Benthic biodiversity in natural <i>vis-a-vis</i> artificially developed mangroves of south east coast of India

Abstract

Benthic biodiversity was compared between natural (Pichavaram) and artificially developed mangrove (Vellar estuary) systems in southeast coast of India. As many as 23 species of benthic macrofauna were recorded in Pichavaram (14 species of polychaetes, 7 species of crustaceans 2 species of molluscs), while 19 species of macrofauna were recorded in Vellar (11 species of polychaetes, 5 species of crustaceans and 3 species of molluscs). Population density varied between the habitats (39 and 3346 nos/m² in Pichavaram and 39 and 2908 nos/m² in Vellar). In short, among the faunal groups, crustaceans topped the list in terms of abundance in Pichavaram and polychaetes in Vellar. Calculated diversity indices also varied between these two areas. Species diversity was in the range of 2.47 - 3.17 in Pichavaram and 2.37 - 2.86 in Vellar; species richness ranged from 1.70 to 1.86 in Pichavaram, and from 1.54 to 1.76 in Vellar; species evenness varied from 0.60 to 0.76 in Pichavaram and from 0.59 to 0.71 in Vellar. As observed in the species diversity, taxonomic diversity and phylogenetic diversity values were also more in natural system than those in artificially developed habitat.