Observations on the ecology of some sandy beaches of the southwest coast of India

Abstract

The seasonal cycles of organic matter and chlorophyll at some beaches of the Kerala Coast were studied in relation to the abundance of the interstitial fauna at one of the beaches The faunal abundance showed no definite correlation either with organic matter or with chlorophyll There was no correlation between organic matter and chlorophyll, which indicates that the occurrence of one is independent of the other The maximum density of interstitial fauna at the Cochin beach was found to be at the mid-tide level The most abundant groups on the beach were the ciliates, foraminifera, nematodes and harpacticoids Less abundant forms included the gastrotrichs, turbellarians, polychaetes, archiannelids, oligochaetes and isopods