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Species Composition and Distribution of Sponges (Phylum: Porifera) in the Seagrass Ecosystem of Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep, India

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Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Marine Faunal Communities

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Abstract

Studies on diversity of fauna associated with seagrass ecosystem of Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep were conducted for 2 years. Sponges were the important associated macrofauna in the seagrass meadow as attached to the leaves, stem and rhizome of the seagrass, or sometimes found attached to hard substratum in the meadow. As part of this study, species composition and abundance of sponges were analyzed from four stations in the seagrass meadow. Total of 22 species of sponges were recorded which belong to 21 genera, 19 families, 10 orders, and 2 classes. The following species were recorded from the four study stations and these constituted 10 % of the total faunal population of seagrass meadow namely, Clathrina sp., Scypha ciliata, Dysidea fragilis, Fasciospongia cavernosa, Ircinia compana, Aurora globostellata, Cliona sp., Spirastrella inconstans, Suberites sp., Tethya diploderma, Xenospongia sp., Halichondria sp., Haliclona pigmentifera, Haliclona tenuiramosa, Callispongia sp., Gelliodes cellaria, Sigmadocia fibulata, Hyatella cribriformis, Spongia officianalis, Echinodictyum longistylum, Thalysias reinwardti and Psammaplysilla purpurea. In the Station I, the abundance of sponges was significantly correlated with seagrass shoot density (P < 0.01, r = 0.626). Highest mean seasonal density of 3.13 ± 4.63 individual m−2 was recorded during monsoon and spatially, 3.33 ± 4.46 individual m−2 in the Station III. Studies on the community structure of macro-invertebrate fauna in the seagrass meadow of Minicoy Atoll were less. This study highlights the species composition of sponges in the seagrass meadow of Minicoy Atoll and it will be useful in future for the assessment of changes in ecosystem and conservation management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine Sciences, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, 682016, India

    M. P. Prabhakaran, P. R. Jayachandran & S. Bijoy Nandan

  2. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Dr. Salim Ali Road, Kochi, 682018, Kerala, India

    N. G. K. Pillai

Authors
  1. M. P. Prabhakaran
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  2. N. G. K. Pillai
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  3. P. R. Jayachandran
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  4. S. Bijoy Nandan
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Correspondence to M. P. Prabhakaran .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India

    K. Venkataraman

  2. Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair, India

    C. Sivaperuman

  3. Zoological Survey of India, Port Blair, Andaman und Nico.In., India

    C. Raghunathan

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Prabhakaran, M.P., Pillai, N.K., Jayachandran, P.R., Bijoy Nandan, S. (2013). Species Composition and Distribution of Sponges (Phylum: Porifera) in the Seagrass Ecosystem of Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep, India. In: Venkataraman, K., Sivaperuman, C., Raghunathan, C. (eds) Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Marine Faunal Communities. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38200-0_3

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