title: Biodiversity of brackish water amphipods (crustacean) in two estuaries, southeast coast of India.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India. mondalnityananda@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Nityananda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mondal
authors.forename: Mayalagu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajkumar
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Sourav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kundu
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Lyla
authors.forename: Seyed Ajmal
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Jean Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Trilles
mesh_terms: 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*