No abstract

Species boundaries of Microhyla rubra of India and Sri Lanka were assessed using the following criteria: genetic barcoding, morphology, and vocalization. We use a ca. 500 bp fragment of the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene and show that there is an uncorrected pairwise distance of 2.7-3.2% between the Indian and Sri Lankan populations of M. rubra. We show that they are different in several call characteristics such as, dominant frequency, call duration, call rise time and pulse rate. Morphologically, the Sri Lankan population can be distinguished from the typical M. rubra described from southern India, by a combination of characters: body size, skin texture, and feet dimensions. We recognize the population from Sri Lanka as a new species, Microhyla mihintalei sp. nov., a widely distributed lowland species with an elevational distribution of up to 500 m a.s.l.

The success of any organization depends considerably on the standard of its human capital. Training is a more powerful weapon among Human Resource Management practices, which helps to develop knowledge and skills of employees in an organization. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of training on operational level employees’ performance in a selected apparel organization in Sri Lanka. Through the analysis of 60 responses of randomly selected sample of machine operators; it shows that there is a strong, positive and significant relationship between training and performance with the correlation value of 0.817.The result of regression analysis indicates that there is a significant positive impact of training content and operational factors on employee performance. Upgrading the training content and identifying the training requirements specifically with a proper training duration are some of the recommendations that the researchers are suggesting improving employee performance.

Acknowledgements: Authors thank Forest Department of Sri Lanka (permit no. R&E/RES/NFSRC/11) and Department of Wildlife Conservation (permit no. WL/3/2/1/7) for permitting access and specimens collection from the Knuckles Forest Reserve; to Divisional Secretary, Panwila for granting permission to work in Moraella forest (permit no. PV/A/5/3/01/II). We are grateful to Prof. J.P. Edirisinghe for accommodating us with their field visits. We thank Mr. M.P. Ranaweera for guiding us in Moraella forest, and Mr. N. Wijayathilaka for photographing specimens. Dr. A.S.T.B. Wijetunga is acknowledged for his clarification on the vegetation types of the selected habitats. Field assistance given by P.G.

The presence of unacceptable levels of veterinary drug residues in animal-derived food is a global concern due to its negative impacts on human health. This study reports the occurrence and levels of two fluoroquinolone antimicrobialsenrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin-in broiler meat sold in Sri Lanka. A total of 129 broiler meat samples were purchased from the market, representing nine large-scale broiler meat processors (107 samples in 66 batches, branded) with an islandwide distribution and 22 small-scale processors (22 samples, unbranded). Enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin in breast muscle were extracted following a previously published method with modifications and were subjected to High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection analysis for the quantification of antimicrobials. Enrofloxacin residues were detected in 67 (51.9%) samples, out of which 28 had quantifiable levels (1.7-578.6 μg kg -1 ), whereas ciprofloxacin was detected in only nine samples. Only three samples (2.3%) exceeded the European Union maximum residue limit of 100 μg kg -1 for the sum of ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin in poultry muscle. These three samples had enrofloxacin in 130.3-578.6 μg kg -1 range and ciprofloxacin in 15.7-28.8 μg kg -1 range. Mean enrofloxacin level in other samples was 5.9 ± 5.3 µg kg -1 . This study shows the widespread use of enrofloxacin in broiler meat industry in the country and the possibility of meat with harmful levels of residues entering the market. Thus, we highlight the need to establish regulations and a national-level veterinary drug residue surveillance program for animal-derived foods including broiler meat to ensure consumer safety.

No abstract

Rapid Biodiversity Assessment approaches associated with focusing taxa have overcome many of the problems related to large scale surveys. This study examined the suitability of litter ants as a focusing taxon by checking whether diversity and species assemblages of litter ants reflect the overall picture of arthropod diversity and assemblages in leaf litter in two vegetation types: secondary forest and pine plantation in Upper Hanthana forest reserve, Sri Lanka. In each vegetation type, arthropods were sampled using three sampling methods (Winkler extraction, hand collection, and pitfall traps) along three 100 m line transects. From the two sites, 1887 litter ants (34 species) and 3488 litter arthropods (52 species) were collected. Species assemblages composition of both ants and other arthropods differed significantly between the two sites (ANOSIM, = 0.001) with both groups generating distinct clusters for the two sites (SIMPROF, = 0.001). But there was no significant correlation ( > 0.05) between abundance and richness of litter ants and those of other arthropods in both vegetation types. The overall finding suggests that the litter ants do not reflect the holistic picture of arthropod diversity and assemblages in leaf litter, but the quality of the habitat for the survival of all litter arthropods.

Many pathogens, parasitoids and predators have been documented as natural enemies of ticks, but their impact on tick populations are rarely evaluated. Here, we report the predatory behaviour of ants on the spinose ear tick, Otobius megnini. Ticks were collected from the ear canal of stabled horses in Nuwara Eliya and were brought to the laboratory. Eggs, unfed and engorged larvae, engorged nymphs and adults were naturally exposed to ants under laboratory conditions and the predatory behaviour of the different species and their feeding preferences were observed. Five ant species were found feeding on different life stages of O. megnini including eggs, larvae (fed/unfed) and adults; ants did not feed on the nymphal stages. Ant species were identified as Tapinoma melanocephalum, two species of Monomorium, one species of Pheidole and one species of Crematogaster. The predatory preference differed among the five ant species, with T. melanocephalum being identified as the best predator as it fed on eggs and adults, the non-parasitic stages of O. megnini. Different strategies have been used to control the infestations of O. megnini in the stabled horses but none of them were successful. Although we cannot extrapolate our empirical findings to a natural context, observations suggest that these ant species may be potential bio-suppressors of this tick species.