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Species diversity and distribution of earthworms was carried out in different soil habitat conditions of Assam, north-east India, a part of Indo-Burma mega biodiversity hotspot. Seventeen species belonging to six different families namely Moniligastridae, Megascolecidae, Almidae, Glossocolecidae, Lumbricidae, Ocnerodrilidae were recorded from the study locations. The population density and biomass of the worm species ranged from 65-238 m -2 and 1.1-5.4 g m -2 across different sampling habitats. Relative occurrence of earthworm species varied according to soil habitat conditions. Amynthas diffringens, Perionyx excavates, Glyphidrilus gangeticus, Lampito mauritii were dominant species under agricultural land use system while Metaphire posthuma, Dichogaster saliens were the dominant species under open grass land and mixed forest system. The present investigation is the first report on diversity and distribution of earthworm species collected from different soil habitats of Assam, north-east India.

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The reactive oxygen species (ROS) which are produced during storage of boar semen are causing oxidative stress and leads to poor fertility. Also, tropical and sub-tropical weather condition adversely impacts the physicomorphological quality and fertility of boar sperm. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of feeding linseed oil to boar on its seminal attributes, sperm kinetics, biomarkers of antioxidant, fatty acid profile of seminal plasma (SP) and sperm and in vivo fertility. Six Hampshire crossbreed boars were fed with 90 ml linseed oil (LIN) whereas six Hampshire crossbreed boars were fed 90 ml canola oil (CON) for 16 weeks. Sperm quality was evaluated (60 ejaculates for each group; a total of 120 ejaculates) for motility, livability, abnormal morphology, acrosomal membrane integrity, hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) and sperm kinetic parameters by computer assisted semen analysis (CASA) at 0 h and at 72 h of storage at 17°C. Biomarkers of antioxidant (glutathione peroxidase; GPx, cata-