title: Multivariate and geo-spatial approach for seawater quality of Chidiyatappu Bay, south Andaman Islands, India.
abstract: Chidiyatappu Bay is one of the least disturbed marine environments of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the union territory of India. Oceanic flushing from southeast and northwest direction is prevalent in this bay. Further, anthropogenic activity is minimal in the adjoining environment. Considering the pristine nature of this bay, seawater samples collected from 12 sampling stations covering three seasons were analyzed. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed 69.9% of total variance and exhibited strong factor loading for nitrite, chlorophyll a and phaeophytin. In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA-one way), regression analysis, box-whisker plots and Geographical Information System based hot spot analysis further simplified and supported multivariate results. The results obtained are important to establish reference conditions for comparative study with other similar ecosystems in the region.
authors.affiliation: Ocean Science and Technology for Islands, ESSO-NIOT, Ministry of Earth Science, Government of India, Chennai 600100, India; Andaman and Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology, Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO)-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Port Blair 744103, India. Electronic address: dilipjhaniot@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dilip Kumar
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Jha
authors.affiliation: Andaman and Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology, Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO)-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Port Blair 744103, India.
authors.forename: Nambali Valsalan
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Vinithkumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Sciences, Berhampur University, Berhampur 760007, Odisha, India.
authors.forename: Biraja Kumar
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Sahu
authors.affiliation: Andaman and Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology, Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO)-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Port Blair 744103, India.
authors.forename: Palaiya Sukumaran
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Dheenan
authors.affiliation: Andaman and Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology, Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO)-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Port Blair 744103, India.
authors.forename: Apurba Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: Andaman and Nicobar Centre for Ocean Science and Technology, Earth System Sciences Organisation (ESSO)-National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Port Blair 744103, India.
authors.forename: Mehmuna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Begum
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Management, School of Environmental Sciences, Bharathidasan University, India.
authors.forename: Marimuthu Prashanthi
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Devi
authors.affiliation: Ocean Science and Technology for Islands, ESSO-NIOT, Ministry of Earth Science, Government of India, Chennai 600100, India.
authors.forename: Ramalingam
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kirubagaran
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D061006:Bays; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D062312:Islands; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009573:Nitrites / Q000032:analysis; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D054712:Salinity; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; C406457:phaeophytin a; D002734:Chlorophyll; D000077194:Chlorophyll A
keywords: Chidiyatappu; GIS; Hot spot; Nutrients; Physico-chemical