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Textbook Estuarine Pollution in The Lower Gangetic Delta Threats and Management Abhijit Mitra Ebook All Chapter PDF
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Abhijit Mitra
Estuarine Pollution
in the Lower
Gangetic Delta
Threats and Management
Estuarine Pollution in the Lower Gangetic Delta
Abhijit Mitra
v
vi Contents
The author deeply acknowledges the people highlighted here, who motivated,
encouraged, and showed the avenue of application-oriented academics.
• Mr. Goutam Roychowdhury: The author and his team members greatly
acknowledge the infrastructural facility offered by Techno India University, West
Bengal, Salt Lake Campus, while preparing the manuscript. The author also
received inspiration for touching the sky from Sri Roychowdhury.
• Dr. Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri: The entire physiographical component of this
book is undoubtedly a strong foundation, which is the brain child of Dr. Ray
Chaudhuri. Apart from lending field support, Dr. Ray Chaudhuri provided all
infrastructural facilities required to complete the manuscript.
• Dr. Kakoli Banerjee: The author gratefully acknowledges the field data gener-
ated by Dr. Banerjee (in the field of phytoplankton) without which the chapter on
plankton could not be completed. Dr. Banerjee also critically scanned the manu-
script and provided constructive inputs for the betterment of the manuscript.
• Dr. Sufia Zaman: While writing the manuscript the entire chapterization and
corrections were critically done by Dr. Zaman. In addition, the data on fish com-
munity and mangrove biomass were collected by Dr. Zaman during her field
work in Indian Sundarbans. The author acknowledges her effort to bring the data
of Indian mangrove ecosystem to the view of the readers.
• Dr. Subhro Bikash Bhattacharyya: The author is indebted to Dr. Bhattacharyya
for his tireless sampling from the Sundarban mangrove forest, which helped the
author to carry out the scientific analysis of soil, water, and plankton community
from time to time.
Apart from this the author cannot forget the contributions of his scholars Dr.
Amitabha Aich, Dr. Kiran Lal Das, Dr. Prosenjit Pramanick, Dr. Atanu Roy, Dr.
Upasana Datta, Dr. Shankhadeep Chakraborty, Dr. Rupa Banerjee, Dr. Satarupa
Roy, Dr. Pritam Mukherjee, Mr. Pavel Biswas, Ms. Nabonita Pal, Ms. Roopali Roy
Chowdhury, Mr. Arpan Mitra, and Mr. Asis Mondal for their inputs and reference
collections.
xi
xii Acknowledgments
Abhijit Mitra Associate Professor and former Head of the Department of Marine
Science, University of Calcutta (India), has been active in the sphere of Oceanography
since 1985. He obtained his PhD as NET qualified scholar in 1994 after securing
Gold Medal in MSc (Marine Science) from University of Calcutta. Since then he
joined Calcutta Port Trust and WWF (World Wide Fund), in various capacities to
carry out research programs on environmental science, biodiversity conservation,
climate change, and carbon sequestration. Presently, he is serving as the advisor of
Oceanography Division of Techno India University, Kolkata. He has to his credit
about 475 scientific publications in various national and international journals, and
36 books of postgraduate standards. Dr. Mitra is presently the member of several
committees like PACON International, IUCN, SIOS, etc. and has successfully com-
pleted about 16 projects on biodiversity loss in fishery sector, coastal pollution,
alternative livelihood, climate change, and carbon sequestration. He also visited as
faculty member and invited speaker in several foreign universities of Singapore,
Kenya, Oman, and the USA. In 2008, he was invited as visiting fellow to the
University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, USA, to deliver a series of lectures on
climate change. He also successfully guided 32 PhD students. Presently, his domain
of expertise includes environmental science, mangrove ecology, sustainable aqua-
culture, alternative livelihood, climate change, and carbon sequestration.
