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Environmental gradient favours functionally diverse macrobenthic community in a placer rich tropical bay

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Environmental gradient favours functionally diverse macrobenthic community in a placer rich tropical bay
 
Creator Sivadas, S.K.
Ingole, B.S.
Fernandes, C.E.G.
 
Subject benthos
species diversity
organic matter
sediment texture
 
Description The present paper examines the functional diversity-environment relation in a placer rich tropical bay. The geographic location of Kalbadevi Bay along the west coast of India provides an opportunity to study the functional diversity pattern of macrofauna along an environmental gradient. Additionally, the area is also a potential placer mining site. Seasonal sampling was carried out for macrofauna and environmental variables. Macrofaunal functional diversity showed significant temporal variation related to the environmental parameters. The most important environmental variables were organic matter and sediment texture. Filter feeders dominated during postmonsoon which is a period when the water column is enriched with sinking detritus. The deposit feeders which rapidly ingest the settled detritus and also transport it to deeper sediment for the subsurface deposit feeders dominated during premonsoon. Abundance of carnivores was high during premonsoon, a response to increase in food in terms of deposit feeders. The result thus indicates that the temporal environmental variation influenced the macrofaunal functional diversity pattern in the Kalbadevi Bay.
 
Date 2013-07-10T07:09:09Z
2013-07-10T07:09:09Z
2013
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier The Scientific World Journal, vol.2013; 2013; Article ID 750580, 12 pp.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/4330
 
Language en
 
Rights ? Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License (CC BY 3.0)
 
Publisher Hindawi Publishing