INTER TIDAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF FIVE COMMON GASTROPODS ALONG SAURASHTRA COAST, GUJARAT, INDIA

Electronic Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 8, 1-7 (2015) ISSN: 0973-9505 (Available online at www.tcrjournals.com) Original Article Indexed in: ProQuest database Abstract, USA ( ProQuest Science journals, Techonology Research database, Illustrata Technology, Environment Science collection and Health and Medical complete), EBSCO databases (USA), Indian Science abstract. INTER TIDAL DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF FIVE COMMON GASTROPODS ALONG SAURASHTRA COAST, GUJARAT, INDIA TRIVEDI J. N. AND VACHHRAJANI, K. D. Marine Biodiversity and Ecology Lab, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The M. S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat E. mail: kauresh@gmail.com Received: December 20, 2014; Accepted: February 6, 2015 Abstract: Seasonal changes and effect of abiotic factors on distribution pattern of five common gastropod species like Turbo intercoastalis, Lunella coronata, Astrea stellata, Cerithium scabridum and Cerithideopsilla cingulata were studied on rocky intertidal area of four different sites situated along the coastal areas of Saurashtra, Gujarat, India. Total 10 Line transect intercepted with 0.25 m 2 quadrate were laid perpendicular to the shore line at each study site. The study revealed that most of the species showed more or less even distribution pattern in all the zones of intertidal area of different study sites although each species utilized distinct micro habitats. Significant spatial and temporal variations were recorded for the density and abundance of different species in different seasons at various study sites. Amongst the different abiotic factors studied, sea water temperature and ph showed significant correlation with the abundance of the species at different sites. The present study reveals that different kind of abiotic parameters, micro habitat availability and substratum act as controlling factors of population structure and distribution pattern of gastropod species. Key words: Gastropods, Saurashtra cost INTRODUCTION The effect of different environmental factors on ecological processes and variations in distribution, abundance and size structure of population has been studied extensively in marine molluscan ecology [1]. In coastal environment, the intertidal contains tremendous diversity of flora and fauna [2] Vertical zonation is the most important pattern or phenomena observed on the rocky intertidal area where different bands or zones contain variety of life forms from upper to lower intertidal area [3,4,5]. These patterns are very complex to understand because numerous biotic and abiotic factors act at different spatial and temporal scale [6,7]. The variation in the distribution and abundance of organisms in different zones of intertidal area has provided basis for ecological experiments and such complex patterns of variation have been studied well especially for the mollusks [8,9,10]. Gujarat has about 1650 km. of coast line which is the longest in India; it has variety of marine habitats which include mudflats, sandy beaches, marshy coast and rocky coast [11]. The intertidal area of Saurashtra coast is narrow in width and rocky in nature (milliolite lime stone). Amongst the different invertebrate fauna occurring on the coastal areas of Saurashtra, gastropod is one of the least studied group [12,13,14]. Earlier, few studies have been carried out on the intertidal distribution of gastropods along the coastal region of 1

Electronic Journal of Environmental Sciences Saurashtra, Gujarat [13,15]. In the present study, intertidal distribution pattern of five commonly occurring gastropod species like Turbo intercostalis Menke, 1846, Lunella coronata (Gmelin, 1791), Astrea stellata (Gmelin, 1791), Cerithium scabridum Philippi, 1848 and Cerithideopsilla cingulata (Gmelin, 1791) is studied. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect seasonal changes in different abiotic factors like sea water ph, sea water temperature and sea water salinity on the distribution pattern of the gastropods. In the present study few hypothesis are checked: (1) Abundance of gastropod species varies in different zones of intertidal areas at different sites (2) Abundance of the gastropod species varies in different seasons as well as at different study sites. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was carried from March 2012 to February 2013 at four different locations, Veraval (20 54 37" N, 70 21 04" E), Sutrapada (20 49 53" N, 70 29 17" E), Dhamlej (20 46 29" N, 70 36 19" E) and Kodinar (20 45 29" N, 70 39 39" E) situated along the Saurashtra coast (Fig. 1). The intertidal area of each location varies in terms of size and geomorphology. The upper intertidal zone of Veraval is rocky and lower intertidal zone ends with steep slope towards deep water. The intertidal areas of Sutrapada, Dhamlej and Kodinar are rocky in nature with small to large tide pools. The width of the intertidal area varies from location to location, maximum width was observed at Dhamlej (150 m) followed by Sutrapada (140 m), Kodinar (130 m) and Veraval (80 m). The width of the intertidal area varies with the season also, with an average width of 100-120 meter observed at Dhamlej, Sutrapada and Kodinar while average width of intertidal area at Veraval was 70 meter. In present study, the intertidal area was divided into three traditional zones as upper, middle and lower intertidal zones, the size of each zone varied among the study sites with tidal variations (At Sutrapada, Kodinar and Dhamlej, all the three zones were of the size of 40 meters while at veraval, all the three zone were of the size of 20 meters). Five different gastropod species like Turbo intercoastalis, Lunella coronata, Astrea stellata, Cerithium scabridum and Cerithideopsilla cingulata were quantified using line transect intercepted with 0.25 m 2 quadrate. A Total 10 line transects were laid randomly perpendicular to the shore line covering all three zones. As the studied species are larger in size (average shell size: Turbo Table 1: Seasonal variation in the mean values of abiotic variable at all the stations for each season. Veraval Sutrapada Dhamlej Kodinar Sea water temp.(0c) Winter 27.53 ± 1.70 28.46 ± 0.78 30.8 ± 0.92 29.76 ± 1.59 Summer 33.2 ± 1.70 30.42 ± 0.55 32.45 ± 1.62 32.27 ± 1.68 Monsoon 31.1 ± 0.95 29.15 ± 0.55 28.7 ± 1.41 30.75 ± 1.06 Sea water ph Winter 8.12 ± 0.06 8.27 ± 0.29 8.06 ± 0.09 8.18 ± 0.07 Summer 8.26 ± 0.19 8.12 ± 0.17 8.34 ± 0.19 8.27 ± 0.19 Monsoon 8.17 ± 0.23 8.14 ± 0.10 7.77 ± 0.26 8.36 ± 0.29 Salinity Winter 39.7 ± 1.53 36.62 ± 1.09 37.66 ± 1.60 37.63 ± 1.38 Summer 37.63 ± 1.38 39.42 ± 1.78 38.32 ± 1.57 39.63 ± 1.38 Monsoon 30.1 ± 1.80 32.25 ± 0.34 33.7 ± 0.97 30.1 ± 1.80 Table 2: Results of the Two way ANOVA without replication for seasonal density, abundance and frequency of occurrence values of targeted gastropod at each station and season (* p<0.05; ** p<0.01). Species T. intercoastalis L.coronata A. stellata C. scabridum C. cingulata Source of ariation Density (F value) Abundance (F value) Freq. of occurrence (F value) Season 5.94 3.2 2.65 Stations 6.18 41.59 2.24 Season 8.71** 9.84** 1.51* Stations 23.99** 2.66 6.96* Season 2.04 1.9 2.95 Stations 5.22* 5.88* 8.92** Season 30.89** 34.23** 2.66 Stations 1.43 2.2 14.76** Season 49.67** 13.77** 2.71 Stations 1.63 2.85 0.56 intercoastalis 26.37 mm, Lunella coronate 20.60 mm, Astrea stellata 21.83 mm, Cerithium scabridum 25.43 mm, Cerithideopsilla cingulata 16.65 mm) and occurs in large congregations. In each zone two quadrates (10 to 15 meter apart from each other) were laid randomly on each transect. Among the abiotic factors, surface water temperature, ph and salinity were recorded from the tide pool water during low tide using calibrated digital instruments. Each study site was sampled monthly to obtain data about abundance (total number of individuals/ number of sample plots where the individuals occurred), density (total number of individuals from all the sample plots/ number of sample plots studied), and percent frequency of occurrence (number of plots where a species occurred 100/total number of sampling plots) were calculated. The monthly data was complied for different seasons viz. summer (March to June), monsoon (July to October) and winter (November to February). Monthly data was recorded for aforementioned abiotic factors. The abundance data of 2

