| 1 | A note on the marine invertebrate fauna of Chandipore, Orissa A collection of marine invertebrates from different habitats like muddy pools and creeks, sandy beaches, mangrove swamps, etc., of different localities of Chandipore shore, Orissa, India are described. The fauna includes estuarine species, Bimeria fluminalis and Meretrix meretrix as well as some marine species are found in the sand between tide-marks. Notes on two species of echiuroids namely Thalassema branchiorhynchus and T. microrhynchus are discussed. Of these I. microrhynchus is described as new species and its structural peculiarities and adaptive characters are given Source: Gravely, F.H. Rec. Indian Mus.. 16(6); 1919; 395-402. 0002. | ||
| 2 | Pirotan Island - flora, fauna and natural history This report is prepared for the World Wildlife Fund (Western Region), highlighting on the flora and fauna, natural history of Pirotan Island in the Kutch Gulf. Various aspects covered are vegetation, mangroves, seaweeds terrestrial flora, fauna of the region Source: Parulekar, A.H.; Untawale, A.G. Report on flora, fauna and natural history of Pirotan Island in the Gulf of Kutch. 1976; 1-5. 0090. | ||
| 3 | Quantitative studies on the benthic macrofauna of Sagar Island, intertidal zones, Sunderbans, India The species composition, density and biomass of benthic macrofauna of two mangrove forests adjacent to mudflats were studied from November 1980 to June 1981 in relation to environmental conditions at Mandirtala and Harinbari intertidal zones in the Gangetic complex of Sagar Island. The fauna was composed of different taxa such as Molluscs, Actinarians, Polychaetes, Crustaceans, and some Goboid and Anguiliformis fishes. Comparisons were made on faunal density and biomass of the macrofauna in order to establish the dominant faunal structures of those habitats Source: Nandi, S.; Choudhury, A. Mahasagar. 16(3); 1983; 409-414. 0195. | ||
| 4 | Mudflats of lower Bengal with special reference to macrobenthic fauna The distribution of macrobenthic fauna of mudflats of Lower Bengal, India, was studied. The macrobenthic organisms of the Raimangal river bed at Jhingakhali, Matla river bed at Canning and Champa river bed at Sankarpur were taken into account for comparison. Survey and collection were carried out during low tide. The lower zone of the flat was populated with Diopatra neapolitana, Saccoglossus sp., Meretrix meretrix, etc. The middle zone was characterised by Dotillopsis brevitarsis, Edwardsia jonesii, etc. Upper zone was occupied by Sesarmid crabs, littorinid gastropods, Uca spp. Maximum number of species were found at Jhingakhali and minimum from Sankarpur. The macrobenthic organisms in the mudflats of Lower Bengal are very rich and varied with more than 78 species Source: Mandal, A.K.; Misra, A. The Mangroves: Proceedings of National Symposium on Biology, Utilization and Conservation of Mangroves, Nov. 18-20, 1985. Bhosale, L.J. ed. 1986; 425-431. 0343. | ||
| 5 | Mangrove forest of the Sundarbans: its impact on estuarine fisheries The Sundarbans tidal estuary comprise an area of 4266.6 sq km, of which the tidal and intertidal mangrove forest area is estimated of 2300 sq km. Sundarbans mangrove forest, only 30 true mangrove species are identified in addition to 117 other halophytic salt resistant mangrove associates. About 120 euryhaline fin-and-shell-fishes were also identified from about 45% of the total tidal area of the Sundarbans. Moreover, 33000 ha brackishwater in West Bengal delta are also utilized for fin-and-shell-fish culture. Requirement of stocking materials of these fisheries are met from this tidal mangrove forest area. The halophytic adaptation of the mangrove flora and its associates afford an unique opportunity to the euryhaline fish and prawn to survive and grow in such unique ecosystem. The dense growth of the tidal and intertidal mangroves along with their interesting aerial root systems, decayed leaves and tender branches act as substrata for the growth and development of periphytic, benthic and planktonic forms of brackishwater algae. These also serve as the ideal natural food items for most of the fishes and crustaceans. As such, the conservation and scientific management of these mangrove ecosystems are now urgently needed for keeping the nature in its true perspectives Source: Naskar, K.R.; Ghosh, A. Coastal Zone Management of West Bengal. Bose, A.N. ; Dwivedi, S.N. Eds. 1989; A47-A59. 0507. | ||
| 6 | Ecology of macrobenthos in a tidal creek and adjoining mangroves in West Bengal, India Studies on benthic macrofauna of a tidal creek (Mandarmani canal) and adjacent mangroves in the coastal zone of Midnapore district, West Bengal, India were carried out during November 1985-April 1987. The most common forms recorded were polychaetes, sipunculids, crustaceans, molluscs, nemarteans, gobiids and actiniarians. Polychaetes were the dominant taxa in the creek environment, the maximum density was 420 no./m3, whereas in the mangroves sipunculids were the most abundant group (54 no./m2). Salinity, water temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen of the creek water varied from 2 to 18.9 ppt, 18 to 32 C, 6.5 to 8 and 3.3 to 9.7 mg/liter respectively during the period of study Source: Patra, K.C.; Bhunia, A.B.; Mitra, A. Environ. Ecol.. 8(2); 1990; 539-547. 0515. | ||
