Thursday 25 December 2014

Trout Fish in Pakistan



Trout Fish in Pakistan


BROWN TROUT 
Introduced in Gilgit from Europe by political officers in 1916. It has large scales, thickly spotted dark and red spots on the sides. The body is short but stout, suitable altitude for its culture is about 1 000 m above sea level. The fish becomes adult after two years and breeds in natural waters.  Trout is a fresh water fish, found in the northern part and waters of Azad Kashmir, though this fish occasionally migrates to sea. Trout is a beautiful creature having distinctive coloration varying from species to species and environment to environment. Trout also displays distinctive markings like spots and stripes on its shiny scales.
Trout fishing in Pakistan
Swat, Narran Kaghan, Neelum and Gilgit Baltistan provide visitors and fishers, trout fish in PakistanNaran and Kaghan valleys have lakes in their vicinity (Lake Saif-ul-malook, DudipatsarLake, LulusarLake) harboring trout species. Numerous brown trout can be found there Neelum Valley also happens to have hatcheries and fish farms for Trout fish in Kutton and Jagran. Apart from that there is a relatively small valley in the close proximity of Neelum valley, known as Shounter Valley which has two lakes named Shounter Lake and Chitta Katha Lake; these two lakes also have an affluent supply of the tasty Trout.

Mahodand; the lake of fish is near Kalam valley, Swat, like the name depicts, this lake has affluent supply of plenty of species of different fish, including trout. This beautiful lake has tall coniferous trees around it making it beautiful spot to visit too.

Trout in Gilgit Baltistan:
In GB Upper Kachura should be stocked with brown trout and wardens should be appointed to ensure the lake is protected from both greedy recreational anglers and local food fishermen. All commercial fishing should be completely banned. If only rainbow is stocked then yearly stocking is needed as caught fish will not replenish themselves as brown trout will.
There are no rivers flowing into Upper Kachura and trout is therefore denied ideal breeding habitat. However, numerous beaches and gravel shores are available and a local boatman confirmed that in September fish do come into these shoreline areas and try to lay eggs. Trout has been known to breed in lakes where gravel is available and wind and wave action provide enough water movement for eggs to hatch.
Phandar and Handrap lakes situated in Gilgit also serve as perfect spots to fish trout. Lakes at Skardu and Baltistan are filled with plenty of trout. Deosai and Chitral valley are also famous for well-stocked trout.
Since, trout is one of the delicacies and is very delicious fish; people tend to get this game not only to enjoy the fishing but also to get a yummy treat for themselves. For that reason, one is supposed to get permission from the Fishing Department, which is quite easy to attain. So just throw your line in the lake and wait for the freshly hooked glistering trout to reel in so you may enjoy a scrumptious supper.
There are some myths elaborating that trout fishing is best in spring season, but the reality is quite opposite and the best season to get your fish hooked is tend to be autumn, under dim moonlight.
Price
One can enjoy the tasty treat of trout already cooked in certain restaurants or can buy the raw fish to cook by themselves if they are not in a mood to catch it personally. The prices range from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 2500/ Kg from Naran Kaghan and Neelum Valleys and Gilgit Baltistan respectively.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

