Research
Physico-chemical analysis of River Jehlum (Kashmir)
The present study was conducted for the time period of one year (April, 2009- March 2010) with an aim to find out the physico-chemical nature of water at different sites of River Jehlum in order to access the physical properties and chemical nature of its water and the impact of site/s on their concentration. Three sites were selected for the study purpose and the samples were collected on monthly bases. The samples thus collected were processed for the detection of metals with their relative concentrations following the standard methods. It was observed that the concentration of these metals was varying with respect to the collection sites, so was the case with respect to its physical nature. Also it was observed that there was a difference in concentration of these elements at different sites when compared among them selves. The data of physico-chemical nature of water of river Jehlum obtained during the study have been mentioned in Table 1. Furthermore it was also observed that concentration of some of these elements was more than the permissible limits as recommended by WHO which could have a definite impact on life. Keeping the same in view the present study was taken into consideration in which an attempt was made to access the water quality of River Jehlum and it is believed that this study would be helpful in formulating control strategy in near future.
Faecal Examinations of Pashmina Goats (Capra siberica) of Ladakh for Nematode Infections
In the present study an attempt was made to find out the various nematodes and their prevalence infesting the pashmina goats of Ladakh through faecal examinations. The eggs collected from these were identified as Haemonchus contortus, Trichuris ovis, Dictyocaulus filaria and Chabertia ovina. Identification was done on the basis of various morphological and morphometric characters (Yamaguti, 1975; Soulsby, 1982). Of the 70 animals examined 22 (31.42%) were found infected with single or multiple parasite species. It was also observed that among these H. contortus 42.15% was most dominant followed by T. ovis (37.46%) D. filaria (32.24%) and C. ovina (18.78%) respectively. The study also revealed a significant difference with respect to season, wherein higher prevalence (40.00%) was observed during the rainy season as compared to the dry season 22.85%. Similarly an association was observed between sex and age of the host with prevalence of nematode infections. It was also observed that females were more infected (37.14%) as compared to males (25.71%). Likewise young animals were more infected (34.28%) than the adult ones (28.57%). Similarly an association was observed between prevalence and agro-ecology of the study area where in higher values (32.05%) were recorded for comparatively lowland (Kargil) areas as compared to highland (Leh) areas (30.00%). The study also show slight relationship between body condition and prevalence wherein the intensity of infection was higher (31.11%) in weak animals as compared to healthy ones (32.00%). Hence, it was concluded that the pashmina goats of Ladakh are infested by four species of nematode parasites or may be more and their prevalence was found varying with respect to season, sex, age, body condition and agro-ecology. This is for the first time that survey on nematode parasites in pashmina goats of this region have been taken into consideration.