xiii
About the Book
The magnitude and threat of marine and estuarine pollution is gradually increasing
with the growing use of the sea for commerce, mineral and oil extraction, nuclear
weapon testing, and recreational activities. The other reasons are river run-off car-
rying various categories of pollutants from the cities, towns, and agricultural lands,
atmospheric deposition, and oil spills. The effects of marine and estuarine pollution
are severe. Apart from bioaccumulation and biomagnification of conservative pol-
lutants across the food chains, loss of sensitive species and dominance of opportu-
nistic species create a massive imbalance in the community structure of marine and
estuarine environments. Anthropogenic pollution may reduce biodiversity and pro-
ductivity of marine ecosystems, resulting in reduction and depletion of sea food
resources. A majority of the anthropogenic and industrial pollution ends up in the
ocean via the conveyer system of estuaries.
It is often difficult to regulate marine and estuarine pollution because the arms of
marine and estuarine pollution spread over international barriers thus making regu-
lations hard to create as well as enforce without appropriate awareness of marine
pollution and international participation. The necessary global will to effectively
address the issues may prove inadequate. Information on the sources and harmful
effects of marine and estuarine pollution needs to become a part of public domain
and awareness. Also quality research and documentation are required on a continu-
ous basis to fully establish the current scope of the issues. Policies need to be imple-
mented both at national and international levels on the basis of the outputs of these
researches.
The present book is an attempt to critically analyze the structure and function of
marine and estuarine environments and the physical processes operating in these
ecosystems with special emphasis on estuaries of the lower Gangetic delta region.
The chemistry of the ocean water has been highlighted as the basic background to
address the cause and effects of marine pollution. Several case studies from different
parts of the globe have been incorporated to highlight the vulnerability of pollution
xv
xvi About the Book
at the regional and global level. Finally, the book also highlights some mitigative
measures (both at technology and policy levels) to minimize the negative impact
posed by different groups of pollutants on marine and estuarine biodiversity.
The book has its own individuality not because of the lucidness of the language
and presentation of relevant case studies but for detailing the long-term data
(30 years) on the Indian Sundarban mangrove chunk, which has just started to see
the light of publication.
Chapter 1
Lower Gangetic Delta: An Overview
Two mighty river systems, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, enter the plains of
Bengal through a 150-km-wide stretch as Rajmahal–Meghalaya gap. These two
rivers drain a large catchment area covering more than 1.50 million sq. km. and
carry annually 1254 billion cubic meters of water with suspended sediment load of
about 1000 million tonnes. The fragile Himalayan terrain and southwest monsoon
are two major factors contributing to huge volume of water and sediment load. After
entering Bengal, the Ganga flows in southeast direction, and the Brahmaputra flows
in the southern direction before they unite at a place called Gaolando in Bangladesh.
These two rivers discharged into the sea independently till 1830. Further downstream,
another river called Meghna joins, and the combined flow goes into the Bay of
Bengal (Fig. 1.1).
In accordance with the rainfall pattern in the sub-continent, the volume of water
flowing through this mighty drainage basin varies widely/sharply between monsoon
and non-monsoon seasons. This discharge into the rivers during the monsoon often
exceeds the threshold limit and spills over the floodplain and thus facilitates
sediment dispersal.
The triangular tract between the Bhagirathi-Hooghly River in the west, the
Ganga–Padma in the north and east and the Bay of Bengal in the south is known as
a delta which is the largest among the 36 Holocene deltas of the world (Stanley and
Warne 1994). It covers an area of 57,506 sq. km. It is the part of the larger depositional
tract known as Bengal basin which covers an area of 140,975 sq. km. The delta
continues to grow underwater. It is observed in recent satellite image that the
underwater part of the delta covers 24,777 sq. km.
The lower Gangetic delta encompasses the famous Indian Sundarban mangrove
ecosystem. The Indian Sundarbans at the apex of the Bay of Bengal (between 21°13′
to 22°40′ N latitude and 88°03′ to 89°07′ E longitude) is located on the southern
fringe of the state of West Bengal, covering the major portion of North and South 24
Fig. 1.1 Flow of Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna towards Bay of Bengal
Parganas districts. The region is bordered by Bangladesh in the east, the Hooghly
river in the west, “Dampier–Hodges line” in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the
south (Fig. 1.2).
