Ten fungal isolates with an ability to degrade crude oil were isolated from select marine substrates, such as mangrove sediments, Arabian Sea sediments, and tarballs. Out of the ten isolates, six belonged to , two to and one each to and as identified using ITS rDNA sequencing. The selected ten fungal isolates were found to degrade the long-chain -alkanes as opposed to short-chain-alkanes from the crude oil. Mangrove fungus #NIOSN-M126 () was found to be highly efficient in biodegradation of crude oil, reducing the total crude oil content by 77% and the individual -alkane fraction by an average of 95.37%, indicating it to be a potential candidate for the development into a bioremediation agent.

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Carbohydrates including uronic acids are among the active components of dissolved organic carbon, and play an important role in biogeochemical cycling of organic carbon in marine environments. In order to understand their distribution, concentrations of total dissolved carbohydrate (TCHO), dissolved polysaccharide (PCHO), dissolved monosaccharide (MCHO), and dissolved uronic acid (URA) were measured in the Mandovi estuary, west coast of India during the monsoon and premonsoon seasons. The estuary experienced nearly fresh water condition during the monsoon season and marine condition during the pre-monsoon season. Concentrations of TCHO, MCHO and URA ranged from 17.7 to 67.3 µM C, 4.1 to 15.5 µM C and 2.3 to 10.8 µM C, and their contribution to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) varied from ∼ 11 to 60%, 2.5 to 9.7%, and 1.8 to 5.3%, respectively. PCHO accounted for ∼ 52 to 92% of the TCHO. Generally, concentrations and yields of TCHO species were greater during the monsoon season. Phytoplankton abundance and bacterial cell numbers influenced the distribution of TCHO in the pre-monsoon season but not during the monsoon season. Transport of TCHO rich (11 to 60%) dissolved organic matter from the Mandovi estuary to the coastal waters during the monsoon season may affect ecosystem function by fueling biological activity of heterotrophic micro-organisms.