| 7 | Ecology and faunal association of intertidal mangrove habitats in the Hooghly-Matlah Estuarine System The mangroves at the Sundarbans, West Bengal were studied for establishing the flora and faunal associations. The core areas are dominated by the trees, shrubs and herbs; the semicore areas by trees with twiners; and the mudflats in medium saline zones with shrubs and herbs. Tree-crabs hasten the process of compositing by chewing the falling leaves. The burrowing Thalassina spp. enrich the soil by mixing soil layers. Nutrient-rich zones like that of Sudhannyakhali is dominated by Thalassina sp. and Acetes sp. The floral and faunal concentrations at different formative zones have also been worked out Source: Ghosh, A.; Chakrabarti, P.K.; Naskar, K.R.; Chattopadhyay, G.N.; Nath, D.; Bhowmik, M.L. J. Inland Fish. Soc. India. 22(1-2); 1990; 31-37. 0533. | ||
| 8 | Micro-invertebrate benthic fauna of Pichavaram mangroves The micro-invertebrate benthic fauna of Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu, India in the mangroves was identified. Forty-four macro-invertebrate species were listed. Sixteen of them belonged to crabs and nine, to gastropods. Terrestrial gastropods are getting reduced and Pythia plicata is found to be an endangered species. Polychaeta, Bivalvia, Cirripedia, Tanaidacea, Isopods, Amphipoda are the macro-invertebrate fauna recorded from Pichavaram mangroves. Most of the animals are detritus feeders Source: Balasubrahmanyan, K. Conservation of mangrove forest genetic resources: A training manual. Deshmukh, S.V. ; Balaji, V. eds. 1994; 257-259. 0847. | ||
| 9 | Macrobenthos in the mangrove ecosystem of Cochin backwaters, Kerala (southwest coast of India) Structure, composition and seasonal distribution of macrobenthic fauna in the intertidal areas of the mangrove ecosystem of Cochin backwaters were studied. Benthic fauna was mainly represented by Polychaeta, Crustacea and Mollusca. Faunal diversity was higher at st. 1 near Cochin barmouth than at interior 2 stations. Species diversity and richness varied from 0.52 to 3.03 and 0.38 to 4.50, respectively. Evenness varied from 0.43 to 1.03. Maximum macrofaunal density and dry weight recorded were 8970 m-2 and 57.86 g.m-2 respectively. Polychaetes constituted the bulk of fauna in the 3 stations studied. Significant similarity and strong association were noticed among macrobenthos. Detritivorous benthos were found to be common at all stations and well adapted to mangrove habitat Source: Sunilkumar, R. Indian J. Mar. Sci.. 24(2); 1995; 56-61. 0910. | ||
| 10 | Qualitative study of fin fish and shell fish fauna of Thane creek and Ulhas river estuary An attempt has been made to obtain the comparative finfish and shellfish fauna qualitatively from the Thane creek and Ulhas river estuary, Maharashtra, India during Nov. 2001 to Oct. 2002 dividing each of these two coastal water bodies into three zones (Riverine zone 1, Middle zone 2, Seaward zone 3). Although the total number of species found in the Thane creek was high (67 spp.) as compared to Ulhas river estuary (58 spp.), the upper zones (1 st and 2 nd) of the former and zone 1 of the later contain very low diversity of fish fauna. The salinity trend of zone 1 of Thane Creek is fairly nearer to zone 2 of Ulhas River Estuary but there is considerable difference in the fishery composition. It seems that various human activities like industrial effluents, domestic waste disposal, reclamation, sand dredging and eradication of mangrove flora have deteriorated these dynamic habitats causing decline in their fin fish and shell fish fauna during last two decades. It has been observed that the mudskippers, prawns have been completely eradicated from the entire stretch of the Thane creek due to heavy industrial and domestic waste disposal although there is fairly good mangrove vegetation along its West Bank. Incase of Ulhas river estuary, the sand dredging, occurring on its southern bank has forced the bottom dwellers like mudskippers, prawns and crabs to shift towards northern bank in zone 2 and 3. A fairly good variety of fishery at the mouth of Thane creek and Ulhas river estuary indicated that timely implementation of mitigation measures may revive the fishery of the two ecosystems. Source: Rathod, S.D.; Patil, N.N.; Quadros, G.; Athalye, R.P. Proceedings of the National Seminar on Creeks, Estuaries and Mangroves - Pollution and Conservation, 28th to 30th November, 2002, Thane. Quadros, G. ed. 2002; 135-141. 1221. | ||