With a considerable degree of marine characteristics in the major portion of the
ecosystem, the important morphotypes of the deltaic Sundarbans are beaches,
mudflats, coastal dunes, sand flats, estuaries, creeks, inlets and mangrove swamps
(Fig. 1.3).
1.1 Physiography and Climate 3
Fig. 1.2 Location of Indian Sundarbans in the lower Gangetic delta region
The mangrove forests of the Indian Sundarbans have been variously estimated to
cover 418,888 ha (Sidhu 1963; UNEP 1985), 200,000–300,000 ha (IUCN 1989)
and 426,300 ha by the West Bengal Forest Department. It has further been estimated
that approximately 178,100 ha is comprised of the water areas. These discrepancies
in the figures for the forest cover possibly arise from the fact that some denote areas
designated as forest land which includes both the waterbodies and degraded forests,
while others represent an assessment of the area covered with vegetation only. The
present book is an in-depth cross-sectional view on the total area of about 9630 km2
of the Indian part of Sundarbans which includes both forest and reclaimed areas as
outlined by Sundarbans Development Board. This area has the status of “Sundarban
Biosphere Reserve (SBR)” and includes Sundarbans Tiger Reserve (national park,
sanctuary and reserved forests) and 24 Parganas Forest Division, South (Lothian
Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Haliday Wildlife Sanctuary and Reserve Forest)
(Table 1.1).
Climate
Sundarban ecosystem experiences a moderate type of climate because of its loca-
tion adjacent to the Bay of Bengal as well as due to regular tidal flushing in the
4 1 Lower Gangetic Delta: An Overview
Fig. 1.3 Intertidal mudflats exposed during low tide in Indian Sundarbans
estuaries. Wave actions, micro- and macro-tidal cycles and long-shore current are
recorded in the most of the islands of the ecosystem. Costal processes are very
dynamic and are accelerated by tropical cyclone which is locally called “Kal
Baisakhi” (Nor’wester). In 2009, the region experienced Aila, a supercyclone that
hit Sundarbans with a speed of 120 km/h (Fig. 1.4).
The seasonal climate in Sundarbans may be conveniently categorized into pre-
monsoon (March to June), monsoon (July to October) and postmonsoon (November
to February). Each season has a characteristic feature of its own, which is very dis-
tinct and unique. The oscillations of various physical variables in different seasons
of the year are discussed here in brief.
1.1 Physiography and Climate 5
1.1.1 Wind
The direction and velocity of the wind system in the Indian Sundarbans are mainly
controlled by the north-east and southwest monsoon. The wind from the north and
north-east commences at the beginning of October and continues till the end of
March. The month of January and February are relatively calm with an average
wind speed around 3.5 km/h. Violent wind speed recommences from the southwest
around the middle of March and continues till September. During this period,
several low pressure systems occur in this region, a number of which take from the
depression and cyclonic storms of varying intensity. The table here reflects the
frequency of occurrence of cyclonic storm in the Indian Sundarbans during 1907–
1997 (Table 1.2).
6 1 Lower Gangetic Delta: An Overview
Table 1.2 Cyclonic storm in Year Duration of storm Maximum wind speed (km/h)
West Bengal which crossed
1907 17–19 June 95
the Sundarban deltaic
complex during 1997–2009 1907 24 and 25 June 95
1909 17 and18 Oct 126
1912 5 and 6 Sept 81
1913 23–25 July 126
1916 21 and 22 Sept 68
1916 9 and10 Nov 81
1917 3 May 126
1917 30 and31 Oct 45
1919 24 and 25 Sept 126
1920 21–23 July 81
1921 26 and 27 July 68
1925 27 and 28 June 81
1927 27 and 29 July 126
1928 18–20 July 126
1929 15–17 July 56
1932 23 and 24 May 126
1933 20 and 21 Sept 56
1935 8 and 9 July 126
1936 26–28 May 113
1937 28 and 29 Sept 126
1940 30 June and 1 July –
1940 7 and 8 July –
1940 2 and 3 Aug –
1940 21 and 22 Oct –
1941 9 and10 July 81
1941 8 and 9 Aug –
1942 9 and 10 July 81
1945 1 and 2 July 81
1946 4 and 5 Oct 81
1950 10 and 11 June 95
1952 4 July –
1956 30 May to 2 June –
1960 27–29 May 74
1962 20 and 21 Sept 93
1965 10 and 11 May 74
1997 20 and 21 Aug 120
2000 17 to 21 Sept 80 along with heavy shower
2003 16 to 20 Oct 95
2008 16 to 26 Sept 98
2009 25 and 26 May 120
1.1 Physiography and Climate 7
Surface waves in the coastal zone of West Bengal are mainly due to wind actions. Sea
waves in this region rarely become destructive except during the cyclonic storms.
