Indian Journal of Biology

Effective stress management is crucial for students’ mental health, academic success, and overall well-being, particularly for those residing in university hostels. Hostel life, while offering opportunities for social interaction and independence, also exposes students to various stressors such as academic pressure, adjustment issues, homesickness, and time management challenges. To examine students’ perceptions of stress management, a structured survey was conducted using a Google Form among 40 students belonging to different academic programmes at GBPUA&T, Pantnagar. The questionnaire was designed to assess key aspects including major sources of stress, coping strategies adopted by students, academic workload, availability of social support, and overall mental well-being. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistical methods to identify prevailing trends and patterns. The findings of the study indicate that although a majority of students attempt to manage stress through self-care practices, peer support, and participation in extracurricular activities, a considerable number of students continue to experience high levels of stress. Academic pressure, homesickness, and difficulties in managing time emerged as major stress-inducing factors. The study underscores the need for strengthening institutional support systems, including the provision of accessible counselling services, regular stress management workshops, and mental health awareness programmes. Such initiatives can play a significant role in enhancing students’ coping abilities and improving the overall quality of student life in the hostels of Pantnagar University.

Ethnobotany bridges traditional knowledge and scientific research by documenting plant uses in human and animal healthcare. The present study investigates ethnoveterinary plant uses among the rural communities of Nawalgarh, district Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, India. Although ethnobotanical documentation exists for human medicinal use in Rajasthan, systematic studies focused on ethnoveterinary practices in Nawalgarh are limited.1-3 This research identifies plant species used by livestock keepers to treat common ailments in cattle, goats, sheep, horses, and camels; categorizes ailments; assesses frequency of use and perceived efficacy; and discusses conservation implications. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and field observations among 120 informants (herders, farmers, traditional healers) between 2023–2025. A total of 54 plant species from 28 families were documented with detailed usage patterns. Results reveal continued reliance on traditional veterinary remedies, often driven by accessibility, cost, and cultural belief. The study underscores the need to integrate ethnoveterinary knowledge into sustainable animal health strategies and promote conservation of medicinal flora.

The present study stress on the correlation between physicochemical parameters, significant inorganic ions and microalgal diversity in the Damodar and Kopai river ecosystems during 2024-2025. Physicochemical parameters and biologically inorganic ions are crucial for the survival, growth, and diversity of microalgae in any aquatic ecosystems. They act as essential nutrients, play an important role in osmotic balance, and influence various physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, metabolism, and enzyme activity etc. in microalgal organisms. The present survey revealed the variations of physicochemical parameters like temperature, pH, TDS, conductance, salinity, DO, turbidity, BOD, hardness and inorganic ions like Na+, K+, Ca2+, NO3-, CO3=, HCO3-, total alkalinity, carbonate alkalinity, and bicarbonate alkalinity in the Damodar and Kopai rivers. The Damodar river is a rain-fed river, shallow, wide, and flashy. It originates near Khamarpat hill on the Chotanagpur plateau in the Palamau district of Jharkhand, and its mouth is the Hooghly river in the Howrah district of West Bengal. The Damodar river was earlier known as the “river of sorrow” because it used to flood many areas of Bardhaman, Hooghly, Howrah, and Medinipur districts. The length of the river is 592 km. The Kopai river is the smallest in West Bengal, flowing across the Rarh Bengal region. This river is a tributary of the Bakreshwar river. The Kopai river originates from the foothills of the Chotanagpur plateau in Jharkhand state, India, and ultimately merges with the Mayurakshi river. The length of this river is 176.4 km. Results revealed that 25 species of algal genera from the Damodar river and 21 algal species from the Kopai River were observed during the period from 2024 to 2025. Fluctuations of these physicochemical parameters and inorganic ions significantly affect the growth and diversity of microalgae in the river ecosystems.

Background: West Bengal is an important place for aquaculture in India, which is the second-largest fish producer in the world. But the fact that fish productivity per hectare is going down in places like Birbhum shows that we need to look at the quality of aquatic ecosystems. Plankton communities are important primary producers and important links in the heterotrophic food chain. They have a direct effect on how fish grow and develop. Methodology: The study followed a standardized, multi-phase framework to evaluate the biological productivity and ecological integrity of 16 selected aquatic ecosystems in the Birbhum district. All procedures, including site selection across eight administrative blocks, were conducted with high academic rigor to ensure reproducibility. Results: A quantitative examination showed clear seasonal trends. The density of plankton was lowest before and during the monsoon, but it rose sharply after the monsoon when the weather became more stable. Functional FCS water bodies kept their best density ranges, such the post- monsoon phase, when they reached up to 6412.66 ± 107.37 No./l. On the other hand, non-functional FCS water bodies had far lower densities, frequently below 3000 No./l, probably because they weren’t managed well when it came to water quality. Conclusion: The results show that bad management in societies that don’t work well hurts plankton productivity. Structured water quality management is suggested to revive plankton development and improve aquaculture potential in these semi-potential areas.

