| 1 | Relationship between plankton and finfish and shellfish juveniles in Pichavaram mangrove waterways, south east coast of India Qualitative and quantitative assessments of phytoplankton in Pichavaram mangrove, Tamil Nadu, India waterways were made monthly for a period of two years (1980-82) in order to investigate the relationship between phytoplankton abundance and that of the juveniles of commercially important finfish and shrimps. Totally 84 species of phytoplankton comprising 74 species of diatoms, 5 species of dinoflagellates, 4 species of blue green algae and 1 species of green alga were recorded. The density of phytoplankton ranged from 12 to 40,11,872 cells/1 during the period with peaks during summer and post-monsoon seasons. The positive relationship observed between the phytoplankton and the finfish and shrimp juveniles, indicates that phytoplankton could be one of the major factors influencing the temporal fluctuations of the populations of fish juveniles in this mangrove biotope. Source: Chandrasekaran, V.S. Seaweed Res. Util.. 22(1-2); 2000; 199-207. 1131.
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