During Nor’westers, the wind speed rises above 100 km/h and is usually accompa-
nied by huge tidal waves. When the cyclonic incidences coincide with the spring
tides, wave height can rise over 5 m above the mean sea level. Ripple waves appear
in the month of October, November and December when wind-generated wave
height varies approximately from 0.20 to 0.35 m. In the month of April to August,
large wavelets are formed in the shelf region, and they start breaking as they approach
the coast margin. Wave height rises up to 2 m during this period which causes maxi-
mum scouring on land masses (Fig. 1.5). Wave actions, micro- and macro-tidal cycle
and long-shore currents are recorded in most of the island in this ecosystem.
With the change in seasons, tidal interactions in the estuarine system in and
around the Indian Sundarbans also change (Pillay 1958). During the monsoon
month, the effect of flood tide is more or less countered and nullified by freshets, and
there is a strong predominance of ebb tide. The strength of flood tide over ebb tide
is at a minimum during the postmonsoon season. Conversely, during the premon-
soon season, the effect of flood tide is considerably strong than that of ebb tide.
The Indian Sundarbans at the apex of Bay of Bengal is a deltaic complex dominated
by mangrove vegetation. Temporal variation of air temperature in Sundarbans has
been recorded from 11.96 to 37.0 °C (Pitchaikani et al. 2017). This deltaic complex
experiences maximum air temperature value during premonsoon followed by
monsoon and postmonsoon. The gradual rise of near surface air temperature in this
region is a matter of concern as this designated World Heritage Site is the nursery
and abode of a wide spectrum of flora and fauna, many of which are sensitive to
temperature fluctuation. A detailed study conducted on the time series data of near
surface air temperature at Sagar Island (the largest island in Indian Sundarbans)
points towards the anthropogenic influences in this geographical locale as the
primary factor behind the increasing trend in air temperature (Vide Annexure 1A.1
for more scientific details).
In lower Gangetic delta, the seasonal variation of surface water temperature is
not so drastic between premonsoon and monsoon seasons. The premonsoon period
(March to June) is characterized by a mean surface water temperature around
34 °C. The monsoon period (July to October) shows a surface water temperature
about 32 °C (mean), and the postmonsoon period (November to February) is
characterized by cold weather with a mean surface temperature around 23 °C.
