Meiobenthos of mangrove mudflats from shallow region of Thane creek, central west coast of India

Abstract

Studies on the meiobenthos of intertidal zone of mangrove mudflats revealed dominance of nematodes (78.35%) with insignificant seasonal variations. The other constituents were tube polychaetes and oligochaetes, the latter contributing a major share to meiobenthos only at the station in the proximity of sewage outlet. Generally the meiobenthic abundance was higher at low level water mark (44.30% of density and 56.40% of biomass) and low during monsoon (20.90%). The meiobenthic productivity ranged between 4650 to 9835 g/m(2) and was mainly governed by macrobenthic population density.