Trivedi and Vachhrajani each species was analyzed using two way ANOVA without replication to test for potential different know the spatial and temporal differences between four sites and between three seasons. The kite diagram was plotted to visualize the pattern of intertidal distribution of the each species. Regression and correlation coefficient tests were applied to assess the relationship of abiotic factors on the population abundance of the species. RESULTS The mean sea water temperature varied between stations. The maximum temperature was observed at Dahamlej (32.45 ± 1.62) in summer season while minimum temperature was observed at Veraval (27.53 ± 1.70) in winter. The mean sea water ph did not fluctuate between stations across seasons. Maximum ph 8.36 was observed at Kodinar during monsoon, while minimum ph 7.77 was recorded at Dhamlej in monsoon. The mean sea water salinity varied between stations across seasons. At Veraval the mean sea water salinity varied between 39.7% in summer to 30.1% in monsoon, possibly due to the addition of fresh water in sea water during monsoon (Table 1). In the present study, Cerithium scabridum was the most abundant species at all the study sites. C. scabridum showed more or less even distribution across all the three zones of intertidal area in all the study sites (Fig. 2). The maximum abundance and density of C. scabridum was observed higher during the summer season while it decreased during winter and monsoon at all the study sites (Fig. 3D; Fig. 4D). Maximum density and abundance of C. scabridum was observed at Veraval (3.5 ± 0.21) and Dhamlej (7.7 ± 5.89) respectively. The frequency of occurrence of C. scabridum was more or less similar at all the study sites during different seasons (Fig. 5D). The results of ANOVA showed significant variation between the mean values of density (ANOVA df: 30.89, p < 0.01) and abundance (ANOVA df: 34.23, p < 0.01) of C. scabridum for different seasons. The mean values of frequency of occurrence (ANOVA df: 14.76, p < 0.01) showed significant variation for different stations (Table 2). Maximum abundance of Lunella coronata was observed on the upper intertidal zone while in mid and lower intertidal zone the abundance of L.coronata showed declining trend (Fig. 2). L.coronata mostly observed in small tide pools and rock crevices. The abundance and density of L.coronata was higher during summer season while it decreased during monsoon and winter season at all the study sites (Fig. 3B, Fig. 4B). The values of abundance of L.coronata were recorded to be very high as compared to density (Fig. 3B, Fig. 4B) at all the study sites. Maximum density (2.35 ± 0.42) and abundance (4.73 ± 0.93) of L.coronata were recorded higher at Veraval as compare to other sites. The frequency of occurrence of L.coronata showed variation between different sites. Maximum frequency of occurrence was recorded higher in summer followed by monsoon and winter (Fig. 5B). The results of ANOVA showed significant variation between the mean values of density (ANOVA df: 8.71, p < 0.01) Table 3: Results of the regression and correlation coefficient analysis between mean seasonal abundance of targated gastropod species studied and mean sea water salinity, temperature and ph recorded at different study sites Sutrapada Dhamlej Kodinar Veraval regression equation R2 regression equation R2 regression equation R2 regression R2 Sea water Temp. T. intercoastalis y = 0.028x + 0.87 0.03 y = 0.211x - 4.52 0.91 y = 0.136x - 1.66 0.79 y = 0.070x - 0.26 0.28 L. coronata y = 0.502x - 11.31 0.64* y = 0.633x - 16.57 0.78* y = 0.591x - 15.47 0.93* y = 0.300x - 5.27 0.8 A.stellata y = 0.490x - 12.39 0.81* y = 0.054x + 0.01 0.77 y = 0.226x - 4.55 0.57 y = 0.025x + 2.20 0.31 C. scabridum y = 1.935x - 52.59 0.77* y = 1.319x - 35.59 0.91* y = 0.765x - 20.13 0.78* y = 0.374x - 7.51 0.23 C. cingulata y = 0.714x - 17.87 0.19 y = 0.444x - 11.36 0.47 y = 0.330x - 6.86 0.12 y = 0.262x - 5.86 0.28 Sea water ph T. intercoastalis y = 0.632x - 3.47 0.13 y = 1.216x - 7.97 0.05 y = 0.138x + 3.71 0.04 y = 3.861x - 29.73 0.72 L. coronata y = 7.591x + 65.48 0.99** y = 8.361x + 71.20 0.25 y = 5.222x - 40.38 0.37 y = 11.520x - 90.46 0.99** A.stellata y = 3.480x + 30.45 0.27 y = 0.597x - 3.21 0.17 y = 3.777x - 28.80 0.80* y = 0.685x - 4.16 0.19 C. scabridum y = 12.95x + 11.0 0.23 y = 10.66x + 92.06 