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Bapureddy Gajjala ¹, Santhosh Kumar ², Samidurai Jayakumar ¹, Honnavalli Nagaraj Kumara ²

Affiliations
1 PG and Research Department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology, A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai 609 305, IN
2 Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore 641 108, IN

Abstract

Although the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats harbour seven species of primates, estimate of their density is not available for most of the area. The Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve in central Western Ghats, a newly notified protected area in Karnataka, harbours lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus, bonnet macaque Macaca radiata and Southern plains gray langur Semnopithecus dussumieri. We estimated their densities using line transect method. The estimate of cluster density for lion-tailed macaque, bonnet macaque and southern plains gray langur was 1.62, 4.28 and 10.67 groups/sq. km respectively, with the individual's density of 14.95, 12.40 and 25.06 individuals/ sq. km respectively. The conservation importance of the present findings is also discussed.

Keywords

Density Estimate, Distance Sampling, Evergreen Forests, Line Transects, Primates.

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Santhosh Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, Kumaun University, Nainital - 263 002, IN

Abstract

Felsic magmatisms in the north of Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) in Ladakh range of northwest Indian Himalaya, referred herein Ladakh granitoids (LG), and associated magmatic rocks constitute the bulk of the Ladakh batholith. They have been characterized as Andean-type, calc-alkaline, largely metaluminous (I-type) to a few peraluminous (S-type) granitoids derived from partial melting of subducting materials. The LG can be broadly classified into coarse-grained facies with abundant mafics (hbl-bt), medium-grained facies with low content of mafics, and fine-grained leucocratic facies with very low amount of mafics. Mesocratic to melanocratic, rounded to elliptical, fine to medium grained, mafic to hybrid microgranular enclaves (ME) are ubiquitous in medium to coarse-grained LG. ME are absent or rare in the leucocratic variety of LG. In this paper different types of ME, and their field relation and microstructures with respect to felsic host LG are documented from northwestern, central, southeastern parts of the Ladakh batholith. Rounded to elongate ME of variable sizes (a few cm to metres across, mostly d<30 cm) commonly having sharp, crenulate, and occasionally diffuse contacts of ME with felsic host LG suggest that several pulses of crystal-charged mafic and felsic magmas coexisted, hybridized, and co-mingled into subvolcanic settings. Occurrence of composite ME (several small mafic ME enclosed into large porphyritic ME) strongly point to multiple mafic to hybrid magma intrusions into partly crystalline LG magma chambers. Synplutonic mafic dykes disrupted to form subrounded to angular (brecciated) mafic ME swarms commonly disposed in strike-length suggest mafic magma injections at waning stage of felsic magma evolution with large rheological contrasts. Pillowing of mafic melt against leucocratic (aplitic) residual melt strongly suggests mafic magma intrusion in nearly-crystallized condition of pluton. Although common mineral asemblages (hbl-bt-pl-kfs-qtz-ap-zrn-mt±ilm) of ME (diorite, quartzdiorite) and host LG (granodiorite, monzogranite) may relate to their cogenetic relation, fine to medium grained porphyritic (hybrid) nature and lack of cumulate texture of ME strongly oppose cognate origin for ME. Presence of plagioclase xenocrysts, quartz ocelli and accicular apatite in porphyritic ME strongly indicate mingling and undercooling of hybridized ME globules into relatively crystal-charged cooler host LG magma. Grain size differences of some ME, except to those of porphyritic ones, appear related to varying degrees of undercooling of ME most likely controlled by their variable sizes. Several smaller ME, however, lack fine-grained chilled margin probably because of their likely disaggregation from a large size ME during the course of progressive hybridization (mingling to mixing) leaving behind trails of mafic schlieren. Field and microstructural evidences at least suggest that Ladakh granitoids and their microgranular enclaves are products of multistage magma mingling and mixing processes concomitant fractional differentiation of several batches of mafic and felsic magmas formed in open magma chamber(s) of subduction setting.

Keywords

Field-Petrography, Microgranular Enclaves, Ladakh Granitoids, Northwest Higher Himalaya.

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Santhosh Kumar ¹, M. A. Lagesh ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Economics, Christ University, Bangalore 560029, IN
2 Department of Economics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad 500046, IN

Abstract

A safe haven can be broadly defined as an asset allowing the preservation of wealth during financial turmoil. This can be characterized by looking at its negative correlations with risky assets specifically during crises. The present paper employs a Dynamic Conditional Correlation Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) (DCC-GARCH) model proposed by Engel (2002) to test the safe haven property of gold against stock market in India during the recent financial crisis. For the purpose we utilize 3001 daily observations (after adjusting for the dates and missing observations due to holidays) on gold price and BSE SENSEX index closing price from 1^st January, 1998 to 30^th September, 2009. The empirical evidence is consistent with the study by Baur and Lucey (2010) that gold is a safe haven and hedge in extreme stock market conditions.

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