Benthos of the Narmada estuary

Abstract

Distribution of benthos in relation to environmental characteristics has been studied along a stretch of 55 km in the Narmada Estuary. Higher abundance of macro and meio fauna were noticed along the upper and lower reaches of the river respectively. Chaetopods formed the most dominant component of macro fauna, while foraminifera predominated the meiofauna. The mean ratio between macro and meio fauna in terms of population density and biomass (dry wt.) were 1:90 and 1:3 respectively. Sediments were largely muddy in the upper reaches and sandy in the lower reaches with varying proportions of silt clay. The percentage of organic matter. (Av. 0.46%) in sediment was poor. Maximum population density was recorded during the pre-monsoon period. The average benthic biomass was 349 mg/m2 for the entire area