<i>Prionospio atrovitta</i> (Annelida: Spionidae), a new species from Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, northern Indian Ocean

Gopal, Aiswarya; Parameswaran, Usha V.; Jaleel, K.U. Abdul; Saravanane, N.

doi:10.1080/17451000.2019.1708950

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“…Studies on polychaete diversity in the ANI have been restricted mainly to shallow reef areas (<30 m depth) with 224 reported species (Rajasekaran and Fernando, 2012;Rajasekaran, 2015;Lakra et al, 2018). The present study from mesophotic reef areas (50-200 m) records a total of 606 species, including three new species (Gopal et al, 2014(Gopal et al, , 2016(Gopal et al, , 2020 and rediscoveries of rare and poorly known taxa (e.g., Palmyreuphrosyne sp., Imajimapholoe sp., Hartmanipsammolyce sp.). This study adds 551 species to the regional inventory, and the polychaete diversity around the ANI is updated to 775 species.…”

Section: Polychaete Diversity and Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Distinctive Community Patterns With Exceptional Diversity of Polychaetes Around a Tectonically Active Archipelago in the Tropical Indian Ocean

et al. 2020

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Marine soft-sediments sustain functionally important benthic assemblages that are critical for remineralization of organic matter and supply of nutrients to the water column. While these assemblages are well studied along continental margins, investigations from insular margin that surround oceanic islands are very limited. This paper examines the distribution and standing stock of macrozoobenthos at 50, 100, and 200 m depth contours surrounding the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in the tropical Indian Ocean. The standing stock of macrozoobenthos decreased from the mesophotic reef areas (50 m depth) to the deeper strata (200 m), particularly in the case of the dominant groups, the polychaetes and crustaceans. Smaller-sized, interstitial polychaetes and crustaceans were abundant in the coarser sandy sediments at the shallower sites. The polychaetes were represented by 606 species (279 genera) in the study, of which >50% were rare species. Based on polychaete species composition, three regions were delineated in the study area -the Nicobar margin, the western margin of the Andaman (Bay of Bengal sector), and the eastern margin of the Andaman (Andaman Sea sector). The long, uninterrupted Andaman Island chain formed a geographic barrier separating the eastern and western margins, resulting in the regional distinctions in sediment nature and hydrographic characteristics, which in turn influenced species distribution. Corresponding differences were absent in the case of the Nicobar Islands, which are widely separated by transecting channels, permitting exchange of water between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Within the three regions, polychaete communities changed significantly in taxonomic and functional composition with increasing depth. The well oxygenated, coarse sandy sediments around mesophotic reefs (50 m) harbored predator-dominated assemblages. The 200 m sites, which were characterized by oxygen minimum conditions (<0.5 ml.l −1 ), particularly around the Andaman Island mass, were dominated by deposit feeders. This study provides the first

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