| 11 | Conservation of biodiversity of the coastal resources of Sundarbans, Northeast India: An integrated approach through environmental education The Indian Sundarbans, a diversified coastal wetland on the southern fringe of the State of West Bengal, harbors a luxuriant biodiversity and acts as a potential refuge of living marine resources. Girdled with thick mangrove foliage, this estuarine delta system offers an excellent nursery ground for most of the brackishwater finfish and shellfish. Since supply of hatchery-produced tiger prawn seed (Penaeus monodon) is highly inadequate in West Bengal, the aquaculture farms of this region largely depend on the supply from natural resources. This wasted by-catch contains the juveniles of economic and uneconomic varieties of finfish and shellfish along with a bulk of holoplankters and meroplankters (non-target species). This practice causes several ecological and occupational consequences, namely, (1) the huge destruction of the pelagic biota that can lead to severe stock depletion as well as hamper the energy transference through the marine ecosystem food webs; (1) constant dragging of nets along the coast and tidal creeks paves the way for soil erosion, uprooting the mangrove seedlings and saltmarsh vegetation; (3) the water quality is deteriorating in the catchment areas due to mud erosion and (4) due to constant contact with the seawater, the collectors are affected with waterborne diseases, skin infections, reproductive tract disease in women and many other contagious diseases. As a follow-up course of action, the authors have initiated a general awareness program for developing consciousness among the coastal people regarding proper use of natural resources. Initiatives are taken for educating coastal people by holding workshops and seminars with the use of educational resource materials. Exclusive awareness camps and grass root level training for coastal people are also being proposed as a future course of action by means of exhibitions, audiovisuals etc. It is proposed that local government bodies come forward to mitigate this problem with scientific and rational approaches and to take proper actions towards conservation. Source: Sarkar, S.K.; Bhattacharya, A.K. Mar. Pollut. Bull.. 47(1-6); 2003; 260-264. 1314. | ||
| 12 | Macrobenthos of Kakinada Bay in the Godavari delta, East coast of India: comparing decadal changes A one-year study (1995-1996) on the macrobenthos over a spread of (37) hydrographically differing GPS-fixed sites in Kakinada Bay (mean salinity 27.16G0.4) and adjacent mangrove channels (14.78G0.55) in the Godavari delta, one of India's largest estuarine systems, revealed a great preponderance of benthic life.There were 11 diverse taxa represented by 95 species collected through several (303) grab and dredge hauls. Based on Bray-Curtis similarity through hierarchical clustering implemented in PRIMER, it was possible to distinguish the benthos into four assemblages each of which represented sites in the Central and North bay (Paphia textrix - Typhlocarcinus sp. Assemblage), South-East bay (Protankyra similis - Paphia malabarica Assemblage), Mangrove Outlets (Cerithidea cingulata Assemblage) and Mangrove channels (Diopatra neapolitana Assemblage).Benthos densities (mean nos. dredge haul_1) were highest (299 individuals) at sites close to mangrove outlets.Species diversity (Margalef, d; Shannon-Wiener, H; ) was low in general (d 1.244 to 2.251 and H; 0.038 to 1.502). Sediments were mostly clayey-silt in nature except in southeast bay where they are silt-sand.Organic matter (mean) was at or near 1.3%.The observations have revealed marked changes in benthic community structure relative to an earlier investigation held in 1958-1963 in this area.Over the years, species such as Turritella duplicata, Tonna dolium and Placuna placenta found in considerable numbers previously have dwindled.Anomia, Bursa and Atrina and echinoderms, Astropecten indica, Echinodiscus auritus and Temnopleurus toreumaticus and the brachiopod, Lingula sp. Of common occurrence in early 60s are absent altogether attributable to long-term natural trends during the intervening years and/or events accompanying human impingement (e.g. industrial and urban growth, port expansion measures, aquaculture, mangrove denudation etc.).Despite such large-scale alterations in benthos community structure, there were no significant changes in ''biodiversity'' measured through Average Taxonomic Distinctness (AvTD) and Variation in Taxonomic Distinctness (VarTD).The investigation revealed that AvTD (DC) and VarTD (LC) for previous years and the present study remained well within the 95% confidence funnel implying taxonomic stability.It was found that species, which had replaced the earlier forms, were drawn from comparable (Linnean) hierarchy i.e. same phylum/class Source: Raut, D.; Ganesh, T.; Murty, N.V.S.S.; Raman, A.V. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci.. 62; 2005; 609-620. 1345.
|