1.1.4 Rainfall
1.1.5 Turbidity
Turbidity in the coastal zone and estuarine water is the effect of suspended particu-
late matters which are basically contributed by land drainage and turbulence in the
aquatic ecosystem that churns the bottom sediments and transfers them in
suspension. As a result of turbidity, the reduction of light intensity in the vertical
column of water occurs. Turbidity of water in Indian Sundarbans is mainly attributed
to runoff process that contributes considerable amount of colloidal and finely
divided suspended matter (Satyanarayana et al. 1990). Maximum aquatic turbidity,
witnessed during the monsoon seasons in the coastal zone, may be due to the
1.1 Physiography and Climate 9
Table 1.3b Average monthly rainfall data (in cm) collected for Canning region, 24 Parganas,
South (West Bengal)
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1981 − − − − − − − − − − 0 0.38
1982 0 1.69 1.65 2.77 0.85 5.69 8.49 10.4 4.23 0.36 0.87 0
1983 0.14 1.67 1.20 1.08 2.51 11.22 6.42 17.79 9.96 3.61 0.25 0.18
1984 0.57 0.03 0 2.29 3.19 23.81 7.26 15.55 6.69 3.28 0 0
1985 0.88 0.21 0.20 1.12 5.11 9.25 9.25 12.2 7.69 3.86 0 0
1986 0.33 0 0.05 1.04 6.20 6.34 10.66 3.35 27.91 8.55 7.54 0.05
1987 0 0.70 0.60 5.8 4.21 4.73 11.55 13.41 9.58 0.81 2.00 0.32
1988 0 0.92 0.12 0.71 5.49 20.29 17.40 9.28 6.38 4.89 4.66 0
1989 0.07 0.25 0.32 0 5.15 2.83 9.10 10.35 11.34 6.63 0.39 0.08
1990 0 2.48 6.35 3.27 4.79 10.18 16.60 10.77 10.4 5.72 2.41 0.06
1991 2.00 0.64 0.55 1.13 0.49 16.21 8.64 8.07 8.02 4.56 0.02 0.57
1992 0.92 1.73 0 0.59 6.1 13.31 12.13 13.51 16.1 3.80 0 0
1993 0.03 0 2.75 0.77 4.61 10.34 11.34 11.55 17.73 3.97 0.43 0
1994 0.11 0.84 0.25 3.82 2.35 8.21 14.93 9.12 6.46 2.52 1.92 0
1995 0.23 1.36 0.08 0.61 7.39 11.37 17.6 10.00 17.84 3.08 6.68 0
1996 0.29 0.30 0.07 0.89 2.56 18.97 11.88 16.72 5.09 9.94 0 0
1997 0.57 0.49 1.36 6.64 3.41 7.12 12.98 15.78 9.36 0.16 0.49 0.48
1998 0.98 0.14 5.97 2.13 5.86 4.94 12.07 12.09 10.41 5.31 5.84 0
1999 0.08 0 0.01 0.05 6.72 8.94 16.47 13.38 14.91 5.96 0.07 0
2000 0.05 1.96 0 2.29 10.79 7.79 15.21 6.34 11.69 4.22 0.06 0.06
2001 0.09 0.01 0.80 3.43 6.80 14.54 10.63 6.87 5.84 5.14 0.62 0
2002 0.85 0 0.53 2.66 4.01 19.81 8.78 10.05 8.31 3.97 4.62 0
2003 0 0.51 0.90 2.26 4.36 10.65 11.90 11.49 9.37 17.09 0.67 1.29
2004 0.15 0.25 0.13 2.26 2.42 8.96 13.35 14.93 7.75 8.77 0 0
2005 1.47 0 4.25 1.24 2.27 8.30 17.89 9.17 11.73 16.74 0 0.03
2006 0 0 0.11 2.06 3.9 4.08 21.16 14.55 17.35 1.045 0.03 0
2007 − 2.80 0.07 1.74 5.63 5.32 20.25 8.97 21.39 3.90 2.13 0
2008 3.46 0.34 0.15 1.40 2.26 12.22 7.16 8.96 9.62 6 − −
2009 0 0 0.53 0.03 6.52 1.79 13.19 11.47 10.05 4.93 0.34 0
2010 0 0.13 0 0.72 4.25 8.44 8.53 7.56 7.24 4.51 0.12 0.36
2011 0 0.24 1.20 7.31 3.34 14.09 8.98 22.56 7.86 3.1 − 0
2012 1.57 1.01 0.17 3.15 1.52 6.08 10.20 14.78 8.35 4.28 1.86 1.15
2013 0.12 0.18 0.15 0.63 6.36 8.25 8.65 22.08 14.84 9.30 0 0
2014 0 2.33 1.77 0 − 5.78 7.35 − 11.37 1.70 0 0
Source: IMD − means data not available, Jan January, Feb February, Mar March, Apr April, May
May, Jun June, Jul July, Aug August, Sep September, Oct October, Nov November, Dec December
Hooghly–Matla estuarine complex. The objective of the present study was therefore
to provide a regional distribution of chlorophyll in the aquatic subsystem of the
Sundarban delta (Indian part) using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-P4 OCM
data and validate the underlying algorithm considering three sectors in the study
area, namely, western, central and eastern.
