Abstract
The aim of the study is to evaluate the diversity and relative abundance of copepods in Muthupet waters. Two years (January 2009 to December 2010) of investigation resulted in 75 species of copepods identified in Muthupet waters comprising 51 species of Calanoida, 14 Cyclopoida and 10 Harpacticoida. The copepod population showed a bimodal pattern of distribution, where the first peak was encountered during February and March 2009 and the second peak occurred during February and March 2010. The bulk of copepod population was contributed by species namely, Paracalanus parvus, Nannocalanus minor, Acartia spinicauda, A. danae, Acrocalanus gracilis and Oithona rigida. Generally, calanoid copepods were found to be dominant with 68 % followed by Cyclopoida (18.66 %) and Harpacticoida (13.33 %). Copepods population in Muthupet lagoon has been positively influenced by salinity. Population density, species diversity and species richness were found to be higher in summer due to the stable hydro-graphical conditions. However, high species evenness was observed during the monsoon season indicating that the species were equally distributed. It is concluded that the Muthupet mangrove wetland ecosystem is considered as a rich bio-diversity hot spot for marine copepods.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful to The Head, Department of Marine Science and authorities of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli for the facilities provided. The University Grants Commission (UGC), Govt. of India is greatly acknowledged for the financial support. One of the authors (JS) thanks the UGC for the fellowship provided.
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Santhanam, P. et al. (2013). Diversity and Abundance of Marine Copepods in Muthupet Mangrove Waters, Southeast Coast of 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_8
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