like estuaries, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, sandy beaches, rocky coasts, coral reefs, and many such variations in ecosystem diversity, India is also predictably blessed with a treasure of marine biotic resources. A conservative estimate of about 80% of all such resources is found in the coastal zones. Such diversity is attributed to the complex habitats created by the dominant benthic primary producers along with the phytoplankton of the productive shallow waters, further stimulated by terrestrial inputs and upwelling incidents. The primary producers that belong to the heterogeneous assemblage of ‘algae’ are the most important contributors to ecosystem functions in such regions. Distribution patterns and regional assemblage composition of algal species worldwide have been important fields of study. Recent studies suggest that energy and habitat area play an important role in deter...

Traditional rice varieties (TRVs), continue to be cultivated defying the allurement of high-profi... more Traditional rice varieties (TRVs), continue to be cultivated defying the allurement of high-profits from cultivating high yielding varieties. The reasons why TRVs are still cultivated, withstanding extreme pressures leading to disappearance of many TRVs are interesting, especially for their associated non-market values. This study documents 50 TRVs being cultivated by farmers (n= 488) in three districts of West-Bengal, followed by a criterion-based analysis using UPGMA algorithm applied with Bray-Curtis similarity-index to determine clustering of TRVs based on why farmers prefer to cultivate them. The findings shall prove to be important in deciding priorities in conserving TRVs. Keywords: Criterion-based analysis, conservation, consumption-based values, non-consumption based values, value attributes Cite this Article Jimi Banik, Anupam Paul, Sudipta Mukherjee et al. Practicing Economy of Nature through Traditional Rice Variety Conservation: A Case Study from West Bengal, India. Res...

The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region, 2019

The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated... more The algae as a group does not include single taxa but is an agglomeration of absolutely unrelated or distantly related groups of organisms. This confers them a variety of morphology, structure, process, and characteristics unknown in any other single group of organisms. Sundarbans spread across India and Bangladesh is reportedly quite rich in terms of its algal flora, the presence of 762 species of algae has been documented, and the present treatise has been prepared combining all available literature that have documented algal species’ richness in Sundarbans. This includes information regarding their presence in different zones of Sundarbans with notes on the habitats they occupy. A spatial distribution model based on autocorrelation has been generated for the algal species reported. The dynamics of the system and the algae inhabiting this ecosystem are dependent on many different environmental variables; and a combined representation of a few such selected variables on a spatial r...

School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, 188 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Kolkata700032, ... more School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, 188 Raja S.C. Mallick Road, Kolkata700032, West Bengal, India Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Ocean Valley, Pragathi Nagar (BO), Nizampet (SO), Hyderabad 500 090, India Department of Botany, University of Kalyani, Kalyani-741235, Nadia, West Bengal, India National Remote Sensing Centre, Department of Space, Government of India, Balanagar, Hyderabad – 500 037, India

Bivalves have always served as a great delicacy worldwide. However, marine toxins that spread thr... more Bivalves have always served as a great delicacy worldwide. However, marine toxins that spread through the bivalves often pose a serious threat to the consumers. History suggests a number of incidents of fish poisoning all over the world, India has faced four similar major incidents. A number of toxins are responsible for fish poisoning of which paralytic shellfish poisoning and ciguatera fish poisoning happens to be widespread in Asian countries. Conditions promoting harmful algal bloom events (HAB) might be partially responsible for fish poisoning events because they provide for a nurturing environment for toxin producing algae that are in fish poisoning. The present work is an attempt to highlight factors causing HAB and their correlation with fish poisoning events with examples of fish poisoning events in India.

Plant Science Today

Algae are popular sources of food, fodder, feed, fuel, fertilizers, pharmaceutical and nutraceuti... more Algae are popular sources of food, fodder, feed, fuel, fertilizers, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, and other co-products. The reason for preferring algae as source of a wide array of commercial products is that provisions for algal biomass production for application in different fields are long-term, pro-environmental and sustainable. This is related to the numerous varieties of ways and places in which algae can grow naturally or can be cultivated for commercialization. The fact that different species of algae have traditionally been used as preferred food or delicacy throughout the world speaks volumes about the taste attributes of edible algae. However, the use of algae or its derivatives as taste or flavour enhancers has not been explored enough, though sporadic works and reports can be found worldwide. This review attempts to scout the role of algae in imparting flavours in various cuisines made from algae or algae derived products. Also a number of fish and marine ...