1.2 Floral and Faunal Diversity 11
It is inferred from the results that the algorithm developed for the retrieval of
chlorophyll is not best suited for waters with high suspended solid (in the framework
of Indian Sundarbans) particularly in the region experiencing significant effect of
industrialization, urbanization or erosion. Possible sources of interferences are
bottom effects, the mixtures of organic (living or residual) and inorganic suspensions
generated from industries, agriculture, urban sewage and shrimp culture units. This
particular study depicts that algorithms designed to extract chlorophyll concentrations
from spectral data acquired over case 2 waters need to be specific to meet the
required near shore situations and universal models are not possible to establish.
Such specificity is particularly essential for systems like Indian Sundarbans, where
significant spatial and temporal variations of suspended solid/turbidity exist. The
western part of Indian Sundarbans is primarily the zone of high suspended solid
because of erosion and upstream discharge (that contribute huge quantum of silt)
and industrial discharges from the cities of Kolkata and Howrah and the newly
developing Haldia complex. The central and eastern Indian Sundarbans are,
however, the zone of low suspended solid primarily because of the presence of
mangroves that bind the soil particles with intricate root system and also due to
absence of any industry in the region. Under this scenario, it is strongly recommended
to develop a region-specific algorithm for chlorophyll retrieval through satellite for
the estuaries of lower Gangetic delta region.
Biodiversity refers to all life on Earth and ranges from the microbes in the human
gut to blue whale of the ocean. So far 1.7 million species have been identified on the
Earth, but the total number is thought to be somewhat between 5 and 100 million.
Biological diversity can be studied at three different hierarchical levels. These levels
of diversity are interrelated but should be studied separately to understand the
interconnections that support life on Earth.
All the species present on Earth like blue-green algae and bacteria to higher plants
and most developed animals carry lots of genetic information. Species can be
differentiated into many varieties, races or strains. These varieties, races or strains
differ from each other in one or more traits (characters), e.g. size, shape and
resistance to insect, pest, total yield, etc. These differences are because of differences
in genetic information. Thus, the diversity in the genetic organization of a species is
termed as genetic diversity. This difference of genes within species could be because
of difference in alleles (different variants of same genes), in entire genes (the traits
determining particular characteristics) or in chromosomal structure.
12 1 Lower Gangetic Delta: An Overview
Numbers of biotic components present in an ecosystem may vary from a few spe-
cies to a large number of species of microorganisms, plants and animals. They inter-
act with each other and with the abiotic components of the environment. Thus,
species play a vital role in an ecosystem, and loss of species affects the ecosystem
as a whole. The richness of a species in an ecosystem is known as species diversity.
The number of species increases with the area of the site; the greater the species
richness, the greater is the species diversity. But the number of individuals among
the species may differ resulting into differences in evenness. In nature, the number
and kind of species and number of individuals per species differ, leading to more
and more diversity.
Zoological Survey of India (Annandale 1907; Kemp 1917; Hora 1934), the works
of Mandal and Nandi (1989) and Chaudhuri and Choudhury (1994) provide an
excellent data base of macrofaunal diversity of the ecosystem, though the two data
sets are somewhat mismatching (Table 1.4).
It is a fact that Sundarban ecosystem is still one of the most biologically produc-
tive and taxonomically diverse ecosystems of the Indian sub-continent, although
about 6 vertebrates have disappeared from this ecosystem since the last 200 years
and about 20 species are in the endangered species list (Table 1.5).
