Spatio-temporal variability in macroinvertebrate community structure and ecological health status of a tropical dynamic river-estuarine system, India: An integrated approach of multivariate analysis.

River-estuarine ecosystems are under severe anthropogenic threat due to resource exploitation, transportation, sewage/industrial discharges, and pollutants from surrounding areas. Monitoring the water quality and biological communities is essential for assessing ecosystem health and sustainability. Present study integrated the ecological community data along with water quality analysis to understand the impact of anthropogenic pressures on benthic macroinvertebrates. Samples were collected from 10 locations (comprising of both rural and urban areas) for Benthic macroinvertebrates, physico-chemical and microbiological parameters along the lower stretch of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river-estuarine (BHE) system during the post-monsoon seasons of 2020, 2021, and 2022. During the entire study period, a total of 5730 individuals from 54 families in 19 orders of 3 phylum of macroinvertebrate were recorded. Among them Thiaridae (27.1%) and Chironomidae (22.8%) were found to be the most abundant families. Based on the water quality data Cluster analysis and nMDS indicated two distinct groups of locations: Group-I with rural settings and Group-II with urban settings. Alpha diversity metrics showed higher diversity (2.817) and evenness (0.744) in rural locations (Group-I) compared to urban locations (Group-II). The overall saprobic score of the macroinvebrate data revealed Group-I (5.09) to be in good condition, while Group-II (4.95) showed moderately polluted conditions. Redundancy analysis (RDA) highlighted the correlation of pollution-tolerant species (Chironomidae, Culicidae) with high organic loads i.e., biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD) in Group-II. In contrast, Group-I locations exhibited positive correlations with Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and supported less pollution-tolerant organisms (Coenagrionidae, Dytiscidae). The study emphasizes the importance of integrated analysis of ecological community data and water quality parameters to assess the health status of river-estuarine ecosystems.

The extent of microplastic pollution along the eastern coast of India: Focussing on marine waters, beach sand, and fish.

In this study, for the first time, we evaluated microplastic contamination in water, beach sand, and fish samples collected from the seven most famous and crowded beaches of the eastern coast of India, which cover around 1200 km. The average number of microplastics found was 80 ± 33 microplastics/m3 and 4 ± 2 microplastics/kg dry weight with a numerical abundance of polyethylene and polystyrene for water and sand samples, respectively. The polymer hazard index score, which represents the severity of the microplastics scenario in the studied locations, depicts that this coastline falls under hazard levels IV and V (most hazardous) for water and sand samples, respectively. The study revealed that approximately 30 % of the commercially important fishes collected from the locations contained microplastics with polyethylene terephthalate and polypropylene being the most abundant types. Rastrelliger kanagurta and Sardinella gibbosa were identified as the most polluted species.

Deliberate self-harm and suicide by pesticide ingestion in the Sundarban region, India.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinical epidemiology, including case fatality and determinants of self-harm in six island blocks of the Sundarban region of West Bengal, India. METHODS: We examined the clinical records of 1277 patients admitted for deliberate self-harm (DSH) to the six island hospitals from 1999 to 2001. RESULTS: 77.7% of the patients survived their attempt, 11.9% died and for 10.4% the outcome was not recorded. Women accounted for 65.2% of the DSH admissions and 67.1% of the deaths. Pesticides were the most commonly used means (88.7%). The case fatality of self-harm reported in these hospitals ranged from 6.0% to 50.0% (mean 13.3%; CI, 11.3-15.3). The age group 55-64 years was at highest risk of death, the age group 15-24 years at lowest risk. Higher lethality of pesticide ingestion compared to other methods was suggestive but not significant. Case fatality within the region varied but was high compared to industrialized nations. Case records and management of DSH were poor. CONCLUSION: Effective DSH prevention in the Sundarban region would require better surveillance at clinical facilities and an intersectoral approach, linking the agricultural interests of pesticide safety and mental health interests for preventing DSH.