Category Archives: Publications

Authors: N.D. Gunasekara, F.S. Idroos, Pathmalal M Manage
Journal: Environment and Natural Resources Journal

Three nitrate degrading bacteria, namely S1, S2 and S3 strains, were isolated from soil samples collected from agricultural sites at Polonnaruwa, Oruwala and Gampaha, Sri Lanka respectively. Among the isolated strains, S1 showed a maximum nitrate removal rate of 4.20±0.08 mg/L/day whereas S2 and S3 showed nitrate removal rates of 3.45±0.57 mg/L/day and 3.72±0.19 mg/L/day, respectively.

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Authors: Nayana Wijayathilaka, Gayani Senevirathne, Champika Bandara, Sanath Rajapakse, Rohan Pethiyagoda, Madhava Meegaskumbura

Journal: Global Ecology and Conservation

We integrate three techniques, bioacoustics (call), niche modeling and DNA barcoding as a test case to investigate how the combination of these methods can enhance search efficiency for previously unknown populations, especially for those species that are threatened. As a focal group, we considered a clade in the genus Uperodon earlier referred to as Ramanella, represented by four endemic species in Sri Lanka. The work published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation.

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Authors: S.D Fernando, Menaka Hapugoda, Rushika Perera,Karla Saavedra-Rodriguez,William C. BlackIV, Nissanka De Silva
Journal: Parasites & Vectors

Dengue is a serious arboviral disease in Sri Lanka with a large number of dengue fever (DF) cases every year. Control of the primary vector Aedes aegypti depends upon larval habitat source reduction and insecticide application. However, increases in the number of reported cases suggest the inefficiency of current control strategies and the possibility of resistance to currently used insecticides. Early detection of mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel (vgsc) gene that confer knockdown resistance (kdr) to pyrethroid insecticides is important in resistance management in vector populations.

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Authors: Gayani Senevirathne, VAMPK Samarawickrama, Nayana Wijayathilaka, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, Gayan Bowatte, DRNS Samarawikrama, Madhava Meegaskumbura

Journal: Zootaxa

The monotypic genus Lankanectes, considered an evolutionary long branch with India’s Nyctibatrachus as its sister lineage, is represented by L. corrugatus, a species widely distributed within the wet zone of Sri Lanka up to 1500 m asl, where it inhabits a variety of lotic and lentic habitats. Here, following an integrative taxonomic approach using DNA-based phylogenies, morphology, morphometry, and ecological niche models, we describe a new species—Lankanectes pera sp. nov. The new species is distinguished from its sister species mainly by its tuberculated throat and absence of dark patches on venter, throat, manus and pes. The uncorrected genetic distances between the two Lankanectes species for a fragment of the noncoding mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene is 3.5–3.7%. The new species has a very restricted climatic distribution with a total predicted area of only 360 km2 (vs. 14,120 km2 for L. corrugatus). Unlike L. corrugatus, which prefers muddy substrates and marshy areas, the new species is observed inhabiting only pristine streams flowing through canopy covered montane forests in the highest reaches of the Knuckles Mountain range. The specialized new species will need immediate conservation attention due to its restricted distribution (montane isolate), specialized habit of inhabiting clear mountain streams, and small population size.

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