0.11 y = 0.944x + 11.35 0.06 y = 21.85x - 175 0.67** C. cingulata y = 2.113x - 14.17 0.01 y = 11.25x + 94.30 0.57* y = 9.430x + 81.34 0.52** y = 14.42x - 115.9 0.73** Sea water Salinity T. intercoastalis y = 0.036x + 0.37 0.87 y = 0.166x - 4.11 0.69 y = 0.027x + 1.59 0.5 y = 0.030x + 0.75 0.23 L. coronata y = 0.011x + 3.82 0.04 y = 0.373x - 10.82 0.48 y = 0.010x + 2.42 0.04 y = 0.007x + 4.07 0.02 A.stellata y = 0.127x - 2.60 0.72 y = 0.045x + 0.01 0.97 y = 0.028x + 3.46 0.14 y = 0.018x + 0.76 0.76 C. scabridum y = 0.530x - 14.96 0.76 y = 0.848x - 26.16 0.67* y = 0.156x - 2.04 0.51 y = 0.198x - 3.29 0.28 C. cingulata y = 0.439x - 12.74 0.98** y = 0.206x - 5.29 0.18 y = 0.233x - 5.02 0.99** y = 0.114x + 1.99 0.23 3

Electronic Journal of Environmental Sciences Fig. 1: Map of study area. 1. Veraval, 2. Sutrapada, 3. Dhamlej and 4. Kodinar. Fig. 2: Intertidal distribution of targated gastropod species. (A) Verval, (B) Sutrapada, (C) Dhamlej, (D) Kodinar. 4

Trivedi and Vachhrajani Fig. 3: Seasonal variation in mean density (± SD) of gastropod species at different study sites. (a) Turbo intercoastalis, (b) Lunella coronate, (c) Astrea stellata, (d) Cerithium scabridum, (e) Cerithideopsilla cingulata. and abundance (ANOVA df: 9.84, p < 0.01) and frequency of occurrence (ANOVA df: 1.51, p < 0.05) of L.coronata for different seasons. The mean values of density (ANOVA df: 23.95, p < 0.01) and frequency of occurrence (ANOVA df: 6.96, p < 0.05) also showed significant variation for different stations (Table 2). Astrea stellata is another commonly observed turbinid species along the intertidal region of different areas of Saurashtra coast of Gujarat state. In the present study, A. stellata showed even distribution pattern in all the three zones of all the study sites except Kodinar (Fig. 2). At Kodinar, Maximum abundance of A. stellata is observed at upper and middle intertidal zone of 5 intertidal area. Maximum density and abundance of A. stellata were recorded in summer followed by monsoon and winter (Figs. 3C, 4C). The values of abundance of A. stellata were recorded very high as compared to density (Figs. 3C, 4C) at all the study sites. Maximum density (2.22 ± 0.30) and abundance (2.63 ± 0.14) of A. stellata was recorded at Kodinar (Figs. 3C, 4C) as compared to other sites. Its frequency of occurrence showed more or less fluctuation at different sites in different seasons (Fig. 5C). The results of ANOVA showed no significant variation between the mean values of density, abundance and frequency of occurrence for different seasons but the mean values of density (ANOVA df: 5.22, p < 0.05), abundance (ANOVA df:

Electronic Journal of Environmental Sciences Fig. 4: Seasonal variation in mean abundance (± SD) of gastropod species at different study sites. (a) Turbo intercoastalis, (b) Lunella coronate, (c) Astrea stellata, (d) Cerithium scabridum, (e) Cerithideopsilla cingulata. 5.88, p < 0.05) and frequency of occurrence (ANOVA df: 8.92, p < 0.01) showed significant variation for different stations for A. stellata (Table 2). Turbo intercoastalis showed more or less even distribution in different zones of intertidal area of all the study sites. The abundance of T. intercoastalis was observed slightly higher in the different zones of intertidal region of Kodinar (Fig. 2). The density of T. intercoastalis was observed more or less same during summer and winter while it showed drastic decline during monsoon season (Figs. 3A, 4A). The abundance of T. intercoastalis did not vary much during different 6 seasons (Figs. 3A, 4A). Maximum density (1.8 ± 0.33) and abundance (2.79 ± 0.45) of T. intercoastalis was recorded at Kodinar (Figs. 2A, 3A) as compare to other sites. The frequency of occurrence of T. intercoastalis showed more or less fluctuation at different sites in different seasons (Fig. 5A). Amongst all the ecological attributes studied for T. intercoastalis only mean values of density showed significant variation for different seasons (ANOVA df: 5.94, p < 0.05) and station (ANOVA df: 6.18, p < 0.05) (Table 2). Amongst the five species of gastropods studied in the present study Cerithideopsilla cingulata showed lowest