Mangrove swamps of Indian Sundarbans also invite two species of horseshoe
crabs (Fig. 1.8), namely, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda and Tachypleus gigas,
during the premonsoon period of high salinity. These crabs have excellent biomedical
values and have recently been established as potential source of bioactive substance,
the Carcinoscorpius Amoebocyte Lysate (CAL) and Tachypleus Amoebocyte
Lysate (TAL). These reagents are highly sensitive and useful for the rapid and
accurate assay of Gram-negative bacteria even if they are present in a very minute
quantity up to the level of 10−10 gm. Hence, these reagents have wide application in
the medical sphere as they have immense role in detecting endotoxins in several
pharmaceutical products and other life-saving drugs like interferon, insulin, etc.
The list of macroinvertebrate species found in this deltaic ecosystem exhibits
unique species diversity although the magnitude of diversity (as reflected through
Shannon–Weiner index or index of dominance) varies markedly with season (Mitra
2000). The invertebrate phyla act as magnificent “conveyer belts” in this ecosystem
for transferring energy to the higher vertebrates. The scat analysis of Indian tiger
1.2 Floral and Faunal Diversity 15
(Panthera tigris tigris) revealed the presence of Toxocara cati, which proves the
direct dependency of higher vertebrates on invertebrate species.
Apart from sustaining a wide spectrum of invertebrate species in the benthic
substratum, this deltaic region also houses some marvellous beds of minor phyla. A
relatively small phylum of marine worms, often overlooked by biologists, the
Sipunculus (number slightly more than 300 species in the globe with 16 recognized
genera), is also a representative of Indian Sundarbans. The benthic substratum of
deltaic Sundarbans supports one species of Sipunculus, namely, Phascolosoma
arcuatum (Gray), which is characterized by the presence of a spacious, unsegmented
coelom, filled with fluid continuing free haemocytes.
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"Tarkotan mitä sanon!" vastasi Cass jurosti. Mutta tuskin oli hän
antanut tämän vastauksen, ennenkuin hän käsitti, ettei se nostanut
hänen arvoaan miehenä; ja ennenkuin hän sai aikaa sanoa mitään
enempää, oli neiti Porter kadonnut.
Hän kohtasi tytön vielä kerran samana iltana. Oikeudenkäynti oli
yhtäkkiä keskeytetty Calaveron tuomarin saapumisen johdosta, ja
Joen asia siirtyi nyt Blazing Starin tilapäiseltä tuomioistuimelta täysin
lailliseen, mutta samalla tarkempaan oikeustutkintoon. Mutta sitä
ennen oli kuitenkin uudestaan kerrottu kertomus edelläkäyneestä
tutkinnosta ja sormuksen löydöstä. Kun syytetty oli kuullut tämän,
pyysi hän epäluuloisesti naureskellen nähdä löytäjän. Tämä tapahtui,
ja vaikka syytetty seisoi jo niin sanoaksemme hirsipuun varjossa —
jollaiseksi käytettiin muuatta niistä korkeista petäjistä, joiden lehvien
alla oikeus istui koolla — valtasi hänet kuitenkin niin
teeskentelemättömän sydämellisen iloisuuden puuska, etteivät
tuomari ja valamiehet voineet muuta kuin säestää häntä siinä.
Vakavuuden jälleen palattua halusi tuomari selitystä tähän
kummalliseen käytökseen. Mutta vastauksen sijaan päästi vanki
kuuluviin ainoastaan moiskahtavan äänen suustaan.
"Jos hän tahtoo istua sisällä, niin antakaa hänen tehdä kuten
tahtoo!"
"En!"
"Niin, tietysti!"
Cass oli olevinaan kuin olisi unohtanut mitä oli tapahtunut ja kysyi
hajamielisellä äänellä: "Kuka? Ah, ai niin, niin kyllä."
"Te tiedätte aivan hyvin, että teitä suututti se, että minä noudin
Hornsbyn, kruununvoudin, silloin kun löysimme ruumiin", lisäsi hän
aivan tarpeettomasti.
"Kunnes hän ajatteli —" sammalsi Cass, "että hänelläkin olisi lupa
käyttäytyä vapaammin, kun te ette ollut aivan niin — niin —
ymmärrättehän — niin varovainen kuin muut tytöt."
"Olen!"