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Biodiversity and seasonal variation of macro-benthic infaunal community in the inshore waters of Parangipettai Coast

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Abstract

This paper deals with the diversity and seasonal variations of macro-benthic infauna and associated environmental factors influencing the benthic community in the inshore waters of southern Indian coast. Four seasonal collections (2006–2007) were made at three different depths (5, 15 and 25 m) in the inshore waters of Pazhayar, Parangipettai and Cuddalore and at 5 m near State Industrial Promotion Council of Tamilnadu (SIPCOT), covering 10 stations in Bay of Bengal. Altogether, 80 infaunal samples (Van-veen grab 0.1 m2) were collected which revealed the occurrence of 132 species representing five diverse groups. Polychaetes were the dominant group (45%), followed by bivalves (31%) and gastropods (16%). Diversity (H’log2) was maximum (4.601) at Parangipettai 25 m during the pre-monsoon season, and the minimum (0.954) was in SIPCOT during monsoon. Multivariate analyses were used to define assemblages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai, 608502, Tamilnadu, India

    Sourav Kundu, Nityananda Mondal, P. S. Lyla & S. Ajmal Khan

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  1. Sourav Kundu
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  2. Nityananda Mondal
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  3. P. S. Lyla
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  4. S. Ajmal Khan
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Kundu, S., Mondal, N., Lyla, P.S. et al. Biodiversity and seasonal variation of macro-benthic infaunal community in the inshore waters of Parangipettai Coast. Environ Monit Assess 163, 67–79 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-0817-9

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