Ecological factors and their influence on actinobacterial density from different coastal habitats of Neil island, Andamans

Abstract

Sediment and water samples were collected from three different coastal habitats (Mangrove, Coral reef and Beach) of the Neil island, the Andamans, to estimate various physico-chemical parameters viz. temperature, salinity, pH, DO, EC, Total organic carbon, nutrients and soil texture. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis (CA) were used to identify the trends between the highly correlating physico-chemical parameters and the actinobacterial density and it revealed the distinct relationship between the coastal habitats and their physico-chemical parameters with the actinobacterial population density. Positive significant correlation between the actinobacterial density and clay, TOC, sediment pH, potassium (K), nitrogen content, phosphorus content, and EC was noticed in the mangrove habitats, implying that the mangrove environment is worth studying for isolation of actinobacteria that might prove to be novel and potential, for commercial applications.