Biodiversity of brackish water amphipods (crustacean) in two estuaries, southeast coast of India.
The present study about the gammarid amphipods of Vellar and Uppanar estuaries was performed during two seasons (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon, 2005-2006), respectively, in nine habitats: five in the Vellar estuary and four in the Uppanar estuary. Amphipod samples were collected from sediments, oyster beds, seaweeds, sea grass, and mangroves. A total of 29 species of gammarid amphipods were collected in each area. The surface water temperature ranged from 16°C to 26°C, the salinity from 20 to 32 psu, and the pH between 7.5 and 8.3. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 5.3 to 7.8 ml/l. The maximum abundance of amphipods was observed during the pre-monsoon (July to September) in Vellar mangrove, and it was minimum during the pre-monsoon in Uppanar sea grass. It was found that several physicochemical factors, such as salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and the substrate have a marked effect on the distribution and the relative abundance of amphipods. The ranges of species diversity, richness, dominance, and evenness in the Vellar and Uppanar estuaries were 1.58-4.15, 1.82-5.29, 0-0.11, and 0.96-1, respectively. Using multivariate analyses, in each estuary, it was possible to identify different communities of amphipod species according to their habitats.
Mondal
Nityananda
N
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India. mondalnityananda@yahoo.co.in
Rajkumar
Mayalagu
M
Sun
Jun
J
Kundu
Sourav
S
Lyla
P S
PS
Khan
Seyed Ajmal
SA
Trilles
Jean Paul
JP
D033304:Amphipoda; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011891:Rain; D054712:Salinity; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*