MARINE BIODIVERSITY: PRESENT STATUS AND

MARINE BIODIVERSITY: PRESENT STATUS AND PROSPECTS

MARINE BIODIVERSITY: PRESENT STATUS AND PROSPECTS Edited by : P. Santhanam Department of Marine Science Bharathidasan University TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 (T.N.) and P. Perumal Department of Biotechnology Periyar University SALEM 636011 (T.N.) NARENDRA PUBLISHING HOUSE DELHI 110006 (INDIA)

Copyright 2012, Narendra Publishing House, Delhi (India) All rights reserved. Neither this book nor any part may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, recording, or information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher and author. The information contained in this book has been obtained from authentic and reliable resources, but the authors/publisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors/ publisher have attempted to trace and acknowledge the materials reproduced in this publication and apologize if permission and acknowledgements to publish in this form have not been given. If any material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify it. First Published in 2012 ISBN: 978 93 80428 55 0 Published by : NARENDRA PUBLISHING HOUSE Publisher and Distributor 1417, Kishan Dutt Street, Maliwara, DELHI 110006 (India) Phones: 91 011 23268470, 91 011 23259412 E mail: info@nphindia.com Website: www.nphindia.com Printed in India Laser Typeset by Amrit Graphics, Shahdara, Delhi 110032

Contents Foreword Preface List of Contributors vii ix xi 1. Meiofauna of Intertidal Region of Chennai Coast, India 1 A. Janakiraman, M.S. Naveed and K. Altaff 2. The Eutrophic State of Pulicat Lagoon Ecosystem: An Analysis 15 T. Lynda Keren and R. Moses Inbaraj 3. Threats to Marine Biodiversity 21 B. Belim Imtiyaz, P. Dhone Sweta and K. Kaba Prakash 4. Diversity of Fish Bycatch in the Trawlers off Parangipettai and Cuddalore 27 (Southeast Coast of India) P. Murugesan and S. Purusothaman 5. Habitat Loss and Population Reduction of Mudskippers (Family: Gobiidae) 37 from Tamil Nadu, Southeast Coast of India V. Ravi 6. Variation in Diversity of Crabs in Pichavaram Mangrove Environment 51 S. Ravichandran 7. Climate Change: Changing Scenario of Resources and Geography with 61 Reference to Pulicat Lake Ecosystem J. Sesh Serebiah and R. Moses Inbaraj 8. An Investigation on the Hydrography and Plankton Ecology of Coromandel 75 Coast, Southeast Coast of India B. Balaji Prasath, R. Nandakumar, P. Santhanam, P. Perumal, S. Ananth, S. Dinesh Kumar, A. Shenbaga Devi, V. Chinnaraja, P. Kuyili and P. Ananthi 9. Biodiversity in Mangrove Forest Ecosystems of India 91 K. Kathiresan 10. Occurrence of Double Parasitism (Isopod and Copepod) on Valenciennes 103 Halfbeak Fish from Parangipettai Coastal Waters, South India A. Gopalakrishnan, M. Rajkumar, J. Manoharan, K. Sinduja and J.P. Trilles

vi 11. Seasonal Variations in the Diversity of Coral Associated Brachyuran Crabs 111 in Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve A. Gokul and K. Venkataraman 12. Marine Molluscan Diversity: Where do we stand? 119 G.A. Thivakaran 13. Marine Microbial Diversity: Special Emphasis on Industrial Potentiality 127 V. Anuradha 14. Sea Turtle Conservation in Orissa: An Overview 139 Brajeswari Singh Samant, Premalata Pati, Sabita Paikaray and R.C. Panigrahy 15. Macrofouling in Three Different Test Panels from Vellar Estuary, 155 Southeast Coast of India K. Prabhu S. Bragadeeswaran and S. Sophia Rani 16. Are Mangroves Critical Habitat for Fishes? 173 N. Rajendran and K. Kathiresan 17. Optimization of Marine Microalgae in Outdoor Tanks for the Sustainable 189 Production of Biofuels Shyam Rajan and Grant Burgess 18. Ecology of Macrobenthos in the Coastal Waters of Gulf of Kachchh, 207 West Coast of India G.A. Thivakaran and Sourav Kundu 19. Pollution and Marine Biodiversity 227 P. Sampathkumar and P. Karthikeyan 20. Ecology of Phytoplankton in Parangipettai Coastal Waters, Southeast 239 Coast of India C. Santhosh Kumar, V. Ashok Prabu, P. Sampath Kumar and T. Balasubramanian 21. Effect of Different Pollution on Marine and Coastal Birds: A General Aspect 245 Shailesh Dhameliya, Digvijay Goswami, Bhavisha Parmar, Hetal Parekh and I.R. Gadhvi 22. Impacts of Marine Litter on Marine Biodiversity 255 D. Ruby, J. Kishore Ananth and V. Radhakrishnan Plates

