| dc.description.abstract | Deterioration or recovery of a marine habitat from perturbation depends on the target community subjected for exposure and its sensitivity to respond to the change. In the present study, we demonstrated the utility of free-living marine nematode community as a tool for assessing the benthic environment. Total 32 meiofaunal samples were collected from the sub-tidal regions along the central west coast of India. Sediment samples were collected on board CRVSagar-Sukti (cruise no. SASU-60 and 105) and ORV Sagar-Kanya (cruise no.SK-211). Stations were also selected from the disturbed harbour regions for analyzing the community difference in nematodes. Decreased diversity indices from the harbour stations signify the impact of harbour activities and pollution. The dominant nematodes from the study area were Sabatieria, sp., Vasostoma sp., Marylynnia sp., Daptonema sp. and Microlaimus sp. These species designated as environmental indicator, and also showed high dominance in the harbour areas. Particularly, Sabatieria sp. and Daptonema sp. are known to inhabit the most disturbed and anoxic environments worldwide. The overall reduction in the species number from the harbour region compared to open sea and with increased densities of indicator species strongly indicates that the harbour region has a stressed benthic environment. The present study has confirmed that nematode community can be effectively used as a sensitive indicator of benthic environment and can be used as a monitoring tool for impact assessment studies. | |
