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Diversity and distribution of molluscan fauna of Asthamudi estuary, Kerala, India

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Abstract

The survey of molluscan fauna of Ashtamudi estuary of the southwest coast of India recorded the presence of 119 species classified under 3 classes (Polyplacophora, Gastropoda and Bivalvia), 57 families and 96 genera. The species diversity was dominated by the Gastropoda (69 species), followed by the Bivalvia (49 species) and the Polyplacophora (1 species). The report includes four species recorded for the first time from India: Desmaulus edgarianus (Melvill, 1898), Pilosabia trigona (Gmelin, 1791), Nassarius javanus (Schepman, 1891) and Jorunna labialis (Eliot, 1908). The true diversity of the mangrove region was as good as that of a community with 31.380 (= 31) equally common species; the respective values for the bar mouth and lake regions were 15.516 and 8.997, respectively, indicating that the molluscan species assemblage of the mangrove was the most diverse and of the lake, the least. True β-diversity across this gradient registered 1.792, which means that though there were three communities, they were equivalent to only 1.792 (= 2) effective communities, i.e., the three actual communities were as different from each other as 2 with equal weights and no species in common.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of the University of Kerala and the University Grants Commission for the study.

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Funding was provided by University of Kerala and University Grants Commission.

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  1. Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695581, India

    Raveendhiran Ravinesh, Appukuttannair Biju Kumar & Vidhyadharan Lailasy Anjana

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Ravinesh, R., Biju Kumar, A. & Anjana, V.L. Diversity and distribution of molluscan fauna of Asthamudi estuary, Kerala, India. Wetlands Ecol Manage 29, 745–765 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-021-09791-y

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