Sandy Beach at Baina, Goa: Its Ecology & Production

Abstract

The beach substratum at Baina was very unstable and the beach was steep throughout. Particle size of sand ranged between 229 and 398.5 km. Particulate organic carbon in sand was high (3300-16000 mu g/g) and that in surf-water was low (410-1730 µ g/litre). Temperature and salinity dropped considerably during the monsoon season. NO3 N and PO4P showed a declining trend during this season. Total bacterial population was high in the beach, the peak in nutrient agar (36.7 x 103/g dry wt) and in ZoBell 2216 E (40.3 x 103/g dry wt) media being recorded in August and November respectively. Coliform population was high (peak, 8.72 x 103/g dry wt) in August. Total bacterial population showed a highly significant relation with particulate carbon in sand. Chlorophyll in surf-sand and surf-water was relatively high. Species diversity of macrofauna was small and biomass was poor.