Influence of estuaries on shelf foraminiferal species

Abstract

Dabhol-bhatkal stretch of the west coast of India is marked by a number of estuaries. Cavarotalia annectens is selected to monitor the influence of these estuaries on the inner shelf foraminiferal fauna. The percentage distribution of this species varies from 0 to 41% in total fauna from surface sediments. It is absent/rare near the river mouths. Study of the abundance of this species in samples from cores, collected from estuarine mouths, can probably be used to study paleomonsoons