Department of Zoology

In Sri Lanka there are 82 Lagoons of which 62 are located in the coastal region of the dry zone, 15 in the wet zone and 4 in the intermediate zones (Silva et al., 2013). Lagoons are highly productive ecosystems. A comprehensive knowledge of the processes, chemistry, biology and ecology of the lagoons are necessary for the sustainable use of lagoon resources. However, estuaries and lagoons worldwide are under immense pressure due to anthropogenic influence and accumulation of pollutants from land based and in situ human settlements and activities. The fauna in these ecosystems act as indicators of the health of the ecosystem. Environmental DNA (eDNA) technique is a versatile, multi-species sensitive approach that could provide spacio-temporal composition of fish species. This is a non-intrusive method where no animal specimens are collected. Therefore, in the proposed research, an extensive eDNA analysis of Negambo and Puttalam lagoons will be conducted to determine the species composition of fish.

Sri Lanka is home to a relatively large number of freshwater fish. Even though the biology, ecology, and behavior of many of these species have been studied, little or no attention has been given to their embryonic development. An understanding of their embryonic development has many implications for aquaculture, ex situ and in situ conservation as well as our understanding of many aspects of biology including neurobiology and development. At present we are conducting a comparative analysis of embryonic development in different native and exotic fish species.

Sri Lankan freshwater snails are scarcely studied, understated group of animals. There is considerable uncertainty in their taxonomy due to synonymy, and gastropod shell plasticity. Furthermore, their ecology and biology are mostly unknown. These invertebrates may have a huge potential as environmental indicators or biomonitering tools through assessment of their community composition. On the contrary, they also act as intermediate hosts of several helminth parasites where humans or their livestock act as primary hosts. At present we are evaluating the morphological and molecular diversity of this group of animals. 

Invasive alien species are animals or plants that are introduced accidentally or deliberately to a new environment where they were not recorded previously. Such introductions can lead to extreme negative impacts on the environment. In fact invasive species are the second largest threat after loss of habitat to biodiversity in a particular region or environment. We are involved in research studying the impacts of such flora and fauna to our biodiversity.      

Strabismus-mediated primary archenteron invagination is uncoupled from Wnt/beta-catenin-dependent endoderm cell fate specification in Nematostella vectensis (Anthozoa, Cnidaria): Implications for the evolution of gastrulation.

Asymmetric developmental potential along the animal-vegetal axis in the anthozoan cnidarian, Nematostella vectensis, is mediated by Disheveled.