Trivedi and Vachhrajani Fig. 5: Seasonal variation in mean frequency of occurrence (± SD) of gastropod species at different study sites. (a) Turbo intercoastalis, (b) Lunella coronata (c) Astrea stellata (d) Cerithium scabridum (d) Cerithideopsilla cingulata values for all the ecological attributes studied. Maximum abundance of C. cingulata was observed in the upper intertidal zone of all the study sites (Fig. 2) Maximum density and abundance of C. cingulata were recorded in summer while major decline was recorded during winter and monsoon (Fig. 3E, Fig. 4E). The values of abundance of C. cingulata were recorded very high as compare to density (Fig. 3E, Fig. 4E) at all the study sites. Maximum density (1.44 ± 0.14) and abundance (4.44 ± 1.80) of C. cingulata was recorded at Sutrapada (Fig. 3E, Fig. 4E) as compared to other sites. The frequency of occurrence of C. cingulata showed more or less fluctuation at during summer and monsoon but showed decline during monsoon (Fig. 5E). Amongst all the ecological attributes studied for C. cingulata only mean values of density (ANOVA df: 49.67, p < 0.01) and abundance (ANOVA df: 13.77, p < 0.01) showed significant variation for different seasons while no significance was recorded for any parameter for different stations (Table 2). DISCUSSION The rocky intertidal area of Saurashtra coast is mostly covered by tide pools, rock crevices and small creeks which provides potentially appropriate habitat for gastropod species [12]. In the present study the distribution and population structure of five different 7

gastropod species showed variation between different study sites in different seasons. Population densities and abundance of Certithium scabridum, Cerithideopsilla cingulata and Lunella coronata showed significant variation among different seasons. Amongst all the species studied Cerithium scabridum was found to be dominant at all the study sites because the species may use wide range of micro habitat [16,17]. Maximum density and abundance of C. scabridum was found at Veraval and Dahmlej. The inertidal areas of Veraval and Dhamlej have shallow tide pools with plenty of rock crevices which are the most favorable habitat of C. scabridum [16,18]. C. scabridum was found to be distributed evenly in all the zones of intertidal area. C. scabridum is utilized by different carnivore species as a food while hermit crabs use the empty shells as a shelter [19]. The abundance of C. scabridum showed significantly strong correlation with sea water temperature at all the study sites except Veraval (Table 3) which showed that sea water temperature may have some impact on the distribution of C. scabridum. The maximum density and abundance of L. coronata was observed higher in summer season followed by winter and monsoon. Maximum abundance was observed in the upper intertidal zone of all the study sites because the species is mostly found in rock crevices and shallow tide pools which remains filled with water during low tide. The mean values of all the ecological attributes of its population also showed significant variation for different seasons [13]. However, the species abundance showed strong correlation with sea water temperature at all the study site (Table 3). In case of Astrea stellata the mean values of different ecological attributes did not show significant variation for seasons but they showed significant variation for different stations. Maximum abundance and density of Astrea stellata was found at Kodinar as compared to other sites. A.stellata gregarious in nature and mostly found in large to small congre is gations at the bottom of tide pools. Intertidal area of Kodinar is flat with large and deep tide pools which remain filled with water during low tide, a suitable habitat for A. stellata. A. stellata occurred less frequently at Veraval and Dhamlej because of the high level of anthropogenic pressure on the intertidal area [20]. The sea water ph showed strong correlation with abundance of A. stellata at Kodinar which implies that the tide pool water also played a Electronic Journal of Environmental Sciences 8 key role in population growth of the species (Table 3). Turbo intercoastalis is amongst the most common gastropod species of intertidal zone of Saurashtra coast of Gujarat state [19]. In the present study no significant variation is observed for mean values of different ecological attributes of T. intercoastalis. The