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Distribution and abundance of macrobenthic polychaetes along the South Indian coast

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Distribution and abundance of macrobenthic polychaetes along the South Indian coast
 
Creator Musale, A.S.
Desai, D.V.
 
Subject Polychaete
Macrobenthos
Pollution indicator
Organic carbon
 
Description Macrobenthic polychaetes play a significant role in marine benthic food chain. A study was carried out to observe the abundance and diversity of soft bottom macrobenthic polychaetes along the South Indian coast, along with observations on sediment characteristics. The present study indicated an increase in the polychaete diversity as compared to earlier reports. Sixty-three different forms of polychaetes were identified along the coast, which constitute the bulk of the macrobenthic fauna. Thirty-eight species of polychaetes showed higher abundance along the west coast, whereas 25 species showed higher abundance along the east coast. Seabed composition showed a spatial variation in its composition along the coast. Occurrence of Prionospio pinnata and Capitella capitata the deposit feeders and indicators of organic pollution suggesting the sampled area is organically rich. Polychaete abundance was found to be higher along the west coast and was attributed to loose texture of sediment due to high sand and sandy-silt resulting in higher interstitial space for organisms to harbor. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that majority of polychaete species preferred low organic carbon, sandy silt, or sandy-clay substratum. The lower polychaete abundance at high organic carbon and high silt and clay areas can be attributed to avoidance of organisms to rich organic matter and suboxic levels, being a possible indication that these characteristics adversely affects the polychaete abundance and distribution
 
Date 2011-07-29T07:26:17Z
2011-07-29T07:26:17Z
2011
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol.178(1-4); 2011; 423-436
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/3884
 
Language en
 
Rights An edited version of this paper was published by Springer. This paper is for R & D purpose and Copyright [2011] Springer.
 
Publisher Springer