Ethnomedicinal knowledge forms an integral part of traditional healthcare systems among indigenous communities, particularly in biodiversity rich regions of India. The present study documents the ethnomedicinal practices involving arthropods among tribal communities of Koraput district, Odisha, India. Structured interviews, participatory observations, and conversations with knowledgeable elders and local healers were used to gather data. A total of seven arthropod species belonging to the phylum Arthropoda were recorded, including insects and arachnids such as red ants (Solenopsis sp.), praying mantis (Mantis religiosa), house cricket (Acheta domesticus), mole cricket (Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa), cockroach (Periplaneta americana), honey bee (Apis cerana), and scorpion (Palamnaeus swammerdami). Various body parts, including the head, abdomen, cocoon with larvae, and whole body, were used either orally or topically to treat ailments such as wounds, cold and cough, otorrhoea, pain, intestinal disorders, respiratory tract infections, gastric ulcers, and piles. Preparation methods ranged from grinding, boiling, frying, burning, to ash formation, often mixed with water, edible oil, or coconut oil. Quantitative ethnobiological indices such as Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) and Fidelity Level (FL) indicated a high degree of consensus among informants, especially for house cricket used for pain (RFC 0.98; FL 97.29) and red ant for cold, cough, and wound healing. Both cultural beliefs and the availability of local bioresources are reflected in the ongoing reliance on arthropods. This study emphasises the need to preserve traditional knowledge and the therapeutic value of arthropods in indigenous medicine. The development of novel bioactive compounds and sustainable healthcare alternatives may benefit from scientific validation of these practices.

Extreme climate variations and population increases pose considerable obstacles to global food security. In the near future, addressing the issues of hunger and a growing population involves breeding and/or genetically engineering crops to withstand abiotic stress while achieving higher yields. Plants respond to salt levels through strategies such as maintaining ion balance, regulating osmotic pressure, activating antioxidant defense mechanisms, and signalling through phytohormones, all of which help to counteract ion toxicity and osmotic stress. Despite ongoing initiatives, progress in breeding and rigorously selecting crops that are tolerant to salt has been minimal. Additionally, the untapped genetic diversity present in crop landraces and their wild counterparts remains largely uncharted. Exploring new genes from the wild relatives of crops offers an exciting chance to discover better salt-tolerant haplotypes. Biotechnology methods for precision breeding have a strong potential to speed up the creation of salt-resistant cultivars. This review intends to examine unique salt-tolerant genes and the use of contemporary biotechnological techniques to improve salinity tolerance in crops.

If we are going to consider about the natural resources then ground water is one of them. As we know lots of cities as well as towns used to get proper water supply mainly via aquifers but unfortunately from time to time it is getting pretty polluted due to improper management. More importantly, if this kind of pollution remain persists the effect will be long term for sure. In India it has been observed that due to several human interferences mainly due to industrial purposes the level of such type of pollution become very high. Sometimes, porous as well as permeable soil creates different sorts of contaminants and as a result it can induce this kind of pollution. Now a days it has been a huge threat as for the human being because if ground water pollution from time to time enhanced it will only affect the human life as well as the nature. In addition, to be very honest residential, commercial as well as industrial and even agricultural activities all can affect the ground water quality in a larger ways. To protect from such type of pollution several water source pollution programs have been conducted to aware local people.

The present study was designed to investigate different types of WBCs in a 10 years castrated Non-Descriptive (ND) cattle as there is no previous report on morphology of white blood cells of 10 years castrated ND cattle of Odisha Castration has profound effect on the morphology of white blood cells of Non-Descriptive cattle. Morphological features of various white blood cells of 05 Months castrated Non-Descriptive Cattle of Odisha was studied earlier. Blood sample was collected from jugular vein of one 10 years castrated Non-Descriptive by a skilled veterinary expert and blood smear was prepared on a grease-free microscopic slide, then air dried, fixation was done by methanol and staining was done by Giemsa stain for morphological study under a microscope under 40X objective and photographs of WBCs were taken and morphology were observed. Various types of WBCs were observed in this study namely small lymphocyte, large lymphocyte, small monocyte, large monocyte, trilobed neutrophil, tetralobed neutrophil, multilobed neutophils and eosinophils were observed.