abundance of T. intercoastalis also did not show any kind of correlation with different kind of abiotic parameters (Table 3). T. intercoastalis showed even distribution in all the zones of intertidal area of all the study sites. Maximum density and abundance of T. intercoastalis were recorded at Kodinar as compared to other sites. Except Kodinar site, T. intercoastalis is facing huge pressure of over fishing by local people for consumption in remaining study area [20]. Cerithideopsilla cingulata was restricted to upper intertidal zone because the species requires specific kind of micro habitat like rock crevices and small creek. The mean values of density and abundance showed significant variation for different seasons which implies that seasonal variation has may have impact on the population structure of the species. The abundance of the species showed strong correlation with sea water salinity at Sutrapada and Kodinar (Table 3). C. cingulata mostly occurs in rock crevices in which water does not get filled during low tide and salinity fluctuations in water will not affect the species. Our earlier and present studies indicated that a biotic zonation was apparent on inter tidal area, besides physical zonation [21]. The Veraval coast was typically small with sudden and conspicuous down fall of the shore line leading the brief sub littoral region to deep infra littoral region. Therefore, here the maximum and minimum exposure limits were almost similar leading to least variation in the distribution profile of gastropods in inter tidal area. The physiographic gradations as well as variations in the size of tide pools at other three study sites were distinct and formed a typical zonation pattern [21]. Possibly, this phenomena lead to occurrence of variety of distinct micro habitats influencing the gastropod distribution in different zones of intertidal area. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors are thankful to Mr. Ravi Vasava, Mr. Vishal Pankhania and Mr. Kalpesh Gohel for technical help during field work. Trivedi J.N. is thankful to UGC- RFSMS fellowship for financial assistance during the study.

Trivedi and Vachhrajani REFERENCES [1] Myers, A.A., Mcgrath, D.: J. Mar. Bio. Asso. UK., 73: 313-319 (1993). [2] Underwood, AJ.: J. Exp. Mar. Bio. Eco., 250: 51-76 (2000). [3] Stephenson, T.A., Stephenson, A., J. Eco., 37: 289-305 (1949). [4] Bandel, K., Wedler, E.: Sencken. Mar., 19: 1-129 (1987) [5] Ellis, D.V.: Mar. Poll. Bull., 46: 305-307 (2003). [6] Dayton, P.K.: Eco. Mono., 41: 351-389 (1971). [7] Menge, B.A., Sutherland, J.P.: Ameri. Zool., 130: 730-757 (1987). [8] Chapman, M.: Aus. J. Eco., 19: 83-95 (1994). [9] Sagarin, R.D., Gaines, S.D.: J. Biogeo., 29: 985-997 (2002). [10]Chapman, M., Underwood, A.: Mar. Eco. Prog. Ser., 354: 147-160 (2008). [11]Vaghela, A.: Spatial and temporal variations in population dynamics of few key rocky intertidal macrofauna at anthropogenically influenced intertidal shoreline. [Ph. D. Thesis] Saurashtra University, Gujarat, India ( 2010). [12]Raghunathan, C., Sen Gupta, R., Wangikar, U, Lakhmapurkar, J.: Curr. Sci., 87(8): 1131-1138 (2004) [13] Misra, S., Kundu, R.: Aqua. Eco., 39: 315-324 (2005). [14]Joshi, K.A.: Spatial and temporal variations in population dynamics of few key rocky intertidal macrofauna at tourism influenced intertidal shoreline. [PhD thesis] Saurashtra University, Gujarat, India (2010). [15]Gohil, B., Kundu, R.: Ind. J. Geo-Mar. Sci., 42(4): 481-486 (2013). [16]Houbrick, R.S.: Smith. Contri. Zool., 510: 1-211 (1992). [17]Gohil, B., Kundu, R.: The Ecoscan, 5: 131-134 (2011) [18]Trivedi, J.N., Vachhrajani, K.D.: Study of intertidal distribution of Cerithium scabridum, Philippi, 1848 (Mollusca, Gastropoda) along the coastal Saurashtra Gujarat, India, Proceedings of National Conference on Biodiversity: Status and Challenges in Conservation. Thane, Mumbai, 130-135 (2013). [19]Trivedi, J.N., Arya, S., Vachhrajani, K.D.: Taprobanica, 5 (1): 12-18 (2013). [20]Sarvaiya, R.T.: Fish Tech., 1: 27-32 (1977). [21]Trivedi, J.N., Vachhrajani, K.D.: Distribution and diversity of brachyuran crabs along the coastal region of Junagadh district, Gujarat. Proceedings of the Biodiversity and Conservation of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems of India 8-14 (2012). 9