Benthic macrofaunal assemblage in the arid zone mangroves of gulf of Kachchh-Gujarat

Abstract

The total benthic macrofauna consisting of 62 species in 5 groups, viz. crustaceans (18), gastropods (17), bivalves (16), polychaetes (9) and fishes (2), was recorded in western Kachchh mangroves near Gujarat. The population densities of benthic macrofauna ranged from 424 to 2393 ind.m -2 , the diversity ranged from 1.84 to 2.45 bits ind. -1 , the richness varied between 0.82 and 0.98, and the evenness varied between 0.64 and 0.81. Two maximum diversity values were recorded during winter and summer. The salinity ranged from 34 to 44, temperature varied between 17 and 37 ℃, and the acidity ranged from 7 to 8.9.

Biodiversity and seasonal variation of benthic macrofauna in Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep, India

“…In the present study, richnesses of benthic macro-fauna were the maximum during the postmonsoon season (26.17). A similar observation was reported by Saravanakumar et al (2007) Raut et al (2005) in Godavari mangroves. The low richness recorded in this study during monsoon (3.21) might be due to the freshwater inflow which induced low saline conditions, which in turn affected the distribution of benthos, particularly, the Polychaetes and molluscs.…”

“…This showed the ability of these species to survive in adverse conditions, which was similar to the observation of Saravanakumar et al (2007) from the arid zone of mangroves of the Gulf of Kutch, India. The high organic content of fine fraction most likely determined a reduction in oxygen concentration within the sediments as a result of bacterial and chemical degradation activities (Semprucci et al, 2010).…”

“…Mangroves that exist in tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world support rich faunal resources and play an important role in the estuarine and coastal food webs (Alongi, 1990). Studies on the ecology of mangrove fauna of eastern and western coasts of India had been carried out (Khan et al, 2005;Saravanakumar et al, 2007;Kumar and Khan, 2013). Macrobenthos in marine sediment play an important role in ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, pollutant metabolism, dispersion and burial and in secondary production (Snelgrove, 1998).…”

Diversity of phytoplankton in some domestic wastewater-fed urban fish pond ecosystems of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Bankura, India

“…In an aquatic ecosystem, the base of the food chain is formed by the phytoplankton (Tas and Gonulal 2007;Saravanakumar et al 2008) and they are responsible for more than 40% of Earth's photosynthetic production (Schmidt 2000). Therefore, variations in phytoplankton community structure alter the productivity of aquatic system where different organisms exist interdependently.…”

“…It is noted that upon different pH level, phytoplankton species have a different tolerance range. Phytoplankton assemblage is greatly influenced by pH in association with the salinity of the water (Sridhar et al 2006;Saravanakumar et al 2008). Bacillariophyceae dominates in slightly higher pH in large lakes in South India (Senthilkumar and Sivakumar 2008), whereas coccal green algae and desmids dominate in high altitude lakes having a less acidic pH Keshri 2012, 2013).…”