Foreword India is one among 12 mega biodiversity countries and 25 hotspots of the richest and highly endangered eco regions of the world. In terms of marine environment, India has a coastline of about 8000 km, an Exclusive Economic Zone of 2.02 million km 2 adjoining the continental regions and the offshore islands and a very wide range of coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, rocky coasts, sandy stretches and coral reefs, which are characterized by unique biotic and abiotic properties and processes. Study of marine fauna in India drew greater attention from the 18th century onwards. This was achieved due to many surveys and expeditions conducted in the county. So far, surveys and inventorisation of fauna and flora have been conducted only in select areas especially around the mainland coasts where some of the research institutions are based. This is largely attributed not only to the decline in number of taxonomists but also want of facility. To culminate the present scenario in the biodiversity studies in India, capacity building in taxonomy at national, regional and sub regional level with the publication of faunal guides for identification both in the electronic as well as print media is essential. In this perspective, it is significant in the history of marine studies in India that the contributions of National Conference on Marine Biodiversity Present Status and Prospects (MABPSAP 2010) held at Tiruchirappalli 24 under the dexterous guidance of the faculty of this department, are published as proceedings namely Marine Biodiversity: Present Status and Prospects. I believe that this is the need of the hour for biodiversity rich country like India. I deeply admire the editors, Drs. P. Santhanam and P. Perumal for their efforts in bringing out the publication on Marine Biodiversity: Present Status and Prospects, and the efforts taken by his team of faculty and students of Tiruchirappalli 620 024. Tamil Nadu, INDIA K. Venkataraman 15.5.2011 Director

Preface Marine ecosystem and the diversity of species provide a wide range of important resources and services. Food from the sea, particularly fish, crustaceans and molluscs, form a major source of human protein. The marine fisheries industry is considered to be a major source of employment for many of the world s coastal States. Small scale fisheries harvest a large proportion of the world s catch. Fish accounts for about 16 per cent of the average individual s intake of animal protein worldwide (FAO, 1993), and the percentage is even higher in many developing countries (WRI, 1996). Marine and coastal ecosystems also provide many critically important services for humanity such as: a) storing and cycling nutrients, b) regulating water balances, c) buffering land and protecting it against erosion from storms and waves, d) filtering pollutants, e) regulating planetary balances in hydrology and climate f ) removing the primary greenhouse gases through the ocean s photosynthetic pump, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and producing one third to one half of the global oxygen supply. Coral reefs, estuaries, lagoons and shallow coastal waters are particularly valuable for human population because of the valuable goods and services they provide. They are among the most biologically productive eco systems on the earth. Some reefs and mangroves provide sea defences and buffer the impacts of tropical storms, thereby mitigating the erosive effects of waves and storm surges. All of these systems provide nurseries and feeding grounds for many coastal and pelagic species of fish including the most important sources of fish for human consumption. Marine species provide many other products as well, including edible seaweeds, ingredients for food and cosmetics, industrial chemicals and dyes and a host of other products. Medical researchers have already identified a number of marine organisms that produce previously unknown bioactive compounds, including anti viral and anti tumor agents, which may soon have medicinal applications. One compound, derived from a sea sponge, to treat herpes is worth US $50 to $100 million annually (Norse, 1993). This diversity of species and ecosystems in the marine and coastal environment is the basis for the production of goods and services valuable to human communities. While we tend to measure the ocean s value in terms of harvests of particular species used for food and other purposes, marine and coastal ecosystems provide important ecological services that are rarely perceived until they are lost. Species do not live in isolation, but they are part of and dependent upon vast ecological communities and systems. The conservation of biodiversity, is therefore, an important part of managing economically valuable living resources.

