Journal des pêches et de l'aquaculture
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Studies on the Mangrove Macro Faunal Diversity and Assessment among Different Sites in Port Blair Bay, South Andaman Islands

Vishwas Rao M, Ajith Kumar TT and Swagat Ghosh

The mangrove intertidal zone is characterised by plenty floral and faunal diversity. The mangroves provide important habitat for a wide range of species like diverse communities of benthic organisms and function as nursery habitats for different types of crab, prawn and fish species and support offshore fish populations and fisheries. To assess the occurrence, spatial distribution and species composition of macro fauna in a mangrove area, core samples were taken along with transect in Portblair bay, South Andaman Islands. Three sites were taken; each study area was divided into three zones viz. Proximal, middle and distal zones, which were analyzed according to the floral composition. The highest value was observed at Barmanallah (2061 no.m-2), followed by Carbyn’s Cove (1710 no.m-2) and the lowest value was noticed at Manjery (882 no.m-2). Terebralia palustris, Cerithidea sp., Periopthalmus sp., Uca sp., Balanus sp. and Polychaetes were dominated in order. Some locations were found to support a high diversity of organisms across habitats, while other locations had high densities of a few species only.