regeneration

Regeneration is the process of rebirth, reinstallation, and growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or actions that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of regeneration, from bacteria to humans. Regeneration can either be complete where the new tissue is the same as the lost tissue, or incomplete where after the necrotic tissue comes fibrosis. At its most elementary level, regeneration is mediated by the molecular processes of DNA synthesis. Regeneration in biology, however, mainly refers to the morphogenic processes that describe the phenotypic plasticity of traits allowing multi-cellular organisms to repair and maintain the integrity of their physiological and morphological states. Above the genetic level, regeneration is fundamentally regulated by asexual cellular processes. Regeneration is different from reproduction. For example, hydra perform regeneration but reproduce by the method of budding.
The hydra and the planarian flatworm have long served as model organisms for their highly adaptive regenerative capabilities. Once wounded, their cells become activated and start to remodel tissues and organs back to the pre-existing state. The Caudata (urodeles) salamanders and newts), an order of tailed amphibians, is possibly the most adept vertebrate group at regeneration, given their capability of regenerating limbs, tails, jaws, eyes and a variety of internal structures. The regeneration of organs is a common and widespread adaptive capability among metazoan creatures. In a related context, some animals are able to reproduce asexually through fragmentation, budding, or fission. A planarian parent, for example, will constrict, split in the middle, and each half generates a new end to form two clones of the original. Echinoderms (such as the starfish), crayfish, many reptiles, and amphibians exhibit remarkable examples of tissue regeneration. The case of autotomy for example, serves as a defensive function as the animal detaches a limb or tail to avoid capture. After the limb or tail has been autotomized, cells move into action and the tissues will regenerate. Ecosystems are regenerative as well. Following a disturbance, such as a fire or pest outbreak in a forest, pioneering species will occupy, compete for space, and establish themselves in the newly opened habitat. The new growth of seedlings and community assembly process is known as regeneration in ecology.
Genetic Control of Regeneration
A number of genes have been found to be implicated in regeneration. One of the most potent of these is Wnt.
Injection of agents (e.g. antisense RNA molecules) that interfere with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
blocks limb regeneration in salamanders.
promotes head formation in regenerating planarians, while
injection of agents that enhance the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
enable chicks (that, like mammals, are normally incapable of regenerating limbs) to regenerate a wing; as well as enabling a regenerating planarian to form a tail. Planaria exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts. For example, a planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals. In one experiment, T. H. Morgan found that a piece corresponding to 1⁄279th of a planarian could successfully regenerate into a new worm. This size (about 10,000 cells) is typically accepted as the smallest fragment that can regrow into a new planarian. Regeneration of planaria is epimorphic regeneration. After amputation, stump cells form blastema. lost or damaged body parts. Sponges can regenerate the entire organism from just a conglomeration of their cells.
This cnidarians can also regenerate its entire body from cells. The cells that do the job are totipotent stem cells residing in the animal's body. Blocking Wnt/β-catenin signaling by RNA causes a head to form where a tail should (producing a two-headed animal) while  blocking part of the β-catenin degradation complex (thus enhancing the pathway) causes a tail to develop where a head should (producing a two-tailed animal).
Thus it appears that the default pathway of neoblasts is to regenerate a head. In the amputated animal, a gradient of Wnt/β-catenin signaling extends from a high in the posterior leading to the formation of a tail and decreasing towards the anterior until the default pathway is no longer inhibited and a head can form.
Echinoderms can regenerate the entire organism from just one arm and the central disk. oyster fishermen used to dredge up sea stars from their oyster beds, chop them up in the hope of killing them, and then dump the parts back overboard. They soon discovered to their sorrow the remarkable powers of regeneration of these animals.

Thursday 11 December 2014

Himalayan Ibex in Gilgit Baltistan

The Ibex are somewhat heavy bodied and thick set even when compared to the other wild goat species, and have short sturdy legs. Adult males have a much paler body colouring with mainly white or creamy hairs on the flank and rump when in winter coat. Females and young males are reddish or almost a golden colour in summer coat with a greyer-brown appearance in winter, due to an admixture of white hairs. Older males have a rich chocolate-brown colour in summer with circular patches of yellowish-white hair in the mid-dorsal and leftover regions. under wool of the Ibex, has long been prized for producing the softest and most luxurious quality of wool called "Pashm". In both sexes there is a thick woolly beard. Both sexes have a mid dorsal dark brown stripe running from the shoulder to the tip of the tail. The Himalayan Ibex can be separated from the Alpine population by the horn shape which, in adult males, grows much longer, curving round to form three-quarters of a complete arc and tapering to relatively slender points. The horns of an adult male are large and impressive despite the bulk of the animal and measure average 101.6cm (40 in).
Its Shoulder Height is 95cm-101.7cm and Weight is 85-88 kg / 188-193 lb

Gestation Period is 155 to 170 days. It gave birth to 1 but twins are also common. The young are born from May or early June. Life span is 10-12 years. The Himalayan Ibex is expansive like all wild goats. Young males, females and their followers normally associate in small herds varying from seven or eight upto thirty individuals. Feeding activity appears to be confined largely to early morning and late afternoon even in moderately distant regions. Winter feeding conditions are harsh due to heavy rainfall and Ibex have to dig for grasses, bushes, mosses confined to the relatively arid(waterless) mountain ranges of the inner-Himalayas, living well above the tree line only in the higher more precipitous regions. They occur from about 3,660m to over 5,000m in Pakistan, but are sometimes seen crossing valleys below 2,135m. The Himalayan Ibex is common in the higher mountain ranges of Baltistan in Karakoram Range, the Harmosh Range, and the Deosai. They are considered plentiful in Khunjerab National Park, Gilgit, Yasin, Nagar Hunza and Chilas.