Preliminary Studies on Nature of Epibiota Assemblage on Low Crested Coastal Protection Structures

Abstract

<span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";="" mso-fareast-font-family:calibri;mso-bidi-font-family:mangal;mso-ansi-language:="" en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="">The shore protection measures currently adopted in India includes deployment of sand filled geosynthetic containers for coast-line stabilization. Interestingly, it is observed that such geosynthetics containers are colonized by alphabetic organisms such as algae and sessile marine invertebrates that are native to the natural rocky habitats, thus providing refuges and nursery grounds for fish and crustaceans. However, the epibiotic assemblages that are developed on a submerged hard substrate (breakwater) and on nearby coastal natural rocky substrate are different from the epibiota developed on sand-filled geosynthetic containers, probably due to the physical properties of the substratum affecting organism recruitment. Little attention has been paid until the last decades to studies on the epibiota on man-made coastal defense structures. The biotic community structural studies of macro-faunal assemblage on geotube deployed at Kovalam coast revealed around 13 species of epibenthos dominated by non-invasive brown mussels, a recruitment pattern mimicking the adjoining natural rocky substrate. The biotic assemblage on geotubes revealed the ecofriendly nature of the low crested coastal protection structures.</span>