title: Comparison between microzooplankton population in polluted and moderately polluted coastal waters of Port Blair, South Andaman.
abstract: We report on the seasonal and spatial variations of microzooplankton between polluted and moderately polluted coastal waters of South Andaman Island, in relation to certain physicochemical and biological parameters. Microzooplankton communities were studied and recorded for 1 year (September 2011 to August 2012) during the northeast monsoon, the intermonsoon, and the southwest monsoon periods. We recorded a total of 75 species belonging to 29 genera, of which polluted waters encompassed 71 species (28 genera). In contrast, only 59 species (22 genera) were recorded in the moderately polluted waters. We discovered that taxonomic composition, biomass, and abundance of microzooplankton not only varied spatially but also altered seasonally. It is noteworthy to state that the northeast monsoon played a significant role in controlling the abundance of microzooplankton in South Andaman coastal waters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Andaman, Port Blair, 744 103, India. saimicrobes@gmail.com.|CSIR-National institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, 403 004, India. saimicrobes@gmail.com.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sai Elangovan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Andaman, Port Blair, 744 103, India.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Padmavati
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Andaman, Port Blair, 744 103, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Karthik
authors.affiliation: Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management (ICMAM), ICMAM-NIOT Campus, Chennai, 600100, Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Siva Sankar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Damodar Rakesh
authors.affiliation: Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Andaman, Port Blair, 744 103, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arun Kumar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D012621:Seasons; D015048:Zooplankton
keywords: Diversity; Microzooplankton; Pollution; Seasonal and spatial variations; South Andaman