x India is one of the 12 mega biodiversity regions of the world and she has a coastline of about 8000 km besides an EEZ of 2.02 million km 2. The biodiversity assessment is getting lesser priority compared to other developments. The net result is that we know still little of what biodiversity we have and alarmingly, what fraction of it we are losing. Accelerated loss of marine biodiversity components over the last few decades has been of great concern. Environmental changes, over exploitation and habitat loss are among the major causes for species loss. The United Nations Environment Programme green economy preview report states that if the world remained on its path of over exploitation, by 2050 ocean fish stocks could become uneconomic to exploit or extinct. Our welfare is intimately connected with the welfare of wildlife. So by saving the lives of wild flora and fauna we may save our own life. The present book comprises the papers presented in the National Conference on Marine Biodiversity Present Status and Prospects (MABPSAP 2010) held at Bharathidasan University during September 16 18, 2010. It is hoped that the book will be useful to the environmental researchers, coastal zone managers and PG students. We are deeply thankful to all authors who have contributed their articles for publication in this proceeding. We extend our sincere thanks to Messrs: J. Sivakumar, K. Jothiraj, B. Balaji Prasath, R. Nandakumar, S. Ananth, S. Dinesh Kumar and Ms. A. Shenbaga Devi, Research Scholars, School of Marine Sciences, Tiruchirappalli 24, for their kind help in computational work. P. Santhanam P. Perumal

A. Gokul Marine Biological Station, Zoological Survey of India, 130 Santhom High Road, CHENNAI 600028 A. Gopalakrishnan A. Janakiraman Department of Zoology, The New College, CHENNAI 600014 A. Shenbaga Devi TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 B. Balaji Prasath TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 B. Belim Imtiyaz BHAVANAGAR 364022 Bhavisha Parmar Brajeswari Singh Samant Berhampur University, BERHAMPUR 760007 C. Santhosh Kumar D. Ruby TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 List of Contributors Digvijay Goswami G.A. Thivakaran Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, BHUJ 370001 (Gujarat) Grant Burgess Department of Marine Science and Technology, New Castel University, UNITED KINGDOM Hetal Parekh I.R. Gadhvi J. Kishore Ananth TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 J. Manoharan J. Sesh Serebiah Departent of Marine Studies and Coastal Resources Management, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, CHENNAI 600059 J.P. Trilles Equipe Adaptation Ecophysiologique et Ontogenèse, UMR 5119 ECOLAG (CNRS UM2 IFREMER), Université de Montpellier II, Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, FRANCE K. Altaff Department of Zoology, The New College, CHENNAI 600014

xii K. Kaba Prakash K. Kathiresan C.A.S. in Marine Biology, K. Prabhu CAS in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Science, K. Sinduja K. Venkataraman Zoological Survey of India, KOLKATA 700053 M. Rajkumar M.S. Naveed Department of Zoology, The New College, CHENNAI 600014 N. Rajendran Department of Zoology, Government Arts College, DHARMAPURI 636705 P. Ananthi TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 P. Dhone Sweta P. Karthikeyan CAS in Marine Biology, P. Kuyili TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 P. Murugesan CAS in Marine Biology, P. Perumal Department of Biotechnology, Periyar University, SALEM 636011 P. Sampathkumar C.A.S. in Marine Biology, P. Santhanam TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 Premalata Pati Berhampur University, BERHAMPUR 760007 R. Moses Inbaraj Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, CHENNAI 600059 R. Nandakumar TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 R.C. Panigrahy Berhampur University, BERHAMPUR 760007

xiii S. Bragadeeswaran Faculty of Marine Science, S. Ananth TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 S. Dinesh Kumar Bhavathidasan University, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 S. Purusothaman CAS in Marine Biology, S. Ravichandran C.A.S. in Marine Biology, S. Sophia Rani Faculty of Marine Science, Sabita Paikaray Berhampur University, BERHAMPUR 760007 Shailesh Dhameliya Shyam Rajan Department of Marine Science and Technology, New Castel University, United Kingdom Sourav Kundu Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, BHUJ 370001 (Kachchh) T. Balasubramanian C.A.S. in Marine Biology, T. Lynda Keren Department of Zoology, Madras Christian College, Tambaram, CHENNAI 600059 V. Anuradha Department of Bioinformatics, Guru Nanak College, CHENNAI 600042 V. Ashok Prabu Faculty of Marine Sciences V. Chinnaraja TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620 024 V. Radhakrishnan TIRUCHIRAPPALLI 620024 V. Ravi