title: An appraisal of biological responses and network of environmental interactions in non-mining and mining impacted coastal waters.
abstract: The coastal waters of Goa and Ratnagiri lying on the West coast of India are influenced by terrestrial influx. However, Goa is influenced anthropogenically by iron-ore mining, while Ratnagiri is influenced by deposition of heavy minerals containing iron brought from the hinterlands. We hypothesize that there could be a shift in biological response along with changes in network of interactions between environmental and biological variables in these mining and non-mining impacted regions, lying 160 nmi apart. Biological and environmental parameters were analyzed during pre-monsoon season. Except silicates, the measured parameters were higher at Goa and related significantly, suggesting bacteria centric, detritus-driven region. At Ratnagiri, phytoplankton biomass related positively with silicate suggesting a region dominated by primary producers. This dominance perhaps got reflected as a higher tertiary yield. Thus, even though the regions are geographically proximate, the different biological response could be attributed to the differences in the web of interactions between the measured variables.
authors.affiliation: CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Christabelle E G
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Ashish
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: V K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Jineesh
authors.forename: Sheryl O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Anindita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Sunita S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Geeta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kanolkar
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Sujith
authors.forename: Dhillan M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Velip
authors.forename: Shagufta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shaikh
authors.forename: Samita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helekar
authors.forename: Maria Judith
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gonsalves
authors.forename: Shanta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: LokaBharathi
mesh_terms: D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018533:Biomass; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D007194:India; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000502:physiology*; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical