Mangroves of India - Report

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM CENTRECentre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University

Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India2002

Sponsored byMinistry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, New Delhi

ENVIS Publication Series : 2/2002

MANGROVES OF INDIAState-of-the-art report

Edited by

Prof. T. Balasubramanian(Director & ENVIS in-charge)

Prof. S. Ajmal Khan

Compiled by

Dr. N. Rajendran - Research OfficerDr. S. Baskara Sanjeevi - Research Assistant

Assisted by

Mrs. L. Vijayalakshmi - Assistant ProgrammerMr. V. Swaminathan - Technical Assistant

Mr. B. Senthilkumar - Information AssistantMr. A. Subramanian - Reprography Assistant

Mr. R. Nagarajan - Office Assistant

Front cover : Photo Courtesy Prof. K. Kathiresan

MANGROVES OF INDIAState-of-the-art report

ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM CENTRE(for Estuaries, Mangroves, Coral Reefs and Lagoons)

FOREWORD

Mangroves are the salt tolerant forest ecosystems found in tropical andsub-tropical intertidal regions of the world. They consist of swamps, forest-landand water-spread areas. These forest ecosystems support marine fisheries andprotect the coastal zone, thus helping the coastal environment and economy. Theseecosystems are biologically productive, but ecologically sensitive. Realizing this, theMinistry of Environment and Forests, Government of India has taken all necessarysteps to conserve and manage the mangrove ecosystems.

National Seminar on “Ecologically Sensitive Coastal Ecosystems”, held atthis Centre during March 22-23, 1996, recommended the preparation of State-of-the-art report on mangroves periodically. Ministry of Environment and Forests(Govt. of India) has published a status report for Indian mangroves up to theperiod of 1986. A similar report about the mangroves of India covering the worksfrom 1987 to 1996 was published in 1997 by the ENVIS Centre. The presentreport is an update of the previous one covering works upto the year 2000.

Care has been taken to include as many studies as we could gather, yet itis quite likely that we would have missed some. We would be grateful to all theauthors and users for their suggestions and constructive criticism so that we canimprove the next edition.

I profusely thank Dr. Indrani Chandrasekharan, Director, andDr. D. Bandyopadhyay, Former Director, Ministry of Environment and Forests,Government of India for their sustained support to bring out this report.

My sincere thanks are due to Prof. S. Ajmal Khan, Dr. N. Rajendran andother ENVIS staff for critical evaluation of this report. My special thanks are dueto Dr. K. Kathiresan, Professor of this Centre for preparing the earlier report andfor the suggestions and criticism to the present one. My thanks are also due toProf. K. Krishnamurthy (Retd.) for critically going through the earlier report. Thesupport rendered by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India isgratefully acknowledged.

Prof. T. BalasubramanianDirector and ENVIS in-charge

CAS in Marine BiologyParangipettai - 608 502

CONTENTS

Page No.

1. Introduction 12. Distribution 33. Ecology 84. Microbiology 16

A. Bacteria 16B. Fungi 20

5. Planktonology 23A. Phytoplankton 23B. Zooplankton 26

6. Flora 32A. Flowering plants 32B. Non Flowering plants 36

7. Fauna 39A. Benthos 39B. Molluscs 42C. Crab 44D. Fish/Prawns/Shrimps 47E. Insects 51

8. Biochemistry 70A. Flora 70B. Fauna 77

9. Utilization 8310. Degradation 8811. Conservation and Development 9312. Management of Mangroves 9813. Recommendations 10114. Conclusions 10215. References 104

1. INTRODUCTION

Mangroves are the tidal forests of coastal wetlands, existing in the intertidalzones of sheltered shores, estuaries, tidal creeks, backwaters, lagoons, marshesand mud-flats of the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. They form animportant ecological asset and economic resource of the coastal environment. Themangroves are the most productive ecosystems, which can efficiently fertilize thesea, potentially protect the coastal zone and vitally serve as the breeding andfeeding grounds of fishes.

The word “Mangroves” is used to refer to the plants and also to the forestcommunity. To avoid the confusion, Macnae (1968) proposed “Mangal” as aterm to refer to the habitat or the forest community and “Mangroves” to theplant species. The term “Mangrove” is used as an adjective like “mangrove tree”or “mangrove fauna” (Duke, 1992). The word “mangroves is usually considered tobe a compound of the Portuguese word ‘mangue’ (= a type of trees) and theEnglish word ‘groves’ (= a group of trees). In French, the word ‘manglier’ is akinto ‘mangue’. It is believed that all these words originated from the Malay word,‘Manggi-manggi’(Macnae, 1968). The mangrove forests are sometimes called as“tidal forests”, “oceanic rain forests” and “coastal woodlands”.

The mangroves exist under very hostile and inhospitable conditions. Theplants which grow there have to encounter higher salinity, tidal extremes, windvelocity, high temperature and muddy anaerobic soil. No terrestrial plant cansurvive well under these adverse conditions (Kathiresan, 1991; Kathiresan andBingham, 2001). The plants have peculiar adaptations such as support roots,viviparous germination, salt-excreting leaves, breathing roots, knee roots, etc., bywhich the plants are well-adapted to water-logged, anaerobic saline soils ofcoastal environment. Also the mangrove plants have great potential to adapt to thechanges in climate (precipitation and temperature), the rise in sea levels and to theincidence of solar ultraviolet–B radiation (Rahaman, 1990; Swaminathan, 1991;Moorthy, 1995; Moorthy and Kathiresan, 1996).

Realising the importance of mangroves, the Government of India hasintroduced a scheme for conservation and protection of the mangrove ecosystem,and set up a panel of experts for the mangrove ecosystem. The first meeting ofthe panel was held on 12th October, 1976 at National Institute of Oceanography,Goa and subsequently on 19th April, 1982 in New Delhi. Later, a “NationalMangrove Committee” was set up in the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

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consisting of mangrove experts. As the first step towards the conservation andprotection of mangroves, a sub-group consisting of Prof. K. Krishnamurthy of thisCentre, Prof. Amalesh Choudhury, Marine Science Department, CalcuttaUniversity and Dr.A.G. Untawale, National Institute of Oceanography, Goa wasset up by the Ministry which brought out a status report on mangroves in Indiaduring 1987.

Several symposia/seminars/workshops on mangroves have been conductedin our Country (Table1). Two major publications viz.,1). The mangroves edited byL.J. Bhosale (1986) and 2). A training manual on conservation of mangrove forestgenetic resources edited by S.V. Deshmukh and V. Balaji (1994) have beenbrought out. Another training manual on the ‘identification of flora and fauna inmangrove ecosystems’ edited by K. Kathiresan (2000) was brought out. A lecturemanual on ‘UNU-UNESCO international training course on Coastal MangroveBiodiversity’ was prepared by our staff members in 2000.

Table 1. Symposia/seminars/workshops concerned with mangrove held inIndia

Title of the programme Year Place

National Symposium of “Biology, Utilization and Conservation of Mangroves”

1985 Kolhapur

National Seminar on “Mangroves Awareness in India” 1990 Bombay National Symposium on “Significance of Mangroves” 1990 Pune National Seminar on “Conservation and Management of Mangrove Ecosystem with special reference to Sundarbans”

1991 Calcutta

A Three Month Trainers Training Programme 1992 Madras Training Programme on “Management of Mangroves” 1993 Visakhapatnam UNESCO Curriculam Workshop on “Management of Mangroves Ecosystem and Coastal Protection”

1993 Visakhapatnam

National Seminar on “Ecologically Sensitive Coastal Ecosystem”

1996 Parangipettai

International Seminar on Mangrove 1997 Visakhapatnam Conservation Assessment & Management Plan Workshop for Indian Mangrove Ecosystem

1997 Goa

All India Co-ordinated Programme on Coastal and Marine Biodiversity: Training and Capacity Building on Coastal Biodiversity (East Coast)

2000

Parangipettai

UNU-UNESCO Sponsored Workshop on Conservation of Mangrove Biodiversity

2000 Parangipettai

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The need was felt for updating the status report as more than a decadepassed since the publication of earlier report and much work was done after that.Hence, a report on mangroves was prepared considering the research workscarried out in India between 1987 and 1996 and published by this EnvironmentalInformation System Centre, Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology,Annamalai University, Parangipettai. This report an update till 2000 is publishednow.

2. DISTRIBUTION

The mangroves grow luxuriantly in alluvial soil substrate, which are finetextured, loose mud or silt, rich in humus and sulphides (Rao, 1987) and theydevelop in low lying and broad coastal plains where the topographic gradients arevery small and the tidal amplitude is large. Their distribution is limited by tempera-ture (Duke, 1992) and they prefer moist atmosphere and freshwater inflow, whichbrings in abundant nutrients and silt from terrestrial sources. The mangrovesoccur in sheltered shores as the mangrove seedlings are damaged by waves andcurrents. Repeatedly flooded but well-drained soils support good growth ofmangroves, but impeded drainage is detrimental (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993).

Indian mangroves are distributed in about 6,740 sq.km (Krishnamurthy etal., 1987) which constituted 7% of the total Indian coastline (Untawale, 1987).The area-wise distribution of mangrove forests in India has been reviewed(Deshmukh, 1991a). Status of mangroves along the Arabian sea has beenreviewed (Untawale, et al., 1992). There are three different types of mangroves inIndia viz., deltaic, backwater-estuarine type of mangroves existing in the westcoast (Arabian), characterized by typical funnel-shaped estuaries of major rivers(Indus, Narmada and Tapti) or backwaters, creeks, and neritic inlets. The insularmangroves are present in Andaman and Nicobar islands where many tidalestuaries, small rivers, neritic islets, and lagoons which support a rich mangroveflora (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993).

Of the Country’s total area under the mangrove vegetation, 70% isrecorded on the east coast, and 12% on the west coast. The bay islands(Andaman and Nicobar) account for 18% of the Country’s total mangrove area(Krishnamurthy et al., 1987; Kathiresan, 1995a). The mangroves have a vastexistence on the east coast of India due to the nutrient-rich alluvial soil formed bythe rivers – Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mahanadhi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery anda perennial supply of freshwater along the deltaic coast. But, the deltas with

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alluvial deposits are almost absent on the west coast of India, only funnel - shapedestuaries or backwaters are present (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993).

The deltaic mangroves on the east coast is about 57% (2,738 km2) of thecountry’s total area of mangroves. The insular mangroves exist in the Bay islands(Andaman and Nicobar) on many tidal estuaries, small rivers, neritic islets andlagoons, accounting for 20% (383 km2) of total Indian mangroves. However, theextent of mangroves keeps on changing over a period in different states of the eastcoast and the Bay Islands. The satellite data between 1993 and 1997 revealed aconsiderable increase in mangrove cover : 31.13% in West Bengal; 25.4% in BayIslands; and, 12.83% in Orissa and a reduction in mangrove cover in other states:76.7% in Tamil Nadu; and 20.21% in Andhra Pradesh (Kathiresan, 2000).

Intensive and extensive field study on species-wise distribution ofmangroves in 7 estuaries viz., Terekhol, Chapora, Mandovi, Zuari, Sal, Talpona,Galgibag and the Cumbarjua canal of Goa was studied. Natural regeneration ofmangrove in middle Andaman and Goa has been studied (Kumar, 1998, 2000)and various methods of regeneration of mangroves were described (Kumar, 1999).

In Indian mangrove systems, 100% of mangrove species, 92% of otherflowering plants, 60.8% of seaweeds, 23.8% of marine invertebrates and 21.2%of marine fish are threatened. Of 35 mangrove plant species, 9 are criticallyendangered, 23 endangered and 3 vulnerable (Rao et al., 1998). Five hundredspecies of invertebrates occur in Indian mangroves, but only 42 species have beenso for assessd for their conservation status (Kathiresan, 1999a). Recent estimatehas indicated that a total area 6,700 km2 has been covered by mangroves in thecoastal and estuarine area of India, which shared 7% of total world mangroves(Kathirvel, 1996).

The Department of Space (Govt. of India) has mapped the areas undermangroves using satellite data, with 83-90% accuracy. However, the areas undermangroves as calculated from these maps, do not match with earlier data (Table2). According to the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun, total mangrove area is4,827 sq.km as against 6,740 sq.km as reported earlier by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests (Krishnamurthy et al., 1987). The figures for the totalIndian Mangrove area varies from time to time. The low value of mangrove areasas shown by satellite data may be due to the following reasons; (a) reduction inmangrove area (b) mangrove areas smaller than 25 ha are not mapped and(c) mixing of mangroves with adjoining forest area especially in the Andaman-Nicobar group of islands (RSAM, 1992).

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The Sundarbans in West Bengal has the largest area of approximately4,250 sq.km (Krishnamurthy et al., 1987; Krishnamoorthy, 1997), which formsthe largest block of mangroves of the world taken together with Bangladesh. It isthe only mangrove forest of the world having among its denizens, the famousRoyal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris). The Sundarbans of India cover an area of2,123 sq.km (FSI, 1997). The name “Sundarbans” may be from the Bengali name“Sundari” tree i.e. Heritiera fomes or beautiful (‘Sundar’) forests or it may meanboth (Krishnamurthy, 1983). The Sundarbans is famous for its richness anddiversity of mangrove vegetation with dominant species viz., Avicennia spp.,Sonneratia spp., Excoecaria agallocha, Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata,Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Ceriops decandra, Phoenix paludosa etc. (RSAM,1992). The forest is now largely confined to a number of islands situated on theeast of the Matlah river (Scott, 1989). Recently, the working plan maps ofmangrove forest of Sundarbans, West Bengal were updated (Sudhakar et al.,2000).

Table 2. Extent of mangrove cover in India

Andaman and Nicobar Islands harbour a rich diversity of mangroves.Dense mangroves are found on these Islands along the creeks, near bays andlagoons with dominant species - Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguieragymnorrhiza, Avicennia spp., Ceriops tagal etc. Mangroves occupy an area ofabout 770 sq. km (RSAM, 1992). Further information on acreage of mangroveson these islands, is provided by Singh et al. (1986), Rajagopalan (1987) andDagar (1987). Mapping of mangrove has also been carried out on the Andamansand Nicobars by National Remote Sensing Agency (1988). Ranganath et al.(1989) used satellite data to map mangrove distribution on eight Islands

* Status Report, Government of India (1987)** Forest Survey of India (1997)

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(Havelock, Peal, Nicholson, Wilson, John Lawrence, Henry Lawrence, lnglish andOutram Islands) in the Middle Andaman. Bagla and Menon (1989) gave a figureof around 66,261 ha of mangroves in the Andaman-Nicobar Islands. Themangrove areas of south Andaman Islands have also been mapped through remotesensing (Krishnamoorthy et al., 1993). The Andaman and Nicobar Islands,located in the northeast Indian Ocean, occupy 966 sq. km of mangrove cover(Krishnamoorthy,1997; FSI,1997). In the Andaman Islands, mangroves occur in1,150 km area and in the Nicobar Islands, they occur in 35 km2 area. Species ofRhizophora, Bruguiera, Aegiceras and Nypa grow widely and are well preservedin these Islands (Kannan, 1990).

In Orissa, the mangroves are present on the Mahanadi delta, the Brahmani- Baitarani delta and along the Balasore coast with dominant species as Avicenniaspp., Rhizophora mucronata, Excoecaria agallocha, Ceriops roxburghiana etc.(RSAM, 1992). The mangroves near the mouth of the Mahanadi river form acreek network of the Luna, the Jambu, the Kharnasi, the Khola and the Batigharjora creeks. The creeks are arranged parallel to the coast, inundated by dailytides. The Bhitarkanika mangroves are luxuriant due to the beneficial influenceexerted by the Brahmani and the Baitarani rivers and their distributaries and creeksupon the terrain. On Balasore coast, there is no influence of freshwater inflowexcept in the Dhamra river mouth and hence the salinity level remains high exceptin rainy months (RSAM, 1992). The mangroves occur in an area of 211 sq.km(FSI, 1997).

In Andhra Pradesh, dense mangrove vegetation is found towards coastrather than on shoreland because of the dense branching network of creeks, whichexist towards the coast (RSAM, 1992). There are more mangrove vegetation ontidal flats on the western side of the Krishna delta than on its eastern side. Densemangroves are also seen over recent sand / mud spits on the Nizampatnam bay(RSAM, 1992). Sparse mangroves are found on the eastern side of the Krishnadelta.

Mangroves in Tamil Nadu exist on the Cauvery deltaic areas. The totalmangrove area available in this state is around 383 sq.km (Kathiresan, 1998).Pichavaram mangroves that extend between the Vellar and Coleroon estuarineareas, spread to an area of 21 sq.km (Kannan, 1990). Pichavaram has a well-developed mangrove forest dominant with Rhizophora spp., Avicennia marina,Excoecaria agallocha, Bruguiera cylindrica, Lumnitzera racemosa, Ceriopsdecandra and Aegiceras corniculatum (Kathiresan, 1998). It is a highly

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populated region, but the mangrove is relatively well preserved because it enjoysthe status of a Reserve Forest since 1880. These mangroves are noteworthy fortheir beauty, luxuriance and diversity of species (Meher Homji, 1991). Mangrovesalso occur near Vedaranyam, Kodiakarai (Point Calimere), Muthupet, Chatramand Tuticorin (Meher Homji, 1991). From Muthupet to Chattram mangrove area,there is mangrove formation with Avicennia marina, growing in brackish water orshallow lagoons (Kannan, 1990).

Gujarat has got the second largest area of mangroves, according to theremote-sensing data (Table 2). The mangroves on the Rann of Kachchh are pooralong the Kori creek (RSAM, 1992). In the Gulf of Kachchh, dense mangrovesare observed around the Patre creek, the Dide Kabet, Valsura, Navlakhi andKandla and near Mundra jetty. Patches of sparse mangroves are observed nearOkha, Poshitra, Pindhara, Dhani, Narara, Sikka, Jindra, Pirotan and near theJakhau port (RSAM, 1992). The mangrove species - Avicennia officinalis andRhizophora mucronata - dominate on the Gulf of Kachchh. On Saurashtra coast,mangroves occur only in sparse patches along the creeks on the intertidal mudflatsalong the Jafarabad creek and the Buthrani creek. In the Gulf of Khambhat,mangroves are distributed along the coast near the Mahi, the Dhadhar, theNarmada, the Kim and the Sena rivers. A small patch of dense mangroves isfound on the Aliabet Island. In South Gujarat, mangroves exist near the mouth ofthe Kolak estuary and a small creek near Umargam. On the Konai creek,mangroves are present scattered (RSAM, 1992). The mangrove cover extends upto 991 sq.km throughout the state (FSI, 1997).

In Maharashtra and Goa, mangroves exist especially in large patches alongthe Mandovi estuary, the Vasishta estuary, the Savithri estuary, the Kundalikaestuary, the Dharamtar creek, the Panvel creek, the Vasai creek, the Thane creekand the Vaitarana creek (RSAM, 1992). The mangroves occur over an area of124 sq.km and 5 sq.km in Maharashtra and Goa respectively (FSI, 1997).

Mangroves in the Mandovi estuary of Goa have spread to an area of2,000 ha and they have distinct zones, which differ in environment, speciescomposition and growth. Goa once had luxuriant mangrove swamps some 20 kminland from the open sea coast during the recent geological past, when the sealevel was 1 to 3 m lower than at present (Mascarenhas and Chauhan, 1998).

Coastal wetland and shoreline-change mapping of the Maharashtra andKarnataka coast are carried out using IRS LISS II data on 1:15,000 scale.

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Various wetland/landform categories such as mudflat, beach, spit, mangrove,coastal dunes and areas under erosion and deposition have been delineated. Thearea under mangroves is 222.5 sq.km in Maharashtra and 8.7 sq.km in Karnataka.The classification accuracy of wetland maps is 86% at 90% confidence level(Shreedhara et al., 1997; Tikekar et al., 1997).

Present status and management of the mangroves of Uttara Kannada,Karnataka have been reviewed (Sivabalan et al., 1991). Mangroves of Karnatakacover an area of 6,000 ha; of which 1,000 ha are in Uttara Kannada districtalone. About 14 species belonging to 9 genera are extensively distributed in thedistrict. The mangrove forest occurs along the northern coast of Karnataka, in theKalinadi, Gangivali and Agnachini estuaries and at the confluence of the ChakraNadi, Kollur and Haladi rivers near Gangolli (Parnetta, 1993). In general, themangroves are only sparsely distributed along the Karnataka coast around 3 sq.km(FSI,1997).

Distribution of mangroves in Kerala has been described (Basha, 1991). Itis stretching for about 1,000 sq.km a century ago, but is now reduced to justabout 17 sq.km in isolated bits at Kumaragom, Dharmadom, Chettuva, Nadakavu,Pappinisseri, Kunjimangalam, Chageri, Veli etc.

3. ECOLOGY

Mangroves have been ecologically well-studied (Gopal and Krishnamurthy,1993) along the Sundarbans (Naskar and Guha Bakshi, 1989), the Andaman-Nicobar Islands (Singh et al., 1986, 1987; Ellis, 1987; Dagar, 1987; Rao andChakrabarti, 1987), the Mahanadi delta (Banerjee, 1987), the Krishna estuary(Prasad, 1992), the Cauvery delta (Kathiresan, 2000) and the Mumbai (Bombay)coasts (Ghosh et al.,1994).

Distribution of mangroves in relation to soil characteristics has been studied.Illustrations are available for Sundarban forests with soil profile diagrams, soilmaps, abundance of mangrove species, the stages of land formation from mean sealevel and the siltation patterns or silting activities of the Ganges delta (Naskar andGuha Bakshi, 1989).

Ninety five percentage of the river bed vegetation in Sundarban mangroveforest is dominated by Porteresia sp. This results in good primary production,turn-over time and transpiration efficiency of this salt marsh grass. The total net

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production is 426 g/m2/yr. Below ground biomass is 53% higher on an averagethan the above ground biomass. Turn-over times for above ground and belowground biomass are reportedly 0.55 and 0.75 yr (Jana et al., 1993).

The level of nutrients is higher in leaf litter of Avicennia marina than that inother components of litter in a tidal creek of Lothian Island of Sundarbans (Ghoshet al., 1990).

Physico-chemical parameters of different mangrove waters have beenstudied (Bava and Seralathan, 1999) more specifically at the eastern and westernsides of the Sundarban mangroves (Matilal et al., 1986). The soils are basicallysimilar on both the sides, except in conductivity, soil texture and NPK ratio.Distribution of the mangrove species in the two sides is however, different. Thewestern side islands are dominated by Avicennia spp. and Acanthus ilicifolius,and the eastern side by Aegiceras majus (Matilal et al., 1986). Ceriops-Phoenixassociation occurs in elevated land areas and Excoecaria species and Ceriopsdecandra exist over the entire forest of the Sundarbans (Matilal and Mukherjee,1989).

In Sundarbans, tigers inhabitat the mangrove zone with predominantspecies of Ceriops and Excoecaria and the habitat is also high in soil salinity(Chakrabarti, 1993).

The distribution of some trace metals in the mangrove flora and fauna ofSundarbans has been studied. Among metals, Zn showed high values in all speciesof plants and animals followed by Cu and Pb (Chakrabarti et al., 1993).

Diurnal changes in temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pCO2, and ionicproduct of calcium carbonate have been studied in virgin and reclaimed mangrovewaters of Sundarbans during monsoonal run off. Surface water of both the placesare undersaturated with respect to oxygen and partial pressure of carbon dioxideremained high. Lower calcium / chlorinity values than those in the open ocean areobtained (Ghosh et al., 1987).

X-ray mineralogical analyses have been made on 107 surface andvibracore samples collected from the Krishna delta to determine whether mineral-ogical assemblages produce distinct criteria for the recognition of modern deltaicsubenvironments. Discriminant function analysis was applied to 69 samples fromeight subenvironments (lagoons, river mouth bar, mudflat, barrier island, mangrove

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swamp, foreshore, tidal creek and channel) with 100% classification success whenthe whole-sample results included estimates of ideal clay-mineral layer types andloss-on-ignition estimate of the organic content. Most of the mineralogical changescan be attributed to grain-size sorting in the subenvironments of the delta. Themajor factors contributing the success of the analysis are associated with quartzenrichment in the subenvironments falling within the marine-dominated part of thedelta and smectite enrichment in the riverine-process-dominated subenvironments(Ferrell et al., 1998).

Sediment characteristics of the Krishna-Godavari deltas have been studied.The deltaic sediments of Godavari are finer than those of Krishna. River channelbar, beach, dunes and paleo-beach ridges consist of predominantly sand. Muddysand is widespread in tidal channels and creeks whereas sandy mud and mud aredistributed in estuary, mangrove swamp, lagoon and bay. The submerged beachridge at a distance of 27 km off Nizampatnam from the present coast in offshoreKrishna delta, contains very coarse sediments (Rao and Swamy, 1991). The siltcontent is high in the sediments on which mangroves grow luxuriantly, in Godavariestuary (Rao et al., 1991).

Diurnal variations in hydrological variables and dissolved inorganic nutrientssuch as phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and primary production have beenobserved in three interconnected biotopes including freshwater, marine andmangrove brackishwater of the Kakinada coastal zone. In both marine andmangrove waters the salinity shows bimodal type of oscilation and the dissolvedoxygen content is high in the mangrove waters during day time but decreasesrapidly during the night hours. The highest and the lowest concentrations ofphosphate, nitrate and nitrite are recorded in the mangrove waters and higher infreshwater zone. The concentration of ammonia is relatively high in the mangrovewater. Gross and net primary production in the mangrove water is 4 times higherthan in the marine biotope (Selvam et al., 1992).

The distribution of mangrove plants in the Muthupet mangrove in relation tothe chemical characteristics of the soil with reference to a few important tracemetal has been studied. An attempt has also been made to measure some of theecological parameters used in species zonation. A distinct zonation pattern, in themangrove community has been linked with the variation in edaphic factors, whichare usually associated with the degree of tidal influence (Gunasekaran et al.,1992). Soil salinity is a major factor, responsible for the stunted growth ofAvicennia marina along Ennore backwaters (Selvam et al., 1991).

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The grain size, organic carbon, sedimentary sulphur, calcium carbonate, Fe,Mn, Al, Cu, and Hg are analyzed in Pichavaram mangrove for the mechanismscontrolling the behaviour of metals (Periakali et al., 2000). Spatial and temporalgeochemical variations of various parameters in the water and sediment areexamined in the Pichavaram mangrove area (Ramanathan et al., 1999).

Influence of UV-B radiation on Rhizophora apiculata has been studied interms of chlorophylls, their presence in protein complexes of the chloroplast, PSI,PSII photochemical activities, in vitro absorption spectrum of the chloroplast, invivo and leaf fluorescence and UV absorbing compounds (Moorthy andKathiresan, 1999b).

Seasonal variations in nitrogenous and phosphorus nutrients are noted inmangrove waters of Tuticorin Bay (Manikandavelu and Ramadhas, 1991).

The pattern of accumulation of heavy metals in the tissues of Scyllaserrata collected from Pichavaram mangroves noticed in the laboratory is similarto that observed in the environment: gill > hepatopancreas > muscle (exposed tomercury); hepatopancreas > gill > muscle (exposed to cadmium and zinc)(Narayanan et al., 1997).

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers are used fordetermining the genetic diversity of Avicennia marina in India (Balakrishna,1995).

Chouldari of South Andaman is analysed for environmental and ecologicalparameters (Damroy, 1995a). The air, surface water, and sediment temperaturesranged from 30 to 34.5°C and 29.3 to 33°C and 29.3 to 33°C respectively. Therange of pH, dissolved oxygen and salinity are from 7.48 to 8.47, 5.69 to 9.00ppm and 30 to 34 ppt respectively. Alkalinity and dissolved carbon dioxideranged from 139 to 172 ppm and 15.5 to 16 ppm respectively. The averageNO2-N content is 0.82 µg/l and the average PO4 content is 0.31 µg/l. The soil isslightly acidic (6.84) and electrical conductivity is high (14.26 milli mhos/cm).

Manjeri area of South Andaman has been studied for physico-chemicalparameters (Damroy, 1995b). The air and water temperatures ranged from 29.2to 31.5°C and 28 to 31°C respectively. The pH ranged between 7.4 and 8.2. Thedissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide ranged from 5.8 to 6.4 ppm and 8.0 to 15.3ppm respectively. Salinity ranged between 31.8 and 33.7 ppt. Alkalinity rangedfrom 136 to 153 ppm.

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Andaman mangroves exhibit higher biomass of 214 t/h than any othermangroves of the world (Mall et al., 1991). In Sundarbans, the biodiversity is richin the mangrove zone, situated below the tidal level, over other zones, which arefrequently inundated (Chakrabarti, 1993). To assess the biodiversity effects, acomparative study has been made in monogeneric and mixed mangrove forests ofAndaman Islands. The mixed mangrove forests have high soil respiration rate,faster decomposition rate, and high standing crop biomass (Mall et al., 1991). Thelitter biomass beneath Rhizophora apiculata in Andamans is significantly relatedto rainfall and wind velocity (Dagar and Sharma, 1991). The activities of soilenzymes are important in nutrient cycling and have been assayed in 5 majormangroves of South Andaman (Dinesh et al., 1998).

A comparative study of the interstitial water of the substratum with thecolumn water as regards the parameters-salinity, temperature, pH, nitrate andnitrite and prawn is conducted in the mangrove, coconut grove and culture pondsituated at Vypeen Island, Cochin (Sathyajith and Sampson Manickam, 1993).

Sediment texture and size of Kannur mangroves have been carried out(Badarudeen et al., 1998). The content of sand and mud remains almost constantin landward, intermediate and shallow water profiles in the surface and coresediment of Kannur mangroves. The southern part of the Kannur mangroves showsthe highest average of sand (68%). The mean size varies between 1.83φ and5.56φ in surface sediments and between 2.3φ and 5.6φ in core sediments. Thesediments are generally poorly to very poorly sorted, coarse to very fine skewedand lepto to very platykurtic in nature (Badarudeen et al., 1998).

In Cochin mangrove system, Acanthus ilicifolius forms the predominantvegatation (Muralidharan and Rajagopalan, 1993) and the ecological and biologicalfactors that control a Rhizophora dominated community in the Cochin area arealso described (Pretha and Rajagopalan, 1993). The heavy metal and phosphorousfractionation geochemistry and textural aspects of sediments in a tropical mangroveecosystem have been studied. The organic matter concentration ranges from 1.5 to13.4% and it is controlled by the particle size of the sediments. Enhancedconcentrations of heavy metals in the surficial sediments are due to the abundanceof greater surface area of fine particles, high organic matter content andflocculation process (Ramanathan, 1997).

The Bruguiera occurring in the Cochin estuarine system has been studiedwith respect to morphological characters, distribution pattern, tree density,

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phenology, germination and growth of seedlings along with physico-chemicalproperties of the soil, tidal water and litter decomposition rate in that area(Joseleen Jose and Rajagopalan, 1993).

The textural and geochemical aspects, and heavy metal concentrations ofthe sediments of mangrove systems are characterized by the abundance of silt andsand with minor amounts of clay with 5-times greater level of CaCO3. Thisenhanced CaCO3 content of the mangrove sediments is due to the shell miningactivities in the estuarine bed adjoining to the Kumarakom mangroves and it alsocontributes to a substantial lime muds to the mangrove area (Badarudeen et al.,1996).

Soil pH and salinity influence the growth of mangrove plant species:Bruguiera gymnorrhiza is abundant in low saline area and Acrostichum aureumprefers the areas of low pH and salinity in Kerala (Thomas and Fernandez, 1993).

Vertical and horizontal distribution patterns of organic carbon in themangrove sediments have been studied. The concentration of organic carbonvaried from 0.17 to 4.05% in the Cochin mangrove area. Organic carbon has aproportional and patent relationship with the finer fractions (silt + clay) of thesediment. Inconsistent pattern concomitant with the inconsistent concentration inaccumulation of organic carbon in the sediment with regard to vertical as well ashorizontal distribution is discernible in the tidal area of mangrove swamp (SunilKumar, 1996).

The surface sediments of Veli consist of an average concentration of2.75% Na and 1.02% K. The contents of Na and K in the surface (Na = 2.14%;K = 1.48%) and core sediments of Kochi (Cochin) mangroves are almost similar.Kannur mangroves exhibit an average of 2.43% Na and 5.36% of K. The meanenrichments of Na and K in the sediment cores (Kannur mangrove stations) KC1,KC2 and KC3 are 2.93% and 1.8%, 2% and 4.65%, 2.13% and 1.23%,respectively. The enrichment of K over Na in Kannur mangroves can be eitherdue to the contribution from the mangrove vegetative debris or fixation of theseelements in clay minerals of the sediment substratum (Badarudeen et al., 1998).

Textural studies of Tellicherry mangrove sediment of Kerala indicate thatsilty sand is the major textural class in the allochthonous sediments followed bymuddy sand, sandy mud and mud (Reghunadh et al., 1995).

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The heavy metals in the mangrove flora and sediments of three mangrovehabitats along the Kerala coast have been studied. The analysis of heavy metalsindicated a high level of metal pollutants such as Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb in themangrove habitats of Quilon and Veli, as compared to the relatively uncontami-nated areas of Kumarakom (Thomas and Fernandez, 1997).

Distributions of organic carbon (OC) and total phosphorus (P) in thesediments of three mangrove ecosystems reveal comparatively higher concentrationof OC (4%) than that of Veli (2.6%) and Cochin (3.7%). Total P records thehighest concentrations in Kochi (av. 0.395%) compared to Veli (0.055%) andKannur (av. 0.323%) mangroves (Badarudeen et al., 1998).

Effects of heavy metals on growth rate, primary production and chlorophyllcontent of microalgae are examined. Among the heavy metals, copper is the mosttoxic and lead is the least toxic heavy metal to both microalgae and natural popula-tion of phytoplankton (Ithack and Gopinathan, 1995).

The level of nutrients has been studied in several mangrove areas. Thelevels of organic matter and C, N, P in sediments are more in mangroves than inestuary and in sea (Shanmukhappa, 1987). Similarly, the levels of humic acids(dissolved and particulate) are higher in mangrove waters of Karwar than inestuary and sea (Shanmukhappa et al., 1987) and a negative relationship isreportedly noted between dissolved humic acid and salinity (Shanmukhappa andNeelakantan, 1989). The concentration of humic acids in all the three forms(dissolved, particulate and sedimentary) is reportedly highest in the monsoon(June-Sept.), when the salinity is minimum; while the concentration is reportedlylowest in the premonsoon (Feb-May), when the salinity is maximum. Sedimentaryhumic acids (SHA) level is relatively higher than the dissolved (DHA) and theparticulate (PHA) humic acids except in the monsoon when the proportion of PHAexceeds SHA. This has been attributed to the decomposition of the litter from themangrove swamps as well as to the freshwater inflow from the upstream region(Sardessai, 1993).

In the sediments of Talapady lagoon, Dakshina Kannada, high levels ofphosphorus and nitrogen are recorded due to decay of mangrove foliage (Sahoo etal., 1991).

Water and sediments have been studied for distribution of organic carbonand nitrogen in Goa mangroves. Suspended matter ranged from 3 to 373 mg/l

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while particulate organic carbon (POC) from 0.03 to 9.94 mg/l. POC valueshowed significant correlation with suspended matter. Particulate organic nitrogen(PON) values, however fluctuated in the range of 0.01 - 3.4 mg/l. Organic carbonin the sediment (SOC) varied from 1.7 to 54 mg/g with an average value of 45.6mg/g organic matter. The values of total nitrogen in the sediments (STN) rangedfrom 0.3 to 19.3 mg/l. The data indicate that there is marked spatial and temporalvariations in the distribution of organic matter in the mangrove environment. Themangroves and their associated biota contribute major portion of organic matter inthe mangrove environment (Jagtap, 1987).

The Avicennia species are in general more tolerant to salt and organicpollution than other species of mangroves in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra (Sathe andBhosale, 1991).

The life history and chemical composition of Monostroma oxyspermum(Chlorophyceae) have been studied at the mangrove ecosystem of Shirgao creek,Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, Terekhol creek, Goa, and Kali estuary, Karwar. This algacan be easily cultivated on large scale as a food source (Geetanjali Deshmukhe etal., 1998).

The trace metals Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu have been studied in the sediments ofThane creek. Cadmium is low and lead shows a positive correlation with pH ofwater and organic carbon of sediment. Salinity and to some extent sedimentalorganic carbon play a significant role in governing the concentration of copper andzinc, whose fluctations show antagonistic pattern (Athalye and Gokhale, 1989).The nitrogen dynamics of mangroves in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra has been studiedby Waghmode (1987).

Four mangrove biotopes such as, Cochin, Gulf of Kachchh, Killai estuaryand the Andaman-Nicobar Islands, have been comparatively studied for theirecological aspects (Rajagopalan et al., 1986). A study at Thane Railway Bridgeand Basseins creeks system of Mumbai reveals a lower level of dissolved oxygen(DO) (2.7 to 4.0 mg/1) and higher values of BOD and nutrients at Thane. Thisindicates the prevailing unhealthy water quality of the area (Asha Jyothi and Nair,1999a).

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4. MICROBIOLOGYA. Bacteria

Mangroves provide an unique ecological niche to a variety of micro-organisms (Agate, 1991). About 125 species of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi,algae) have been identified (Kathirvel, 1996).

It is interesting to note that the photosynthetic microorganisms behave likeheterotrophs in the mangrove environment. The cyanobacteria and photosyntheticbacteria have to survive in low light or partially dark conditions by utilizing thesuspended organic matter, which are available abundantly in the mangrove waters.This unique heterotrophic adaptation of photoautotrophs, is a mechanism ofsurvival in hostile coastal anaerobic and anoxic conditions of mangrove habitat(Rao and Krishnamurthy, 1994).

The nitrogen fixation by microorganisms has been investigated inmangroves. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, Azotobacter species are reportedly isolatedfrom sediments of Pichavaram mangroves and their counts are more in themangrove habitat than in marine backwaters and estuarine systems(Lakshmanaperumalsamy, 1987). Three species of Azotobacters viz.,A. vinelandii, A. beijerinckii and A. chroococcum are known and assessed fortheir utility as biofertilizer (Ravikumar, 1995).

The counts of nitrogen fixing bacteria in the rhizosphere of mangrove plantcommunity have been quantified in the Ganges river estuary and the bacterialcounts are high in inundated swamps and low in occasionally inundated ridges anddegraded areas of mangroves (Sengupta and Chaudhuri, 1991). Two halotolerant,nitrogen fixing Rhizobium strains have been isolated from root nodules of Derrisscandens and Sesbania spp. growing along the mangrove swamps of Sundarbans(Sengupta and Chaudhuri, 1990). Hydrocarbonoclastic bacterial isolates have beenreported from mangals of Andaman (Shome et al., 1996).

Nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria such as Aphanocapsa spp., Nodularia spp.and Trichodesmium spp. have been isolated from Pichavaram mangroves(Ramachandran and Venugopalan, 1987; Ramachandra Rao, 1992).

The cyanobacterium has the ability to desalinate the sea water with salinityup to 250 g/1, under laboratory conditions. The cyanobacterium, Phormidiumtenue is promising for desalinization process (Balasubramanian and Kathiresan,1999).

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The standing crop of both epiphytic and benthic cyanobacteria is muchhigher when compared to the planktonic cyanobacteria. Also the standing crop ofepiphytic and benthic cyanobacteria is seasonally high during summer andpremonsoon seasons (Ramachandra Rao and Krishnamurthy, 1994).

Lipophilic extracts of five species of cyanobacteria, isolated from themangroves, have been tested against the bacteria and fungi for their inhibitoryactivity. Extracts of Anacystis dimidiata inhibit 7 strains. Nostoc paludosum andSchizothrix sp. exhibit maximum activity against Bacillus subtilis. Phormidiumfragile does not show any activity against B. subtilis (Ramachandra Rao, 1994).

Phormidium tenue isolated from mangrove and shrimp pond ecosystemshas been studied for optimal culture condition to produce high biomass(Palaniselvam and Kathiresan, 1996).

Seasonal variations of antagonistic actinomycetes have been determined inselected mangrove ecosystems. The highest number of actinomycetes is present inmonsoon. The antagonistic activity of the actinomycetes is shown against 14 testpathogens viz. Vibrio anguillarum, V. cholerae, V. alginoliticus,V. parahaemolyticus, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Salmonella-I, Salmonella-II,Escherichia coli, Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Rhodotorula rubra, R. marina andCladosporium. Out of 104 actinomycetes tested for their antimicrobial activity,about 56% exhibit antagonistic effect towards Gram-negative bacteria, 35.6%towards Gram-positive bacteria. 100% of the isolates inhibit the growth of thefilamentous fungi (Cladosporium) and 90% of the isolates are reportedlyantagonistic towards non-filamentous fungi (R. marina and R. rubra) (RathnaKala and Chandrika, 1995).

The cyanobacterium Phormidium tenue has a potential to enhance thegrowth and production of shrimp. For example, in Penaeus monodon, the foodconversion ratio (FCR) is 0.25 when fed with cyanobacterial (Phormidium tenue)diet as against 0.276 with a commercial feed without the cyanobacterium. Proteincontent of the shrimp tissue is also increased by 17.5% in the cyanobacterium-fedshrimp. In Penaeus semisulcatus, the FCR is 2.29 when the shrimp is fed withcyanobacterium-rich diet as against 9.36 with cyanobacterium-deficient one(Palaniselvam and Kathiresan, 1998).

Several types of microorganisms do exist in mangrove biota. The sulphatereducing bacteria have been isolated from the mangrove swamps of Goa (Saxena

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et al., 1988; Lokabharathi et al., 1991). Distribution of phototrophic thionicbacteria in the anaerobic and micro-aerophilic strata of mangrove sediments ofCochin has also been studied (Chandrika et al., 1990).

Phenolic compounds and bacterial counts have been studied in the Cochinmangrove swamps. The diversity of bacteria and their numbers are higher whenphenol concentration is less in the sediment (Imelda Joseph and Chandrika, 2000).

Purple photosynthetic bacteria are reportedly isolated from Pichavarammangrove sediments: two major groups viz., purple sulphur bacteria (family-Chromatiaceae, strains belonging to Chromatium spp.) and purple non-sulphurbacteria (family- Rhodospirillaceae, strains belonging to Rhodopseudomonas spp.)(Vethanayagam, 1991).

Studies on the growth potential of the anoxygenic photosynthetic purplenon-sulphur bacterium Rhodopseudomonas sp. collected from the mudflats of thePichavaram mangroves reveal that this strain grows well in salinities normallyencountered in the marine environment (Vethanayagam and Krishnamurthy, 1995).

Besides sulphur bacteria, the iron oxidizing and iron reducing bacteria doexist in mangrove habitat. This type of bacteria is higher in mining areas of Goathan in non-mining mangroves areas of Konkan (Panchanadikar, 1993). Thesulphate reducing bacteria reduce the activity of methane producing bacteria. Thesemethanogenic bacteria have been studied for the first time for their distribution andecology in mangrove sediments of Pichavaram (Ramamurthy et al., 1990). Thesebacteria are also abundant in marine sediments of Kodiakkarai where Avicenniaspp. are predominant (Mohanraju and Natarajan, 1992). Besides all these types ofbacteria, fungi-like bacteria namely Actinomycetes do exist in the mangrovesediments of Cochin (Rathna Kala and Chandrika, 1993).

The microorganisms inhabiting the rhizosphere and viable counts ofbacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes populations have been estimated quantitativelyand qualitatively. The heterotrophic bacteria identified, belong to five generaAlcaligenes, Flavobacterium, Cytophaga, Vibrio, Aeromonas under the familyof Enterobacteriaceae. The fungi isolated mainly are species of Fusarium,Penicillium, Aspergillus and Rhizopus along Cochin coast. The total microflorashows a seasonal cycle in their counts. The bacterial counts are maximum duringthe postmonsoon months and the counts of the fungi and actinomycetes aremaximum during the monsoon months (Mini Raman and Chandrika, 1993).

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The bacterial load is higher in sediment and water samples than in the gutcontents of the polychaete, Ceratoneries costae, the amphipod, Paracalliopefluviatilis (Devi et al., 1986). The hind gut of Telescopium telescopium harboursmore heterotrophic bacteria (13.37 x 103 CFU/g) than the fore gut (4.42 x 103

CFU/g) and mid gut (12.65 x 103 CFU/g). The percentage contribution ofamylolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic bacteria are 53.8%, 23.1% and 23.1%respectively (Prem Anand et al., 1996).

Seasonal variation of total heterotropic bacteria in relation to theconcentration of tannin in water and sediment samples from a mangroveenvironment has been studied. There is a negative correlation with tannin levelsand microbial counts (Kathiresan et al., 1998).

Total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), fecal streptococci (FS),salmonellae and vibrios in estuarine, lake and mangrove biotopes of Tamilnadu,east coast of India have been enumerated (Venkateswaran and Natarajan, 1987).

Epiphytic bacteria of mangroves have been studied. The bacteria areattached to the surface of green algae like Chaetomorpha crassa and C. linum(Padmakumar and Ayyakkannu, 1986) and to other plants. These epiphyticbacteria exhibit the lowest population on plant surface of Avicennia marina andSesuvium portulacastrum in premonsoon (Feb-May) and they show the highestpopulation during monsoon (June-Sep) and postmonsoon (Oct-Jan). Leaves of theplant species harbour high counts of Flavobacterium and root and stem of theplants exhibit high counts of Vibrio spp. (Abhaykumar and Dube, 1991).

Bacterial flora of mangrove litter fall and underneath sediments from SouthAndaman has been investigated. Thirty eight bacterial isolates are reportedlypresent in the sediments of Rhizophora, Avicennia and Nypa species. Thecultural, morphological and biochemical features reveal that most of the isolatesbelong to Bacillus spp. (50%). In addition, Aeromonas, Vibrio, Escherichia,Enterobacter, Corynebacterium, Kurthia, Staphyllococcus, Micrococcus andListeria are also present. Most isolates are gram positive (76.3%), motile (87%)and fermentative bacteria range from 6.9% to 82.1% for dextrose. Thirty per centisolates are pigment producers (either diffusible or cell associated). The bacterialisolates show a minimum of 50% resistance against chloramphenicol and amaximum of 100% resistance against polymixin B (Shome et al., 1995). Thepercentage of agarolytic bacteria is reportedly very low (<1%), though the soilsamples are collected periodically from mangrove litter sediments where salinity

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percentage and other physiochemical characters vary throughout the year (Shomeet al., 2000).

In another study, the bacterial counts are found to be higher on the freshleaves of mangroves than those on leaf litters. The high bacterial counts are alsofound associated with higher leakiness of amino acids and sugar and lowerleakiness of tannins (Kathiresan and Ravikumar, 1995a).

Lytic activity of gut microflora of the prosobranch Telescopiumtelescopium collected from Pichavaram mangroves has been studied. Twoamylolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic strains are selected for analysis of enzymaticactivity when cultured at specified levels of salinity, pH, tannin, Cu and Ni. Allstrains showed maximum enzymatic activity at a salinity range of 10 - 25 ppt, andalkaline pH. Tannin had a clear effect on the enzymatic activity at higherconcentrations. However, all strains showed difference in inhibition of activity atincreasing concentrations of tannin up to 100 ppm (Prem Anand et al., 1996).

The microbial interrelationship in mangrove sediments does exist betweenbacteria and actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi, and fungi and actinomycetes. Theactinomycetes exhibit antibiotic activity against fish pathogens (Rathna Kala, 1995).

B. Fungi

Leaf inhabiting fungi of mangrove plants are known. Khuskia oryzae hasbeen reported for the first time from India, among seven species of fungi that existon mangrove leaf surface of Sundarbans (Pal and Purkayastha, 1992b). There are2 new parasitic fungi namely Pestalotiopsis agallochae sp. and Cladosporiummarinum sp. existing on infected leaves of Excoecaria agallocha and Avicenniamarina (Pal and Purkayastha, 1992a).

Sixteen fungi are isolated from leaves of mangrove plants of Sundarbans,West Bengal and their growth response to tannin, extracellular pectolytic enzyme(PE) activity and degree of inactivation of PE due to presence of tannin are testedin vitro. Tannin (0.2%) inhibited growth of all test fungi, but low concentration(0.05%) stimulated growth of three fungal species. Enzyme activity in culturefiltrates of fungi are also assayed. Phomopsis sp. of Commelinae andP. clerodendrumii show maximum (99%) while Exserohilum rostratum exhibitminimum (13%) reduction in viscosity of their respective culture filterates withouttannin. Among 16 fungi, Chaetomium globosum, Curvularia senegalensis and

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E. rostratum are highly sensitive to tannin with a very low PE activity. Significantinactivation of PE by tannin (0.2%) is recorded for all fungi which is maximum (80- 90%) for tannin sensitive fungi (De et al., 1999).

Ten fungal species isolated from the mangrove leaves of Pichavaram areAspergillus flavus, A. ochraceus, Alternaria alternata, A. tenuissima, Rhizopusnigricans, Penicillum funiculosum, P. expansum, Humicola fuscoatra, Mucorracemosa and Fusarium oxysporum. Alternaria alternata and Rhizopusnigricans are abundant in all the mangrove leaves followed by Aspergillus andPenicillium species and there is a negative correlation found between the fungalcounts and leaf tannins (Sivakumar and Kathiresan, 1990). The fungal counts aremore on mangrove leaf litter than those on fresh leaves. The high fungal counts onleaf litter are associated with low content of tannins and sugars, high level of aminoacids, low leakiness of tannins and sugars, and high leakiness of amino acids(Ravikumar and Kathiresan, 1993).

Fungal activity has been studied in an estuarine mangrove ecosystem ofCochin and 31 fungi species isolated from sediment, 27 from decaying leaves,stems, roots and pneumatophores of the mangroves. A few isolates especiallyAspergillus candidus, show phosphate solubilizing activity by solubilizing insolublephosphorus compounds and making them available to other organisms, thus thefungi play a role in the nutrient regeneration of the ecosystem (Prabhakaran et al.,1987).

Mycological examination of dead wood, prop roots and seedlings ofRhizophora apiculata and R. mucronata collected from Pichavaram mangroveshas yielded 48 fungal species belonging to 36 genera with Ascomycotina beingmost prevalent. The number of fungi recorded on prop roots (44) are muchgreater than that on seedlings (18) and woods (16). The most common andabundant fungus on wood is Lophiostoma mangrovei. Verruculina enalia is mostcommon on prop roots and seedlings. Some of the fungi occur on all the threesubstrates, but their frequency and percentage occurrence on individual substratesvary. Halocyphina villosa, the only Basidiomycete recorded is more abundant onseedlings, while Monodicty spelagica is abundant on wood, the least on seedlings(Ravikumar and Vittal, 1996).

A total of 25 species of fungi, belonging to 15 genera has been isolatedfrom rhizosphere soil of Avicennia officinalis from Alibag, Maharashtra (Nair etal., 1991). The fungal counts in rhizosphere soil are maximum in monsoon andminimum during summer (Nair et al., 1991). Thus salinity affects the fungalpopulations (Venkatesan and Natarajan, 1987).

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Lower groups of aquatic fungi like thraustochytrid species occur indecaying mangrove leaves (Raghukumar and Raghukumar, 1988). Schizochytriummangrovei sp. on decaying mangrove leaves has been described from Goa(Raghukumar, 1988). The thraustochytrids (Thraustochytrium striatum andSchizochytrium mangrovei) kill bacterial cells by developing amoeba-likestructures and the species also behave like fungus in the breakdown of complexorganic molecules (Raghukumar, 1992).

Higher groups of fungi from mangrove woods in Maharashtra coast havebeen reported with 41 species of ascomycetes, 2 basidiomycetes, 12deuteromycetes with predominanace of Massarina velatospora (Borse, 1988).Massarina velatospora and a new mangrove-inhabiting species,M. ramunculicola sp. have been described from dead mangrove wood (Hyde,1991).

Massarina armatispora sp. a new intertidal ascomycete has been isolatedfrom mangrove wood (Hyde et al.,1992). Other ascomycetes isolated frommangrove woods are Rhizophila marina, Trematosphaeria striatispora,Lineolata rhizophorae, Caryosporella rhizophorae, Passeriniella savoryellopsisand Hypoxlon ocenicum (Chinnaraj and Untawale, 1992). Most of the wood-rotting fungi contain laccase, one of the major lignin-modifying enzymes(Raghukumar et al., 1994).

Enzyme activity shows positive and significant relationships with organicnutrient forms like organic C, P and S, which indicate that soils with higher organicC stimulate microbial activity and therefore, provide a more conducive environmentfor enzyme synthesis and its accumulation in the soil matrix of the mangroves(Dinesh et al., 1998).

Physiological studies on strain variations have been made in Pestalotiopsisversicolor, isolated from the mangrove plant, Ceriops decandra growing indifferent localities of Sundarbans (Bera and Purkayastha, 1992).

Most of the fungi collected from Maharashtra coast are decomposers ofmangrove plants (Ramesh and Borse, 1989). Fungal succession on decomposingpneumatophore of mangrove plants, can be divided into three groups: group1-sugar digesting fungi are mainly comprised of zygomycotina which are pioneercolonizers; group-II-cellulose decomposing fungi consist of various ascomycotinaand deuteromycotina, and most efficient ones are Chaetomium spp., Fusarium

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spp., Humicola spp. Penicillium spp., and Trichoderma spp.; group III-lignindecomposing fungi include Alternaria alternata, Graphium spp., Preussia spp.,Trichoderma lignorum, Trichurus spiralis and Truncatella truncata.

Laboratory studies on decomposition of leaves of Rhizophora apiculatahave been carried to assess the role of thraustochytrid fungi in the marine detritalsystems. There are two phases of fungal dynamics in the first phase between0 and 21 days; in the first phase, cellulase producers are formed (Cladosporiumherbatum, Fusarium moniliforme, Cirrenalia basiminuta andHalophytophthora vesicula); in the second phase between 28 and 60 days,Xylanase producers (hypomycetes) are formed; and in all ages of detritus, pecticenzymes, amylase and protease are uniformly produced by the fungi (Raghukumaret al., 1994).

The thraustochytrid, Schizochytrium mangrovei grows well on bothphases of detritus. Fusarium moniliforme and Halophytophthora vesiculacause an increase in detrital protein. All the fungal species enhance the aminoacids and Halophytophthora vesicula reduces the phenolics of the decomposingorganic matter (Raghukumar et al., 1994). Cirrenalia pygmea, a mangrovefungus, has been grown at various salinities and analysed for its amino acidcomposition (Ravishankar et al., 1996).

5. PLANKTONOLOGY

A. Phytoplankton

The mangrove waters are more productive than the backwaters andestuaries (Bhattathiri, 1992). In Kakinada coast, the productivity is four timeshigher in mangroves than that in the adjacent marine waters (Selvam et al.,1992). This is attributed to high production of plankton in the mangove waters asthe phytoplankton are one of the initial biological components, from which energyis transferred into higher organisms through food web. Biomass and production ofphytoplankton of various sizes are important factors, which regulate the availabilityand diversity of organisms at higher trophic levels.

Statistical methods to obtain diversity indices, richness indices andevenness of phytoplankton and zooplankton separately have been used andrelated them to the ecological parameters in mangrove ecosystems in Cochin area(Shajina and Balan, 1993).

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Marine phytoplankton of the mangrove delta region of West Bengal havebeen investigated. They show a taxonomic account of 46 taxa of bacillariophyceae,dinophyceae and cyanophyceae (Table 3). The predominant genera found almostround the year are Coscinodiscus, Rhizosolenia, Chaetoceros, Biddulphia,Pleurosigma, Ceratium and Protoperidinium (Santra et al., 1991).

Table 3. Plankton species reported in Sundarban mangrove areas

Source : Santra et al. (1991)

In Pichavaram waters, the phytoplankton of 5-10 µm size are importantcontributors to the primary production (Kawabata et al., 1993). There are 82species of phytoplankton in Pichavaram which constitute 67 species of diatoms, 12species of dinoflagellates and 3 species of blue-green algae. The diatoms form thebulk with 72% of the census followed by the dinoflagellates with 15% (Kannanand Vasantha, 1992). Another estimate for the same area reports totally 84species of phytoplankton comprising 74 species of diatoms, 5 species ofdinoflagellates, 4 species of blue green algae and 1 species of green algae. Thephytoplankton popuation density has ranged from 25 to 15,84,893 cells/l during1980-81 and from 12 to 50,11,872 cells/l during 1981-82. Generally, the density

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is high during summer and post-monsoon seasons and low during monsoonperiods (Chandrasekaran, 2000). A positive relationship exists between thephytoplankton and the finfish and shrimp juveniles. This indicates that phyto-plankton could be one of the major factors influencing the temporal fluctuations ofthe populations of fish juveniles in this mangrove biotope (Table 4)(Chandrasekaran, 2000).

Table 4. Checklist of phytoplankton collected during the study period atPichavaram mangrove

Source : Chandrasekaran (2000)

Amongst phytoplankton, Ceratium sp., Coscinodiscus sp., Pleurosigmasp., Chaetoceros sp. and tintinids are predominant. Among the zooplankton,

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copepods are the most dominant, followed by nauplius, protozoea and zoea ofcrustaceans, lucifer, Oikopleura sp. chaetognaths, planktonic gastropods, fish eggsand siphonophores in Manjeri area of South Andaman (Damroy, 1995b).

The phytoplankton analysis has been made on the native species(autochthonous) and migrants (allochthonous). Species which occurred more than90% are considered as autochthonous species and the rest of the occurrences arerelated to allochthonous species. Such autochthonous species are Biddulphiamobiliensis, Coscinodiscus jonesianus, Bacteriastrum delicatulum,Chaetoceros lorenzianus, Coscinodiscus centralis, C. eccentricus, Gyrosigmabalticum, Navicula rostellata, Pleurosigma elongatum and P. directum(diatoms) and Ceratium furca, Peridinium depressum and Provocentrummicans (Dinoflagellates) (Chandrasekaran, 2000).

The dominant allochthonous consitituents are Chaetoceros compressus,Eucampia zodiacus and Rhizosolenia setigera among diatoms; and Ceratiumtripos and Dinophysis caudata among dinoflagellates. Freshwater species such asAnabaena, Nostoc, Oscillataria, Spirogyra, Navicula and Synedra are seen onlyduring the freshwater influence in the biotope associated with monsoonal floods(Chandrasekaran, 2000).

B. Zooplankton

The population density of zooplankton varies from 11 to 22, 13,094organisms/1 for the year 1980-81 and from 15 to 22, 84,020 for the year 1981-82. Major peaks of abundance are noted during post-monsoon and summerseasons and the lowest population density during monsoon (October-December)(Chandrasekaran, 2000).

Totally 47 species/groups of zooplankton have been recorded in thePichavaram mangrove area. Calanoid and cylopoid copepods are the mainconstituents of the macroplankton and the dominant species are Acroporasouthwelli, Eucalanus elongatus, Oithona rigida, O. brevicornis andPseudodiaptomus aurivilli. The major components of microzooplankton aretintinnids represented by 10 species. Of these, Dictyocysta seshaiyai,Tintinnopsis tubulosa, T. tocantinensis, T. cylindrica, T. minuta,T. uruguayensis, Tintinnidium primitivium are most common numerically. Thelarval population consists mainly of polychaete larvae, nauplii of copepods, prawnlarvae, nauplii and cypris of cirripedes and veligers of gastropods and bivalves and

26

fish larvae. Besides the above forms, rotifers, ctenophores, chaetognaths, siphono-phores, hydrozoan medusae and pteropods are also recorded (Chandrasekaran,2000).

Natural phytoplankton communities in Pichavaram have been documentedwith predominance of Nitzschia closterium, Pleurosigma spp., Thalassionemanitzschioides and Thalassiothrix frauenfeldii (Mani, 1989, 1992). Thirty onespecies have been identified as bloom formers with a predominance ofRhizosolenia alata f. gracillima in Pichavaram mangrove waters (Table 5) (Mani,1994). Phytoplankton in Chorao (Goa), west coast are higher in bottom layer thanon the water surface and they also show alkaline phosphatase activity (Desai,1988).

Zooplankton constitute one of the important intermediate steps in the foodpyramid of mangrove waters. Distribution and abundance of zooplankton havebeen studied in Hooghly and Saptamukhi river waters, West Bengal (Kundu et al.,1987).

Zooplankton in Godavari mangrove ecosystem are composed of 27groups. In Krishna mangroves, maximum number of groups (22) are observed insummer period and minimum number of groups (6) are recorded in flood period(Ramanamurthy and Kondala Rao, 1993).

Community structure of zooplankton at 4 locations, 2 in the coastal watersoff Bombay and 2 in interior Thane-Bassein creek system has been studied(Vijayalakshmi et al., 1999). Copepods are the major herbivore community,contributing 76-83% of total zooplankton population. Decapods are relativelymore in the outer (av.11%) than in interior zone (av.7%). Population density ofcarnivores are 2-4 times more in the polluted interior segment.

Metal concentrations in the zooplankton have been studied. Among themetals, Cu and Zn contribute 60-89% of the total elements accumulated. Ingeneral, concentration of Zn is higher than Cu in different groups. Also levels ofZn in polluted locations are 2 times higher than in the outer zone. The concen-trations of metals are higher in gelatinous organisms, which include a variety ofcarnivores. Metal concentration in copepods is lower than carnivores. The lowestconcentration of metals in decapods is attributed to the effective elimination of apart of the concentrated metal through periodic moulting (Vijayalakshmi et al.,1999).

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Table 5. Bloom-forming phytoplankton species and their cell surface area(µm2), number of cells required to attain bloom level and themaximum bloom concentration recorded at Pichavaram mangrovesduring 1984-86

Source : Mani (1994)

The daytime planktonic composition is rich with phytoplanktonic communityand detritus, which is the main source of food for the organisms living in themangrove ecosystems. The temperature and salinity reflect the conditions of thehabitat, while the plankton have direct relationship with the nature of tide, strengthof the current and direction of flow. Higher displacement volumes of about 0.73,0.75, 0.85 ml/m3 are recorded during night with numerical abundance of 27053,17401 and 18688 no./m3 respectively. The detritus constitute about 50-60%during the low tide period. Among the zooplankton, copepods, larvae of molluscsand polychaetes contribute to the bulk of zooplankton component (Mohan andSreenivas, 1998).

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Zooplanktonic larval recruitment of Coleroon estuary occurs due to theinflux of Pichavaram mangrove waters during low tide and to the influx of coastalwaters at hightide (Ayyakkannu, 1989). There are 35 species of rotifers (Table 6)belonging to 17 genera in Pichavaram mangrove waters with three predominatspecies viz., Brachionus angularia, B. calyciflorus and B. forficula(Govindasamy and Kannan, 1991).

Table 6. Species composition of rotifers encountered from the Khan sahibcanal of the Pitchavaram mangrove area

* New distributional records to Porto Novo; # New distributional record to IndiaSource : Govindasamy and Kannan (1991)

The population density, species diversity, species evenness and speciesrichness of zooplankton have been studied in the Pichavaram mangroves. Thezoo-plankton density varies from 200 to 61650 individuals/litre, with the maximumin summer season. Out of 55 species of zooplankton recorded, the copepods arethe dominant group (36.5%) (Table 7) (Karuppasamy and Perumal, 2000).

A planktonic larvacean tunicate has been recorded for the first time fromthe mangrove waters of Sundarbans (Singh and Choudhury, 1992a). Zooplanktoncommunity of the fringing mangroves along the upper reaches of Mandovi andZuari estuaries of Goa has been studied. This reveals that the standing stock(biomass) values in the mangroves are low as compared to estuarine and neriticbiotopes (Goswami, 1992).

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Table 7. Zooplankton species recorded in different stations at Pichavarammangrove waters

Forty six species of copepods have been identified, of which, 40 belong toCalanoida with an overall dominance of Acartiidae. Acartia spinicauda, A.centrura and Centropages dorsispinatus are the common species throughout theyear at all locations (Table 8). Eucalanus subcrassus and Paracalanus aculeatusare more abundant in the outer zone, while A. tropica is very common in theinterior region. Hyposaline species, Pseudodiaptomus binghami malayalus exists

Source : Karuppasamy and Perumal (2000)

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from the interior locations particularly during the monsoon months (June-September) (Neelam Ramaiah and Nair, 1997).

Table 8. Copepod species reported at the mangrove waters of Goa

Source : Neelam Ramaiah and Nair (1997)

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Microzooplankton of Parangipettai with special reference to Tintinnida(Protozoa: Ciliata: Tintinnida) have been documented (Krishnamurthy et al., 1995).Species composition and abundance of tintinnids and copepods have been studiedin Pichavaram mangroves. Tintinnids are the dominant microzooplankters with 50species and densities ranging from 60 to 44,990 invididuals/m3. The mostimportant genera are Tintinnopsis and Favella (Godhantaraman, 1994;Krishnamurthy et al., 1995). They also found 40 rotifer species in 17 genera.Except for rotifers, whose populations peaked in the premonsoon and monsoonmonths, the microzooplankters are most abundant in the summer, correspondingwith highest phytoplankton abundance. Copepods are the most abundant group inthe mangrove mesoplankton. In the Pichavaram mangrove waters, copepodsdensities reach 80740 individual/m3. The genera Acartia, Acrocalanus(Calanoida), Macrosetella and Euterpina (Harpacticoida) and Oithona(Cyclopoida) are the most abundant (Godhantaraman, 1994).

6. FLORA

A. Flowering Plants

The Indian mangroves comprise approximately 59 species of higher plantsbelonging to 41 genera and 29 families (Deshmukh, 1991a). Of these, 32 speciesbelonging to 24 genera and 20 families are present along the west coast. Thespecies viz., Sonneratia caseolaris, Suaeda fruticosa, Urochondra setulosahave been reported only from the west coast. An annotated check list of Indianmangroves has been prepared by this ENVIS Centre in 1999.

The mangrove flora in the Cochin backwater consists of 10 speciesbelonging to 9 genera and 7 families. Rhizophora mucronata, Avicenniaofficinalis, Acanthus ilicifolius, Derris trifoliata and Acrostrichum aureumoccur widely. Rhizophora mucronata is the most dominant species, followed byAvicennia officinalis and Acanthus ilicifolius (Sunil Kumar and Antony, 1994).

The east coast of India and Andaman Nicobar Islands have high speciesdiversity. There are 45 species in 27 genera of mangroves in the bay islands(Deshmukh, 1991b). The species like Ceriops decandra, Xylocarpus spp.,Lumnitzera littorea, Nypa fruticans, Phoenix paludosa and Cerbera manghasare limited to east coast. The common species in Indian coastline are Rhizophoramucronata, R. apiculata, Ceriops tagal, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Lumnitzeraracemosa, Sonneratia apetala, Acanthus ilicifolius, Avicennia marina,

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A. officinalis, Excoecaria agallocha and Acrostichum aureum (Deshmukh,1991b).

Manjeri mangrove area of Andaman is dominated by species ofRhizophora, Avicennia, Bruguiera, Lumnitzera and Sonneratia. The mangrovesarea that is facing the seafront is less influenced by influx of freshwater (Damroy,1995b).

Totally thirty-seven species of exclusive mangroves and about 25 speciesassociated with mangroves occur in the coastal and inland regions in India (Dagar,1995). Thirty two species of mangrove and mangrove–associate species belongingto 26 genera and 18 families are reportedly present in Godavari and Krishnamangrove ecosystems (Ramanamurty and Kondala Rao, 1993). Another surveyreports 45 species coming under 37 genera belonging to 6 families (Venkanna,1991). It is interesting to note that Prosopis chilensis, grows in association withSonneratia and Acanthus (Venkanna, 1991).

The typical mangroves, such as, Lumnitzera racemosa, Bruguieragymnorrhiza and Rhizophora apiculata are rarely found in the Godavari Delta(Umamaheswara Rao and Narasimha Rao, 1988). Mangrove flora of AndamanIslands has the dominat species of Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata andAvicennia marina (Mall et al., 1985; Jagtap, 1985). The Nicobar Islands ofAndaman sea have 10 major species with predominance of Rhizophora stylosaand Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Jagtap, 1992).

There are 47 species of mangroves and 37 species of otherangiosperms in the deltaic regions of the Ganges, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishnaand Cauvery rivers, situated along the east coast of India alone (Untawale andJagtap, 1991).

A rare mangrove species, Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea (Rubiaceae) isreportedly existing in Andhra Pradesh (Venkanna, 1991). Acanthus ebracteatushas been recorded only from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Deshmukh,1991a).

In Andaman Islands out of 32 principal species of Indian mangroves, 13species are found in the west coast, 23 species are in the east coast and 27species are found in Andamans, contributing 87% of the total species of Indianmangroves flora (Singh et al.,1990).

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The fallen leaves from the trees are colonized by microbes which in turnare eaten by protozoans. The enriched biomass of microbes along with organicdetritus, gives rise to rich particulate organic matter and this forms 90% of thefood for crabs, worms, shrimps and small forage fishes, which in turn form prey tojuveniles of large fishes of Pichavaram mangroves (Kathiresan, 1991).

A new species, Rhizophora x annamalayana, has been described, as ahybrid between R. apiculata and R. stylosa from Pichavaram mangroves(Kathiresan, 1995b, 1999b). Previously this species was called as R. lamarckii, ahybrid between R. stylosa and R. apiculata (Lakshmanan and Rajeswari, 1983;Muniyandi and Natarajan, 1985). But the Rhizophora stylosa is not existing inPichavaram (Kathiresan, 1995b). Bruguiera cylindrica (Rhizophoraceae) hasbeen recorded for the first time from the west coast, while it is common on theeast coast (Bhat and Untawale, 1987).

For evaluating baseline status of mangroves and halophytes around thethermal station in Mumbai, studies have been carried out during construction phaseof the power plant at banks of three creeks, namely Dahanu, Danda and Savta.Altogether 7 species of vegetation are recorded, of which Avicennia marina andAeluropus sp. are widely present. Average height and density of different plantsvary between 0.34 and 1.65 m and 8 and 125 per 100 m2 respectively. Diversityindices of the plants vary from 0.67 to 1.47, indicating presence of less number ofspecies and their uneven distribution in different study zones. Plantation andsurvival of mangrove seedlings on both banks of Savta creek have also beenrecorded (Ghosh et al., 1996).

A few unusual morphological features have been observed in Avicenniaalba, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, B. cylindrica and Ceriops decandra, inmangroves of the Karnataka coast. The features are the aerial roots on trunk up to65 cm above the ground level, regular dichotomous branching system and notpenetrating the mud or becoming prop like structures as in other mangrove taxa(Rao et al., 1987).

Studies of leaf anatomy for 13 species of mangroves, belonging to 11genera and 9 families have led to construct a taxonomic key (Seshavathram andSrivalli, 1989). Besides leaf anatomy, chromosomal diversity has also been studiedin three species of Heritiera, H. fomes, H. macrophylla and H. littoralis fromBhitarkanika on the Mahanadi delta of Orissa. The chromosome number is2n = 38 with minute variation in chromosomal length among the three species.

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These minutes structural alterations in chromosomes, with regard to chromosomelength and chromosome volume play an important role in establishment andadaptability of the species (Das et al.,1994).

Twelve true halophytic plants have been studied for their unique foliaranatomical organizations. All of them have thick cuticular, leaf surface coveringwith sunken stomata in seven species. The stomatal frequency (no/sq.mm) and thepore size (sq. µm) are comparatively lower in halophytes than mesophytes. All thespecies have distinct salt glands over leaf surface as desalination mechanism. Thecarbon fixation mechanism is typical C3 type with distinct photorespiration (AlokeBrahma and Santra, 1993).

Forest structure has been studied in terms of canopy height, tree diameter,mean stand diameter, basal area, basal cover, relative density, relative dominanceand stand density in Pichavaram (Kathiresan et al., 1994) and in Coringamangrove forest, Godavari delta. There is a definite trend in the distribution ofmangroves from the mouth of the estuarine region to the inland waters (Azariah etal., 1992).

Phenology of mangroves from the west coast of India has been studied(Jagtap, 1986; Mulik, 1987; Mulik and Bhosale, 1989). The flowering inmangroves is controlled by an interaction of temperature and photoperiodcondition besides longitudinal differences. In all the mangrove species along theGoa coast, extensive flowering is noticed from March to June and extensivefruiting from April to July. Flowering and fruiting are generally poor or absentfrom September to January (Mulik and Bhosale, 1989). The floral biology hasbeen examined in relation to pollinators in five mangrove species of the Godavariestuary in southern India (Aluri, 1990). In Aegiceras corniculatum andLumnitzera racemosa, flowers self pollinate and their pollen and nectar serve asfood resource to the insects; whereas Avicennia officinalis and Acanthusilicifolius need pollen vectors for their reproduction through outcrossing (Aluri,1990).

The members of mangrove vegetation produce large quantities of pollengrains that are liberated into the ocean where the conditions are favourable fortheir preservation and fossilization. Therefore, the pollen studies reveal theconditions of the mangrove vegetation in the past (Kumaran, 1991).

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Pollen studies have been made in marine quaternary sediments of ChilkaLake (Gupta and Khandelwal, 1992) and in the Andaman sea (Venkatachala etal., 1992). From the pollen studies, the climatic evolution and sea level changescan also be understood in any region (Caratini, 1992). Pollen studies indicate thatthe species like Rhizophora existed in Muthupet swamp of Tamil Nadu, some 200years ago and today this area is monospecific with Avicennia marina (Azariah etal., 1992). There has been a decline in pollen representation of the arborescentgenera-Sonneratia and Rhizophora and an increase in the herbaceous taxa suchas Suaeda due to selective wood cutting, grazing in the mangrove forest and thewidespread development of freshwater damming. Tertiary sediments of landlockedareas of India have yielded core mangrove plants, which indicate the existence ofseashore, still more inland than the present coastline at Rajahmundry, Kachchh andRajasthan (Bonde, 1991).

The chemical composition and productivity of the grass Porteresiacoarctata from intertidal zone of Cheemaguri creek in western part of Sundarbanshave been studied. Average total biomass production of the grass in a tidal creekis 260 g/m2/year (dry wt.). Of the total production, leaves, stems, understems androots contribute 29.6, 40, 23.9 and 6.4% respectively. Throughout the season,maximum rate of production is during monsoon (0.86g/m2/year) and is higher thanthe below ground production (79g/m2/year). About 666-kcal/m2/year solar energyis utilized by the plant to produce 177g/m2/year organic carbon (Ghosh et al.,1991).

B. Non Flowering Plants

Marine algal resources from mangroves have been studied. A total of 32taxa of benthic algae - 13 species belonging to Cyanophyceae, 12 toChlorophyceae, 6 to Rhodophyceae and only 1 to Xanthophyceae - are recordedfrom Sundarban delta (South 24-Parganas) of West Bengal (Table 9) (Pal et al.,1988).

Survey and distribution pattern of 67 blue-green algal species in varioussaline habitats of West Bengal have been studied (Table 10) (Santra et al., 1988).

The number of cyanobacteria varies in the same area of mangroves : 13species (11 genera; Ramachandran, 1982), 19 species (14 genera, 4 families;Ramachandra Rao, 1992) and 24 species (Palaniselvam, 1995; Krishnamurthy etal., 1995) in Pichavaram mangrove forests.

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Table 9. Species of algae reported in the Sundarban delta

Phormidium tenue isolated from mangrove and shrimp pond ecosystemshas been studied for biomass production. This species grows well underlaboratory conditions in the marine nutrient (MN) medium incorporated with urea(92 µg/l), superphosphate (24.7 µg/l) and potash (4.94 µg/l), maintained at asalinity of 40 x 10-3, pH 8 and light intensity of 160 J/s. Under field conditions, thespecies does not require any addition of nutrients to the MN medium, but onlyshaded condition and 15 cm of water depth for better biomass production(Palaniselvam and Kathiresan, 1996). During the culture period, the levels ofpigments and photo-chemical activities have also been studied. The trend is similarbetween the fluorescence excitation of pigments and the production of biomassand that is also similar between the fluorescence emission and the level of pigmentssuch as, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin; but the pattern is not alike between thelevels of pigments, their capacity to transfer energy and biomass production arehigher in salinity 40x10-3 than in 18 and 100x10-3 grown cultures. Thus biomassand pigment characteristics are highly dependent on salinity and age of culture(Palaniselvam et al., 1998).

Source : Pal et al. (1988)

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Table 10. Blue-green algal species reported in the mangrove and coastalareas of Sundarbans

Source : Santra et al. (1988)38

Sixteen genera and 22 species have been listed from Bhitarkanikamangroves, Paradeep port area, estuaries of Subarnarekha, Debi, Kusabhadra,Rushikulya and the backwaters of Konarka and Gopalpur coast of Orissa state.The common species are Enteromorpha compressa, E. intestinalis, Ulvafasciata, Chaetomorpha aerea and C. antennina, Rhizoclonium kernerioccurring commonly attached to pneumatophores in the mangroves, Cladophorauncinella in the littoral sandy beds of all the estuaries and Gracilaria verrucosain restricted patches in the estuaries of Mahanadi and its distributaries.Cyanobacterial species are Aphanocapsa, Chroococcus, Hydrococcus,Dermocarpa, Microcoleus, Lyngbya, Oscillatoria and Calothrix from thecoastal mud flats (Adhikary, 2000).

7. FAUNA

Mangroves support rich faunal resources (Rao, 1987). The importance ofmangrove ecosystems for its potential for fisheries and aquaculture in Sundarbanshas been described (Chakraborty, 1995). Among invertebrates, more than 500species of insects and Arachnida, 229 species of crustacea, 212 species ofmolluscs, 50 species of nematodes, and 150 species of planktonic and benthicorganisms are known from Indian mangroves (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993).

Vertebrate fauna is represented by 300 species of fish, 177 species ofbirds, 36 species of mammals. Twenty two species of molluscs, 50 species ofnematodes, and 150 species of planktonic and benthic organisms are also knownfrom Indian mangroves (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993). Forty one species ofinvertebrates and 52 species of fishes have been assessed, and four species of theinvertebrates and only one species of fish are categorized as endangered(Anonymous, 1997).

The fauna of Sundarbans has been investigated in detail (Naskar and GuhaBakshi, 1987; Mandal and Nandi, 1989; Ghosh et al., 1990).

In the Sundarbans, faunal biodiversity is higher in the vegetational complexsituated below the tidal level than other zones, which are above the tide level oroccasionally inundated (Chakrabarti, 1986).

A. Benthos

Fifty three species of macrozoobenthos from six different intertidalbiotopes of Sagar Island in Sundarbans through six consecutive seasons have been

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measured by using Shannon-Weaver’s method of diversity index and correlatedwith the major ecological parameters of the study sites viz., salinity, dissolvedoxygen, pH, temperature, organic carbon and texture of the substratum(Chakraborty et al., 1992).

There are 17 species of stylet-bearing nematodes in Sundarban mangroves(Sinha et al., 1987; Sinha and Choudhury, 1988). Studies of meiobenthos ofmangrove mudflats of Thane creek, south of Bombay Harbour Bay have revealeda dominance of nematodes (78.35%) with insignificant seasonal variations (Goldinet al., 1996).

Acanthamoeba rhysodes is a predominant intertidal benthic gymnamoebain the mangrove ecosystem of Sundarbans of lower deltaic Bengal (Bhattacharyaet al.,1987).

Macrobenthos in the Sundarban mangroves have been studied. The mostcommon forms are polychaetes, sipunculids, crustaceans, molluscs, nemarteans,gobiids and actiniarians. Polychaetes are the dominant taxa in the creekenvironment, whereas in the mangroves, sipunculids are the most abundant group(Patra et al., 1988, 1990).

Meiofaunal studies have been carried out in mangroves. The meiofaunareduces with increasing depth in the sediment (Ansari et al., 1993). The reducingenvironment is characterized by high population of nematodes, turbellarians andharpacticoids. The meiofaunal taxa are significantly correlated with interstitial waterof the sediment and to the microbial density in mangrove mudflats (Ansari et al.,1993). There are 13 groups and 22 species of harpacticoid copepods (18 generaand 8 families) of meiofauna in the Kakinada Bay (Gautami-Godavari estuarinesystem) (Kondala Rao and Ramanamurty, 1988). There are 11 major faunal taxa,of which nematodes are dominant in the Bhitarkanika mangrove sediments (Sarmaand Wilsanand, 1994).

Surface sediment samples, collected within 4 to 13.5 m water depth fromKharo creek Kachchh have been studied for their foraminiferal content. There are47 foraminifera species, of which 44 are benthic and 3 planktonic. The faunashows a positive relationship between angular-asymmetrical form and clay fractionin the sediments (Nigam and Chaturvedi, 2000).

Depth-wise distribution of macro-invertebrates in sediments of intertidalareas of Cochin mangroves has been studied. The fauna is mainly composed of

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polychaetes, crustaceans and molluscs. At all tidal levels, the macro-fauna tends toconcentrate at the top 0-5 cm layer substratum (65%) and to substantiallydecrease towards deeper levels. The polychaete, Marphysa gravelyi is abundantbelow 10 cm depth. The aggregation and coexistence of organisms are perceptiblein the top layer (0-5 cm) of soil (Sunil Kumar, 1997).

Community structure and distribution of macro-zoobenthos in aquaculturepond in relation to environmental factors have been compared with the macrofaunaof mangroves in the surrounding area. Macrofaunal density is 8918/m2 and 5254/m2 in the pond and mangrove habitat respectively. Polychaetes dominate in thepond (43.91%) and mangroves (41.23%) followed by molluscs and crustaceans.The rich population density and species composition in the prawn ponds,compared to mangroves, is related to the variability in substrate characteristics(Sunil Kumar, 1998).

Structure, composition and seasonal distribution of macrobenthic fauna inthe intertidal areas of the mangrove ecosystem of Cochin backwaters have beenstudied. The benthic fauna is mainly represented by polychaeta, crustacea andmollusca. The diversity is higher at Cochin barmouth than at interior areas.Maximum macrofaunal density and dry weight recorded are 8970/m2 and 567.86g/m2 respectively. Polychaete constitutes the bulk quantity in all the stationsstudied. Detritivorous benthos are found to be common at all stations and welladopted mangrove habitats (Sunil Kumar, 1995b).

Ecological studies on the polychaete fauna of the mangrove areas ofCochin have been made. There are 33 species of polychaetes belonging to 20genera, and 10 families (Table 11). Among the polychaetes, Marphysa gravelyi,Paraheteromastus tenuis, Nereis glandicincta, Dendronereides heteropoda andDendronereis aestuarina are found to be the more dominant species. Faunaldistribution in relation to the type of sediment shows high species diversity andrichness in the sandy substratum, followed by clayey sand (Sunil Kumar andAntony, 1993; Sunil Kumar and Antony, 1994; Sunil Kumar, 1995a). Studies onbiodiversity of soil dwelling organisms in Indian Mangroves have been reviewed(Sunil Kumar, 2000).

In Pichavaram mangroves, there are 44 macroinvertebrates mostly ofestuarine fauna which includes four polychaetes, one bivalve, nine gastropods,three tanaids, four isopods, four amphipods, one cirripede, sixteen crabs, oneshrimp and one hermit crab (Kasinathan and Shanmugam, 1986; Sethuramalingamand Ajmal Khan, 1991). Gastropods are getting reduced and Pythia plicata is an

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endangered species in Pichavaram mangroves (Balasubramanyan, 1994).Amphipods and polychaetes contribute highest percentages in the mangroves. Theamphipods are more in number in the premonsoon season and the polychaetes aremore in the premonsoon and postmonsoon seasons (Kasinathan and Shanmugam,1988).

Table 11. Systematic list of polychaete species collected from the mangroveswamps of Cochin

B. Molluscs

As many as 26 molluscs (15 gastropod species, 10 bivalve species, and1 cephalopod species) are recorded in the intertidal areas of Sundarbans. Thepredominant species are Cellana radiata followed by Telescopium (Telescopium)telescopium, Meretrix meretrix, Enigmonia aenigmatica and Dicyathifer manni(Jahan et al., 1990).

Source : Sunil Kumar and Antony (1994)

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The invertebrate fauna that includes polychaetes, gastropods, bivalves andsea anemones inhabit the mangrove systems at Thane creek (Athalye and Gokhale,1998).

Seven wood-boring species have been identified in the Pichavarammangrove forest viz., 5 teredinids: Bankia campanellata, B. carinata,Dicyathifer manni, Lyrodus pedicellatus, Teredo furcifera, and 2 pholads:Martesia striata (predominant) and M. nairi. Among the 12 species ofmangroves trees, Rhizophora lamarckii, Sonneratia apetala and Xylocarpusgranatum, are highly affected by the borers. Dead mangrove stumps show higherinfestation of wood-borers than the live ones. The occurrence of wood-borers ishigh during July and low in December. Most of the borers are present throughoutthe year. However, Martesia nairi is recorded only during premonsoon andBankia spp., are not found in the monsoon (Sivakumar and Kathiresan, 1996).

Spawning behaviour of Pythia plicata - an oviparous pulmonate snail,collected from Pichavaram mangroves has been studied under laboratoryconditions. The eggs are laid in masses and about 0.5 mm long and about 0.25mm wide (Shanmugam, 1991a). Other aspects of this species like length andgrowth (Shanmugam, 1996), histology of reproductive organs (Shanmugam, 1995)and salinity and dessication tolerance and distribution pattern (Shanmugam, 1997)have also been studied.

The mangrove ecosystems of Godavari and Krishna support 23species of molluscs belonging to 20 genera and 14 families (Ramanamurthy andKondala Rao, 1993).

A distinct zonation of fauna exists in mangrove areas of the Cochinestuarine system: Uca spp. in the upper littoral zone; hermit crabs and Nauticaspp. in the mid-littoral zone; Cerethidium spp. and Terebralia spp. on themud-flats; Littorina spp. on the trunks and leaves of mangroves; and the abundantoccurrence of larvae and juveniles of prawns and fishes in certain seasons inconjunction with thick growth of filamentous algae in mangrove waters(Rajagopalan et al., 1986).

The mangrove mud snail, Terebralia palustris, has been studied in themangroves of Nizampatnam, in the Krishna estuarine region (Rambabu et al.,1987a). This snail species prefers substrata with mangrove plants. The salt-marshsnail, Melampus ceylonicus from Pichavaram mangroves, has been studied for its

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larval development under laboratory conditions (Shanmugam and Kasinathan,1987). Two pulmonate snails–Cassidula nucleus and Melampus ceylonicus fromPichavaram mangroves have been studied for their tolerance to salinity,temperature and desiccation (Dious and Kasinathan, 1994).

Studies are available on histology of the ovotestis and the reproductivecycle of Cassidula nucleus (Shanmugam, 1998) and age and growth ofMelampus ceylonicus using size frequency distribution (Shanmugam, 1994).

Edible oyster, Crassostrea madrasensis in and around Tuticorin has beenstudied in three habitats - coastal (Tuticorin Bay), mangrove (Korampallam creek)and estuarine (Punnakayal) areas. Among the different habitats, the oyster shows ahigh production rate in the mangrove area (Rajapandian et al., 1990). A mangroveclam, Gelonia erosa has been collected from Chorao, an island situated at themouth of the Mandovi estuary, Goa. This is a new record from west coast of India(Ingole et al., 1994).

Physico-chemical characteristics of the extra pallial fluid of a commontellinid bivalve Macoma birmanica in mud flats of Sundarbans have been studied(Saha et al., 2000). Biology and biochemistry of mangrove bivalve Geloinaproxima have been studied from Maharashtra mangrove area (Kale and Pawar,1996).

Molluscs are more diverse than the crustaceans, fish and other kinds oforganisms (Chakrabarti, 1986). The seasonal distribution of Saccoglossus sp. inthe mangrove swamps of deltaic Sundarbans has significant relation with dissolvedoxygen and burrow temperature (Singh and Choudhury, 1995a).

In Sundarbans Littorina spp. are common on the trees and not on theground. Assiminea, Cerithidea and Telescopium are generally encountered on theground. The abundance of gastropods reaches maximum at creek bank anddeclines sharply towards the deep forest (Singh and Choudhury, 1995b).

C. Crab

Ecological studies on the zonation of brachyuran crabs have been made.There are 18 species of brachyuran crabs belonging to 11 genera and fourfamilies from Prentice Island in Sundarbans (Chakraborty and Choudhury, 1992a).

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The mangroves of Sundarban provide a congenial habitat for the mudcrab, Scylla serrata. Biology of the mud crab with special reference to sexualdimorphism, morphometrics and habitat ecology is well known (Poovachiranon,1992; Mahapatra et al., 1996; Nandi et al., 1996).

Seasonal abundance and distribution of seeds of mud crab, Scylla serratain Pichavaram mangroves have been studied. The population of juvenile mudcrabs are higher in the seagrass and algal bed areas of the mangroves. The crabsof 20-30 mm carapace width dominate the population in the shallow intertidalzone of the mangroves (Chandrasekaran and Natarajan, 1994). Some possibleconservation measures which include a ban on fishing during the spawning season(October-February) and restrictions on capture of immature crab are suggested(Poovachiranon, 1992). The mud crab in the Bay of Bengal region has beenreviewed for their resources, culture and marketing (Sivasubramaniam and Angell,1992).

Myopilumnus andamanicus, a new genus and a new species of pilumnidcrab of the family Xanthidae, has been described from the mangrove habitat ofthe Andaman Islands (Deb, 1989).

The mangrove crab namely Sesarma brockii, collected from Pichavaram,has been reared from hatching to first crab (Vijayakumar and Kannupandi,1987a). Similarly with other species of crabs Sesarma edwardsi (Kannupandiand Pasupathi, 1994), Metaplax distincta (Krishnan and Kannupandi, 1987a,1989), Macrophthalmus depressus (Pasupathi and Kannupandi, 1988a),Metaplax elegans (Pasupathi and Kannupandi, 1988b; Balagurunathan andKannupandi, 1993).

The influence of salinity on the larval development of the mangrove crabSesarma brockii has been studied in 8 different salinities from 5 to 40 ppt with 5ppt increment. The larval development is completed in the salinity ranging from 15to 35 ppt with 25 ppt as optimum. In the lower (5 to 10 ppt) and higher (40 ppt)salinities, complete mortality occurs within 24 hours. Further the intermoultduration of the development is shortest (18 days 10 hrs and 5 min) in 25 ppt(Kannupandi et al., 2000).

The acute toxicity and sub-lethal effects of zinc on the larval developmentof the mangrove crab Sesarma pictum, has been determined. The 96 hrs LC50for first zoeae, megalopa and first crab are 142, 166 and 170 µg/1 respectively.

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Concentrations of 14.2, 1.0 and 84.2 µg/1 are choosen to study their effect onsurvival and duration of development from first zoeae through first crab. Survivaldecreases with increasing concentrations and with duration of development.Furthermore, total number of days to attain first crab increases with increasingconcentrations of zinc (Pasupathi and Kannupandi, 1989).

Four zoeal and a megalopal stages of a mangrove crab, Sesarmaandersoni have been exposed to acute and chronic level of the organophosphateinsecticide, phosphamidon under laboratory conditions to study the changes in totalprotein, carbohydrate and lipid contents. The 96 hr LC50 value for phosphamidonis 2.025 µg/1. The total protein content decreases significantly (P<0.05) in all thetest concentrations in the zoeal and one megalopal stages. Similar decreasing trendis also observed in the lipid content in all the test concentrations (Vijayakumar andKannupandi, 1989).

Larvae of Sesarma bidens have been reared in the laboratory uptomegalopa stage under the culture conditions of salinity 25 ± 1 ‰ and temperature28 ± 1°C. First zoea reaches megalopa stage in four moults after a minimumperiod of 10 days. Four zoeal and a megalopal stages are described andcompared with other known larvae of Sesarma spp. (Krishnan and Kannupandi,1987b).

Four zoeal and one megalopal stages of the Sesarma andersoni have beenreared in the laboratory in different salinities (5 to 40 ppt) to study the influence ofsalinity on the rate of development and survival (Vijayakumar and Kannupandi,1987b). The complete larval development of Sesarma pictum from hatching tomegalopa is described under laboratory conditions at temperature 29-32°C andsalinity 25 ± 1 ‰. The larval development includes four zoeal and one megalopastages and the complete development process in 10 days of duration (Pasupathiand Kannupandi, 1987).

The zoeal and megalopal stages of Macrophthalmus erato have beenstudied under laboratory conditions, and five zoeal and one megalopal stages arefound at 25 ‰ salinity and temperature of 29°C (Pasupathi and Kannupandi,1988c). The effects of early lack of food on later survival and developmentduration in the brackishwater crab Metaplax distincta have also been studied(Krishnan and Kannupandi, 1987c).

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Population ecology of fiddler crabs (Uca spp.) of the mangrove estuarinecomplex of Sundarbans, has been studied (Chakraborty and Choudhury, 1992b).The fiddler crab population is high in high tide areas, and the barnacle populationis high in mid-intertidal areas. The population of barnacle is maximum in May,fiddler crab in February and gastropod in July and all these are minimum inOctober (Kathiresan et al., 2000)

Acute toxicity test (96 hr) has been carried out to determine the toxiceffects of the organochlorine pesticides and heavy metals on larvae of crabMacrophthalmus erato. The 96 hr LC50 values are 0.48, 3.2, 90.0 and 152.0µg/l of endosulfan, HCH, copper and zinc respectively for the first zoeal stage.The order of toxicity to the larvae is Endosulfan > HCH > Copper > Zinc. Thecalculated safe concentrations are 0.0048, 0.032, 0.900 and 1.52 µg/l forendosulfan, HCH, copper and zinc respectively (Kannupandi et al., 2000).

D. Fish/Prawns/Shrimps

Three economically important species of shrimps exist (Penaeusmonodon, P. indicus and Metapenaeus monoceros) in the mangroves ofGodavari estuarine system. Their larvae migrate and dwell in the mangroveenvironment. The natural stable carbon isotope ratios have been analysed from thethree prawn species occurring in the mangroves, and established the mangroves asprimary carbon source (Mohan et al., 1997).

Habitat preference of mangrove ecosystem has been strikingly observed inPenaeus merguiensis, Metapenaeus dobsoni and M. monoceros (Parulekar andAchuthankutty, 1993). Similar observation are made in Muthupet mangroves: largenumbers of P. indicus, P. merguiensis and M. dobsoni show preference to thedetritus-rich muddy substrate, whereas P. monodon does not show anypreference and is equally abundant over different substrate types (Mohan et al.,1995). Damroy (1995b) has reported that the Penaeus merguiensis and Scyllaserrata are the important species in the Manjeri mangrove area.

Juvenile penaeid prawn distribution, composition and density have beenassessed, along with environmental factors at three hour intervals during 24 hrs infour different seasons in a Rhizophora mangal at Pichavaram. There is anoccurrence of eight species of penaeid prawns with predominance ofMetapenaeus monoceros and M. brevicornis during all seasons (Rajendran andKathiresan, 1999a).

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Vegetation characteristics have a link with prawn seed resources in thePichavaram forests. The prawn seed resources in mangrove waters depend on thevegetation and their structural attributes like canopy height, tree diameter and basalarea (Kathiresan et al., 1994).

Three species of shrimps Penaeus indicus, Metapenaeus dobsoni andM. monoceros form a major portion (99.44%) collected from Pichavarammangrove forest. Distribution of P. merguiensis, P. monodon and P. semisulcatusare sporadic. Juveniles of M. affinis are only in meagre numbers(Chandrasekaran, 2000).

The capture fishery is supported by more than 20 species of penaeids andnon-penaeids in Godavari estuarine system. Penaeus monodon particularly,contributes around 4-6 % to the annual fishery in the Godavari estuarine system(Rajyalakshmi, 1991). The penaeid prawn stock of the Mandovi and Zuariestuaries (Goa) comprises 13 species with Metapenaeus dobsoni andM. monoceros, together accounting for 80% of the total harvest (Parulekar andAchuthankutty, 1993). An easy and efficient method of collecting prawn and mulletseed from the intertidal mangrove areas has been suggested (Singh, 1991).

Prawn and fish seed resources have been analysed in various mangrovewaters (Joseleen Jose and Rajagopalan, 1993); Sundarbans (Ghosh et al., 1987);Pichavaram (Rajaguru et al., 1988; Chandrasekaran and Natarajan, 1993;Rajendran, 1997), Cochin bar mouth area (Mathew et al., 1993), estuaries ofGoa (Achuthankutty, 1988; Parulekar and Achuthankutty, 1993), Muthupet, TamilNadu (Azariah et al., 1992; Mohan et al., 1995), Godavari estuarine system(Rajyalakshmi, 1991) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Tahir, 1988).

It is experimentally proved that the decomposing leaves of mangroves‘attract’ the fishes. There is a greater assemblage of fin and shell-fishes, with thedecomposing leaves of mangroves, in all the seasons. In general, the prawnresources increase with days of decomposition, up to around 30-50 days anddecline thereafter. The association of fin-and shell-fishes is greater duringpremonsoon and postmonsoon than in other seasons and is higher with decomp-osing leaves of Avicennia than in Rhizophora (Rajendran and Kathiresan, 1999b).“Mangrove vegetation trap” technique has been demonstrated to enhance the catchof fish/prawns in the coastal waters. The total number of individuals per trapcollected for 5 days during the experimental period, is 49 and 42 aroundAvicennia and Rhizophora traps, respectively as against 15 in control waters.

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Thus there is about 3-fold increase in the number of fishes and prawns adjacent tothe mangrove vegetation trap than at control waters (Rajendran and Kathiresan,1998).

Monthly catches for different species/groups of finfish and shellfish andtheir percentage composition of twelve species of prawns in the Pichavaramcontribute over 80 % and the crabs belonging to three species (Scylla serrata,Portunus pelagicus and P. sanguinolentus) constitute 4.1 % of the total catch.The finfishes are represented by 58 species. The contribution of mullets represents7.1 % of the total catch and 47.9 % of the total finfish catch (Chandrasekaran andNatarajan, 1992).

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are rich in fishery potential. It rangesbetween 0.012 and 0.47 million tonnes per annum (Tahir, 1988). The mangrovesof these islands provide feeding and nursery grounds for juveniles of penaeidprawns, crabs and finfishes. The fishery is dominated by catches of sardines,perches, carangids, mackerels, leiognathus, elasmobranchs, seerfish, mullets andtunas (Tahir, 1988).

Dynamic behaviour of a detritus-based food chain model of Sundarbanestuary has been suggested (Sarkar, 1993). Also silvipisiculture projects issuccessfully executed in the estuary (Angell and Muir, 1990).

Quantitative variation in fish catch at Thane creek and Bassein creeks hasbeen studied. The catch is from 2 to 93.5 kg/h (av. 24.8 kg/h) in Thane creek,and between 1 and 34 kg/h (av. 8.2 kg/h) in Bassein creek (Table 12). Maximumcatch is during premonsoon and monsoon periods respectively for Thane andBassein creeks. The catch composition shows dominance of catfish and sciaenidsat Thane creek, while engraulids predominate the collections from Bassein creek(Fig. 1). The overall fishery potential of Thane creek is three times more than theBassein creek (Asha Jyothi and Nair, 1990).

The finfish belonging to the families Engraulidae, Carangidae,Nemipteridae, Gobidae, Gerridae and Chaetodontidae are reportedly present atManjeri mangrove areas (Damroy, 1995b).

Significance of mangroves to fisheries is known (Jeyaseelan et al., 1991).The marine prawn landing data of different maritime states of India correlatepositively with the extent of mangrove canopy. Hence, the extent of mangrove

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cover is vital for the maintenance and improvement of marine prawn stock roundthe year (Subramanian and Krishnamurthy, 1990).

Table 12. Variation in trawl catch at Thane and Bassein creeks during1986 - 87

Fig 1. Percentage composition of different groups obtained from Thanecreek (A) and Bassein creek (B) during 1986 – 1987 (adopted fromAsha Jyothi and Nair, 1990)

Source : Asha Jyothi and Nair (1990)

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New records of four species under four genera viz., Amblygobiusalbimaculatus, Illana bicirrhosus, Stigmatogobius and Oplopomus caninoideshave been reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Mehta and Devi, 1990).Fishery potential of the interior Gulf of Kuchchh and adjacent creek regionsrevealed that inner Gulf (av. 7.8 kg/h) is three times more productive than thecreek (av. 2.3 kg/h) in the trawling and gill netting (Vijayalakshmi et al., 1993). Inthe mullet seed resources of Pichavaram, Mugil cephalus constitutes 33.66 % andLiza spp. 66.34 % (Chandrasekaran and Natarajan, 1993).

Ninety per cent of the total catch is contributed by 14 most dominantspecies. Among these, Liza spp., Mugil cephalus, Chanos chanos, Elopsmachnata, Etroplus suratensis, Megalops cyprinoides and Lates calcarifer arecommercially important ones in Pichavaram. The peaks of abundance of finfishjuveniles are observed during summer and postmonsoon seasons with the lowestvalues during premonsoon (August) or monsoon (October). Juveniles of freshwaterspecies such as Puntius conchonius, P. amphibius, Mystus gulio and Cirrhinusmirgala make their appearance during monsoon and early postmonsoon periods(Chandrasekaran, 2000). Also mangrove waters provide nursery grounds forjuveniles of marine flat-fishes (Pseudorhombus arsius, P. elevatus, Brachirusorientalis and Cynoglossus puncticeps) in Pichavaram (Rajaguru et al., 1988).

E. Insects

Many insects especially honey bees (Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera),weaver ants (Oecophylla sp.) and mosquitoes (Anopheles sundericus, A. indigo,Culex fatigans, C. quinquefasciatus, Aedes butleri and A. niveus) inhabit themangroves of India (Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993; Subramonia Thangam andKathiresan, 1993a). Dragonflies of the Sundarban mangroves have been reportedfor the first time, most of the 28 recorded species are common and widespread inthe India’s lowlands (Table 13) (Mitra, 1992).

A total of 101 species of insects belonging to 9 orders and 42 familieshave been identified from the Pichavaram mangrove forest. Among the species, 52species of insects exist in herbs, 23 species in trees, 17 species in soil, 8 speciesin grasses, and only one species from aquatic habitat (Table 14). A maximumnumber of 28 species of beetles and 25 species of scale wings followed by 14species of ants, bees and wasps, 11 species of bugs, 7 species of orthopterans,7 species of flies, 3 species of dragonflies and only one species of ant lion arefound to exist in the forest area. Fifty per cent of the insects are pests of plants or

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parasites on trees, insects and other animals, while the remaining are beneficialinsects (Senthil and Varadharajan, 1995).

Table 13. Species of insect reported to exist in mangrove systems

Source : Mitra (1992)

Table 14. List of insects collected at Pichavaram mangrove forest

S. No. Order Family Species

1 Orthoptera Acrididae Acridiuma sucinutum Herb2 A. peregidium Grass3 A. calanacorne Grass4 Hieroglyphus farcifer Grass5 Gryllotalfa africana Soil6 Phasoidae Necroscia pholidotus Herb7 Mantidae Hierodula coarclata Herb8 Odonata Anisopteridae Rhyotherns varigata Grass9 Acisoma panorpoides Plains10 Aeschinid sp. Plains11 Homoptera Fulgoridae Murgantia luptescens Grass12 Pyrops sp. Herb13 Hemiptera Pyrrcohoridae Dysderus cingulatus Plains14 Saldidae Salda dixoni Wet vegetation15 Pentatomidae Nezuura vurudula Plains16 Eusarcoris ventralis Plains17 Manido histero Plains18 Chrysocoris stolli Plains

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19 HebuciceogakududaeHenicocephalis basalis Damp soil20 Coreidae Aschishus breviconis Plains21 Leptocorisa varicornis Grass22 Coleoptera Scarabaedae Oxytonisia versicolor Grass23 Heliocopris bucephalus Surface soil24 Onthophagus longicornis Surface soil25 O. onitis Surface soil26 Carabidae Dicrononcus amabilis Herb27 Phersophus lineiforms Soil28 Dynastidae Oryctes rhinoceros Tree29 Cerambicidae Batocera rufomaculata Tree30 Curculionidae Rhyncophorus feruginus Tree31 Myllocerus viridanus Tree32 Calandra sculpturata Tree33 Tenebriodinae Tribolium castaneum Tree34 Gonocephalum hfomanseggi Tree35 Cossyphus depressus Tree36 Tribolium confusum Tree37 Mesomorpha villiger Tree38 Alphitobius piceus Tree39 Amarygmus cuparius Tree40 Coccinellidae Ileus cincta Herb41 Coccinella septempunctata Herb42 Chrysomelidae Aspidomorpha sanctaecrussisHerb43 Haltica sp. Herb44 Lampyridae Lamprophorus sp. Grass45 Malacodermidae Platerious sp. Tree46 Buprestidae Sphnoptera arachid Herb47 Cicindellidae Cicindella octonata Soil48 Mylabridae Mylabris pustulata Herb49 Neuropotera Hemerobiidae Myrmeleonid sp. Herb50 Lepidoptera Papilionidae Polidours hector Herb51 P. arisotolchae Herb52 Paplio polytes Herb53 Pieridae Delias eucharis Tree54 Leptosia nina Herb55 Terisas hecabe Herb56 Catcopsilia florella Herb57 Colotis etrida Herb58 Appias albina Herb59 Nymphalidae Ergolis aradine Herb60 Atella phalantha Herb61 Precis iphita Plains62 P. almana Herb63 P. lemonias Herb64 Satyridae Melantis leda Herb65 Yphtima baldus Herb

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66 Danaidae Danais meliss Herb67 D. chrysippus Herb68 D. pixippus Herb69 D. nilgiriensis Herb70 Euploeca core Herb71 Acraeidae Telchinia violae Herb72 Noctuidae Otheries masterina Tree73 Sphingidae Herse sonluvuli Tree74 Lethe europa Tree75 Hymenoptera Sphegidae Ammophila levigata Tree76 Bembex sulphurescens Soil77 Scliphron madraspatunam Tree78 Stizus prismaticus Tree79 Multillidae Mutilla sexmaculata Tree

Source : Senthil and Varadharajan (1995)

According to Oswin and Kannadasan (1998) Muthupet mangroveecosystem shelters 112 species of insects and 13 species of spiders (Table 15).Among the total, 95 insects have been identified up to species level, 12 insects upto genus and 5 insects up to order. The maximum number of 27 species areidentified from the orders Coleoptera and Lepidoptera (26 + 1 species) followedby Hymenoptera (18 species), Hemeptera (11 species), Orthroptera (10 + 1species), Odonata (7 + 3 species), Diptera (6 species) and Isoptera with theminimum number of two species. Insects belonging to the orders Lepidoptera (11families) and Coleoptera (4 families) are dominant in the mangrove area studied.

Table 15. List of insects collected at Muthupet mangroves

Sl. No. Order Family Species

1 Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Calosoma scrutafor2 Tenebroides mauritanicus

3 Gorocephelum hotnanseggi4 Amarygmus caparium5 Cicindilla ocdonota6 Carabidae Pherasophus lineforms7 Brachynus americanus8 Chlaenus circumdatus9 Scarabicidae Phyllophaga crassima10 Macrodactylus subspinosus11 Canthom virida12 Onthophagus longicornis13 Elateridae Elaster sp.

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14 Chrysomelidae Chaetochema pulicaria15 C. continis16 Systena balanda17 Silphidae Necrophorus marginetus18 Mylaridae Mylabris pustulate19 Cuculiondae Trichobaris trinotata20 Cerembycidae Saperda calcarata21 Chion cinctus22 Scolidae Melanotus fossilis23 Lampyridae Photinus pyralis24 Coccinellidae Coccinella septempuncata25 Chilocorus biralnerous26 Hemeptera (Bugs) Oedemeridae Oedemerid sp.27 Dynastidae Oryctes rhinoceros28 Fulgoridae Murgantia luptescens29 Pentatomidae Zezura viridule30 Easarcories ventralis31 Brochymena araborea32 Chrysocoris stolli33 Tingidae Lygus linecolaris34 Hemicocephalidae Hemicocephalis basalis35 Reduviidae Triatoma sanguisuga36 Coreidae Leptocorisa varisuga37 Corixidae Perillus bioculatus38 Nepidae Loccotrephes sp.39 Hymenoptera Eumeridae Moobia quadridens

(Wasps, bees & ants)40 Sphegidae Ammophila levigata41 Sceliphram mandrospatatnam42 Stizus prismaticus43 Chalicocidae Challa crule44 Megachilidae Megachile latimanus45 Andrenidae Andren wilkella46 Ceratine sp.47 Mutillidae Mutilla sexmaculata48 Apidae Apis florida49 A. dorsata50 Xylocopa aestuans51 Dryinidae Dryinius trifascians52 Formicudae Irdomyrmex humilis53 Vespidae Polistes annularis54 Componotus sp.55 Sclenopsis sp.56 Oecophylla sp.57 Diptera Tabanidae Tabanus striatus58 Ascilidae Promachus sp.

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59 Culicidae Aedes sp.60 Culex sp.61 Anaphelus sp.62 Lepidoptera Muscidae Haematobia tritans63 Danaidae Danais plexipus64 D. limance65 D. mellisa66 D. chrysippus67 D. eucharis68 Danae fab69 Mesonsemia croesas70 Pappillionidae Polidours hector71 P. polyxenes72 P. aristolochiae73 Papilio polytes74 Pieridae Catopsila horella75 Anteas florilla76 Terlas hacabe77 Heptosia nina78 Apacidae Telechinae violae79 Nymphalididae Precis lemonias80 Ergolis aradine81 Unidentified82 Arctiidae Estigmena acrae83 Halisodota caryace84 Crambidae Crambus mutabilis85 Noctuidae Planthypena scabra86 Alabama aggillaceae87 Tortricidae Carpocopsa pomonella88 Paralobesis viteana89 Pyrrilidae Loxostege similalis90 Odonata (Dragonflies)Anisopteridae Rhyothenus varigata91 Acisoma panorpoides92 Aeschnid sp.93 Aris vivida94 Crocothemis erytbraea95 Orthetrum brunneum96 Libellula luctuosa97 Unidentified98 Unidentified99 Unidentified100 Orthoptera Mantidae Mantis religiosus

(Grasshoppers & crickets)101 Acrididae Neoconocephalus exilisconorus102 Gryllotalpha hexadactyla103 Melanoplus differentialis104 M. femurrubrum

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105 Paratettix cuculatus106 Microcentrum rhombifolium107 Camnula pellucidae108 Unidentified109 Phasmidae Necrosia pholidofus110 Grillidae Gryllus assimilus111 Isoptera Zyorotypus lubbari112 Recticulitermus flavipes

Source : Oswin and Kannadasan (1998)

The holothuroid, Protankyra similis, has been reported for the first time inthe Sundarbans from India (Singh and Choudhury, 1992b). The sea anemone,Acontiactis gokhaleae, exists as a biofouler in the mangrove mudflats alongThane creek (Mishra et al., 1994).

The mangroves serve as wildlife sanctuaries especially in Sundarbans(Gopal and Krishnamurthy, 1993). Sundarbans are well-known for the RoyalBengal Tiger (Panthera tigris). About 200 km2 area of Indian Sundarbans isprotected as a Tiger Reserve in the context of its fast decline in population. Chitaldeer (Axis axis) which is found only in Sundarbans is being protected.

Food habits and activity pattern of the common otter (Lutra lutra) havebeen studied in Coleroon and Uppanar rivers, in Pichavaram mangrove forest. Gutanalysis reveals that fish is the major food item in the diet, followed bycrustaceans. Two spraints have been collected from brackish waters and 176 fromthe adjoining freshwater habitats (Umapathy, 2000).

Another important animal in Indian mangroves is crocodile (Crocodylusporosus), which occurs in the Mahanadi delta (Orissa) and in Andaman andNicobar Islands. The olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivaceae) also nests onadjacent beaches. Other important animals are: dolphins (Platenista gangetica),mangrove monkey (Macaca mulatta), and otter (Lutra perspicillata). Theendangered species like wild ass (Asinus hemionus) occurs only in Kachchh.

The Coringa mangrove forests in Andra Pradesh create important livinghabitat for amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In Coringa mangroves, a totalnumber of 54 species have been identified; of which 25 are common, 14 rare, 10vulnerable and 5 are endangered, and most of them are at critical danger due tohabitat loss (Table 16) (Raja Sekhar and Subba Rao, 1993).

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Table 16. List of major vertebrate fauna (amphibians, reptiles, birds andmammals) and their present status in Coringa mangrove forests

S. No. Species Common name Present status

Class : Amphibians1 Rana hexadactyla Frog C2 R. cyanophylyctis Frog C3 Bufo melanostictus Toad C4 Microhyla ornata Tree Frog R

Class : Reptiles5 Lepidochelys olivacea Olive Ridley sea turtle E6 Eretmochelys imbricata Hawks bill sea turtle E7 Kachuga tectum tentorica Terrapin C8 Hemidactylus broki Gecko C9 Calotes versicolor Garden lizard C10 Varanus benghalensis Monitor lizard R11 Amphiesma stolata Fresh water snake C12 Natrix piscator Land snake C13 Dryophis pulverulentes Green snake C14 Naja naja Cobra V15 Bangarus caeruleus Banded krait V16 Vipera russelli Russels viper V

Class : Birds17 Anhinga rufa Darters V18 Phalacrocorax niger Little cormorant V19 Egretta garzetta Little egrets C20 Babulcus ibis Cattle egrets C21 Ardeola grayii Pond heron C22 Grus antigon Sarus crane V23 Anthropoides virgo Demoiselle crane C24 Milvus migrans Pariah kite C25 Larus brunnicephalus Sea gulls C26 Psisttacula krameri Parrot C27 Tringa glariola Sand pipers R28 Numenius arquata Curlew R29 Eudynamus scolopacea Koeal C30 Upupa epops Hoopoe R31 Alcedo atthis Small kingfisher C32 Halcyon pileata Black capped kingfisher R33 H. smyrnensis White breasted kingfisher V34 Ceryle rudis Pied kingfisher V35 Bubo bubo Indian horned owl V36 Coracious benghalensis Blue jay R37 Dicrurus adsimillis Black drango C38 Alcippe poioicephala Quacker babblers R

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39 Corvus splendens Crow C40 C. macrorhynches Jungle crow R41 Passer domesticus House sparrow C

Class : Mammals42 Macaca mulatta Rhesus monkey E43 M. radiata Bonnet macaque V44 Lutra vulgaris Water otters E45 Felis chaus Fishing cat E46 Herpestes benghalensis Mongoose R47 Canis aureas Jackal R48 Valpes bengalensis Indian fox R49 Funambulus pennati Squirrel C50 Tupia ellioti Tree shrew C51 Pteropus giganteus Flying bat, fox R52 Mus buduga Bandicoot C53 Rattus rattus Field rat C54 Lepus nigricollis Hare R

Status code : C = Common; R = Rare; V = Vulnerable, E = EndangeredSource : Raja Sekhar and Subba Rao (1993)

Avifauna includes herons, storks, sea eagles, egrets, kingfishers,sandpipers, whistlers and flamingoes which are abundant in most of the mangroveareas (particularly Kachchh). Many migratory birds visit Kumarakom andmangalvan in Kerala, as winter migrants (Sunil Kumar and Antony, 1994). Amongthe total, 57 species are resident and common, 32 species are migrant andcommon, 26 are local migrants and occasional, 19 are migrant and occassional,12 are migrant and uncommon, 9 are resident and uncommon, 8 are local migrantand uncommon, 6 are resident and occasional, 4 are local migrant and common,3 are migrant and rare, and only one species is migrant and local.

Studies have been made on the coastal birds of mangroves of Mandapamand the neighbouring islands (Balachandran, 1990) and of Vedaranyam swampand Pichavaram mangroves of Tamil Nadu (Sampath, 1989). In Pichavarammangroves and adjacent areas, there are 177 species of birds (Table 17). Themigratory season for the birds starts from October with the onset of monsoon,and it lasts till March (Sampath, 1989; Sampath and Krishnamurthy, 1993).

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Table 17. List of bird species recorded from the Pichavaram mangroves

Sl. No. Common name Species Status

Family : Podicipedidae1 Little grebe Podiceps ruficollis LM, OFamily : Phalacrocoracidae2 Large Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo LM, O3 Indian shag P. fuscicollis LM, O4 Little cormorant P. niger LM, O5 Darter Anhinga rufa LM, OFamily : Ardeidae6 Grey heron Ardea cinerea R, C7 Purple heron A. purpurea R, C8 Large egret A. alba R, C9 Little green heron Ardeola striatus R, C10 Pond heron A. grayii R, C11 Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis R, C12 Median egret Egretta intermedia R, C13 Little egret E. garzetta R, C14 Indian reef heron E. gularis R, U15 Night heron Nycticorax nycticorax LM, C16 Chestnut bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus R, U17 Black bittern I. flavicollis R, U18 Painted stork Mycteria leucocephala LM, O19 Openbill stork Anastomus oscitans LM, O20 White strok Ciconia ciconia M, OFamily : Threskiornithidae21 White ibis Threskiornis aethiopica LM, O22 Glossy ibis Plegadis falcinellus LM, O23 Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia LM, OFamily : Phoenicopteridae24 Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus LM, OFamily : Anatidae25 Pintail Anas acuta M, O26 Common teal A.. crecca M, O27 Spotbilled duck A. poecilorhyncha LM, O28 Mallard A. platyrhynchos M, O29 Gadwall A. strepera M, O30 Wigeon A. penelope M, O31 Garganey A. querquedula M, O32 Shoveller A. clypeata M, O33 Cotton teal Nettapus coromandelianus LM, OFamily : Accipitridae34 Blackwinged kite Elanus caeruleus R, C35 Pariah kite Milvus migrans R, C

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36 Brahminy kite Haliastur indus R, C37 Shikra Accipiter badius LM, O38 Sparrow-hawk A. nisus M, U39 Basra sparrow-hawk A. virgatus M, U40 Whitebellied sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster LM, O41 Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus LM, O42 Pale harrier Circus macrourus M, O43 Montagu’s harrier C. pygargus M, O44 Pied harrier C. melanoleucos M, O45 Marsh harrier C. aeruginosus M, C46 Osprey Pandion haliaetus M, OFamily : Falconidae47 Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus M, O48 Redheaded merlin F. chicquera LM, O49 Kestrel F. tinnunculus LM, UFamily : Phasianidae50 Grey patridge Francolinus pondicerianus R, C51 Jungle bush quail Perdicula asiatica R, C52 Common bustard-quail Turnix suscitator R, U53 Blue-breasted banded rail Rallus striatus R, C54 Banded crake Rallina eurizonoides R, C55 Whitebreasted waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus R, C56 Water cock Gallicrex cinerea R, CFamily : Haematopodidae57 Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus M, UFamily : Recurvirostridae58 Blackwinged stilt Himantopus himantopus LM, C59 Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta M, OFamily : Burhinidae60 Stone curlew Burhinus oedicnemus R, U61 Great stone plover Esacus magnirostris R, UFamily : Glareolidae62 Small Indian Pratincole Glareola lactea LM, OFamily : Charadriidae63 Red-wattled lapwing Vanellus indicus R, C64 Yellow-wattled lapwing V. malabaricus R, C65 Grey or Blackbellied plover Pluvialis squatarola M, C66 Eastern golden plover P. dominica M, C67 Large sane plover Charadrius leschenaultii M, U68 Little ringed plover C. dubius R, C69 Ringed plover C. hiaticula M, U70 Kentish plover C. alexandrinus R, C71 Lesser sand plover C. mongolus M, C72 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus M, C73 Curlew N. arquata M, C74 Blacktailed godwit Limosa limosa M, C

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75 Bartailed godwit L. lapponica M, Ra76 Spotted redshank Tringa erythropus M, L77 Common redshank T. totanus M, C78 Marsh sandpiper T. stagnatilis M, C79 Greenshank T. nebularia M, C80 Green sandpiper T. ochropus M, C81 Wood sandpiper T. glareola M, C82 Terek sandpiper T. terek M, U83 Common sandpiper T. hypoleucos M, C84 Turnstone Arenaria interpres M, C85 Asiatic dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus M, Ra86 Fantail snipe Gallinago gallinago M, C87 Little stint Calidris minuta M, C88 Temminck’s stint C. temminckii M, O89 Dunlin C. alpina M, O90 Curlew sandpiper C. testacea M, C91 Broadbilled sandpiper Limicola falcinellus M, U92 Ruff and reeve Philomachus pugnax M, OFamily : Laridae93 Herring gu1l Larus argentatus M, C94 Great blackheaded gu1l L. ichthyaetus M, C95 Brownheaded gu1l L. brunnicephalus M, C96 Blackheaded gull L. ridibundus M, C97 Whiskered tern Chlidonias hybrida M, C98 Gu1lbi1led tern Gelochelidon nilotica M, C99 Caspian tern Hydroprogne caspia M, C100 Common tern Sterna hirundo M, C101 Little tern S. albifrons R, C102 Indian lesser crested tern S. bengalensis M, C103 Large crested tern S. bergii M, U104 Indian river tern S. aurantia LM, OFamily : Columbidae105 Blue rock pigeon Columba livia R, C106 Indian ring dove Streptopelia decaocto R, C107 Spotted dove S. chinensis R, C108 Little brown dove S. senegalensis R, OFamily : Psittacidae109 Roseringed parakeet Psittacula krameri R, CFamily : Cuculidae110 Pied crested cuckoo Clamator jacobinus LM, O111 Common hawk-cuckoo or

Brainfever bird Cuculus varius LM, O112 Koel Eudynamys scolopacea R, C113 Crow-pheasant Centropus sinensis R, OFamily : Strigidae114 Barn owl Tyto alba R, U115 Spotted owlet Athene brama R, C

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Family : Apodidae116 House swift Apus affinis R, C117 Palm swift Cypsiurus parvus R, CFamily : Alcedinidae118 Lesser pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis R, C119 Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis R, C120 White breasted kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis R, C121 Blackcapped kingfisher H. pileata R, CFamily : Meropidae122 Chestnutheaded bee-eater Merops leschenaulti LM, U123 Bluetailed bee-eater M. philippinus R, C124 Green bee-eater M. orientalis R, CFamily : Coracidae125 Indian roller Coracias benghalensis R, CFamily : Upupidae126 Hoopoe Upupa epops R, CFamily : Capitonidae127 Crimsonbreasted barbet Megalaima haemacephala R, UFamily : Picidae128 Lesser golden backed

woodpecker Dinopium benghalense R, CFamily : Pittidae129 Indian pitta Pitta brachyura LM, OFamily : Alaudidae130 Bush lark Mirafra assamica LM, U131 Redwinged bush lark M. erythroptera LM, O132 Ashycrowned finch lark Eremopterix grisea LM, U133 Crested lark Galerida cristata LM, U134 Eastern skylark Alauda gulgula R, CFamily : Hirundinidae135 Eastern swallow Hirundo rustica M, C136 Redrumped swallow H. daurica LM, C137 Indian cliff swallow H. fluvicola M, UFamily : Lanidae138 Baybacked shrike Lanius vittatus LM, U139 Rufousbacked shrike L. schach LM, O140 Brown shrike L. cristatus R, UFamily : Artamidae141 Ashy swallow shrike Artamus fuscus R, CFamily : Oriolidae142 Golden oriole Oriolus oriolus R, OFamily : Dicruridae143 Black drongo Dicrurus adsimilis R, CFamily : Sturnidae144 Brahminy myna Sturnus pagodarum R, C145 Rosy pastor S. roseus M, C146 Common myna Acridotheres tristis R, C

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Family : Corvidae147 Tree-pie Dendrocitta vagabunda R, O148 House crow Corvus splendens R, C149 Jungle crow C. macrorhynchos R, CFamily : Campephagidae150 Common wood-shrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus R, OFamily : Irenidae151 Common iora Aegithina tiphia R, CFamily : Pycnonotidae152 Redvented bulbul Pycnonotus cafer R, C153 Whitebrowed bulbul P. luteolus R, CFamily : Muscicapidae154 Common babbler Turdoides caudatus R, C155 Brown flycatcher Muscicapa latirostris M, U156 Brownbreasted flycatcher M. muttui M, O157 Paradise flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi LM, O158 Plain wren-warbler Prinia subflava LM, U159 Tailor bird Orthotomus sutorius R, C160 Thickbilled warbler Acrocephalus aedon M, O161 Blyth’s reed warbler A. dumetorum M, C162 Lesser whitethroat Sylvia curruca M, U163 Largebilled leaf warbler Phylloscopus magnirostris M, U164 Magpie robin Copsychus saularis R, C165 Indian robin Saxicoloides fulicata R, CFamily : Motacillidae166 Paddyfield pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae LM, U167 Forest wagtail Motacilla indica M, Ra168 Yellow wagtail M. flava M, C169 Grey wagtail M. cinerea M, C170 Pied or white wagtail M. alba M, C171 Large pied wagtail M. maderaspatensis LM, CFamily : Dicaeidae172 Tickell’s flowerpecker Dicaecum erythrorhynchos R,CFamily : Nectariniidae173 Purple rumped sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica R, C174 Purple sunbird N. asiatica R, CFamily : Ploceidae175 House sparrow Passer domesticus R, C176 Yellow throated sparrow Petronia xanthocollis LM, O177 Spotted munia Lonchura punctulata R, O

LM - Local Migrant, M - Migrant, R - Resident, C - Common, O - Occasional,U - Uncommon, Ra - Rare

Source : Sampath and Krishnamurthy (1993)

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About 160 species of birds belonging to 50 families that use Muthupetmangroves for feeding, nesting, roosting or other activities are listed (Table 18).Among the total, 53 species are local, common and year - round residents; 18species are migrant, rare and winter - resident; 16 species are migrant, commonbut winter - resident; 12 species are local migrant, common and winter –resident; 10 species are winter visitor and common; 9 species local migrant, rarebut winter – resident; 9 species are local, rare but year - round resident; 8 speciesare local, common but winter – resident; 5 species are local rare and winter –residents; 3 species are local migrant, very common but winter migrants; 2 speciesare local migrant, rare, but year – round found; 2 species are rare, winter -visitor and winter – resident; 2 species are local, very common but year - roundresident; 2 species are common, winter - visitor but winter – resident; 2 speciesrare, winter visitor and winter – resident; 2 species are migrant, rare but year -round resident; 5 species are year - round resident and common except one spe-cies. The maximum species are represented by the families Scolopacidae (15),Laridae (11), Anatidae (9), Ardeidae (9), Charadriidae (9) and Corvidae (9).Herons, egrets, ibises, bitterns and spoonbills are the most conspicuous group ofbirds that are found in mangroves (Oswin, 1999).

Table 18. Checklist of birds sighted at Muthupet Reserved Forest area

Common name Scientific name Abund Status Season Nesting* No. -ance of of

occurrence nests

Family : Podicipedidae1 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis WV C Yr Y,V 15Family : Pelecanidae2. Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis LM VC W - -Family : Phalacrocoracidae3. Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo LM VC W U* -4. Little Cormorant P. niger LM VC W - -Family : Anhingidae5. Darter Anhinga melanogaster WV C W U* -Family : Ardeidae6. Black-crowned Night-Heron Nicticorax nycticorax L C Yr Y,V 987. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis L C Yr Y,V 518. Great Egret Casmerodius albus LM C W - -9. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea LM R Yr Y,V 3110. Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii L C Yr Y,V 5211. Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia LM R W - -12. Little Egret Egretta garzetta LM C Yr Y,V 5313. Western Reef-Egret E. gularis L C W - -14. Purple Heron Ardea purpurea WV VR W - -

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Family : Ciconiidae15. Asian Open-billed Stork Anastomus oscitans L C Yr U* -16. Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala L C Yr Y,V 75Family : Threskiornithidae17. Asian White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus LM R Yr U* -18. Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia LM C W U* -Family : Phoenicopteridae19. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus rubber M C W - -20. Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor LM R W - -Family : Anatidae21. Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus M R W - -22. Common Pochard Aythya ferina M R W - -23. Cotton Pygmy-Goose Nettapus coromandelianus L R W - -24. Common Teal Anas crecca M C W - -25. Gadwall A. strepera M R W - -26. Garganey A. querquedula M R W - -27. Northern Pintail A. acuta M C W - -28. Northern Shoveller A. clypeata M R W - -29. Spot-billed Duck A. poecilorhyncha LM C W - -Family : Accipitridae30. Black Kite Milvus migrans L VC Yr - -31. Black-shouldered Kite Elenus caerulcus L R W - -32. Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus L VC Yr Y,V 4333. Eurasian Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus L R Yr - -34. Osprey Pandion haliaetus L R Yr - -35. Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus L R W - -36. Shikra Accipiter badius L R Yr - -Family : Falconidae37. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus L R Yr - -Family : Phasianidae38. Grey Francolin Francolinus ponticerianus L C Yr Y,V 739. Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus L VR Yr Y,V 240. Jungle Bush-Quail Peridicula asiastica L C Yr Y,V 7Family : Centropodidae41. Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis L R Yr Y,V 8Family : Rallidae42. Common Coot Fulica atra WC C W Y,V 4743. Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus LM C W Y,V 5144. Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio LM C W Y,V 10245. White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus LM C W Y,V 946. Watercock Gallicrex cinerea LM R W - -Family : Jacanidae47. Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus L R W - -Family : Charadriidae48. Blackwinged Stilt Himantopus himantopus L C Yr - -49. Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula L C Yr Y,V 5650. Greater Sand Plover C. leschenaultii M R W - -51. Kentish Plover C. alexandrinus LM C W - -52. Little Ringed Plover C. dubius L C Yr Y,V 4753. Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva M C W - -54. Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta M VR W - -55. Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus L C Yr Y,V 43

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56. Yellow-wattled Lapwing V. malabaricus L C Yr Y,V 42Family : Scolopacidae57. Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica M R W - -58. Black-tailed Godwit L. limosa LM R W - -59. Common Green Shank Tringa nebularia M R W - -60. Common Red Shank T. tetanus LM R W - -61. Marsh Sandpiper T. stagnatilis LM C W - -62. Wood Sandpiper T. glareola M C W - -63. Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos L C Yr Y,V 1864. Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago L C W - -65. Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata LM C W - -66. Little Stint Calidris minuta M C W - -67. Pin-tailed Snipe Gallinago stenura L C W - -68. Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres M R W - -69. Ruff Philomachus pugnax WV C W - -70. Terek Sandpiper Nenus Cinereus M C W - -71. Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus LM R W - -Family : Glareolidae72. Crab-plover Dromas ardeola WV R W - -73. Small Pratincole Glareola lactea L R W - -Family : Rostratulidae74. Greater Painted-Snipe Rostratula benghalensis M R W - -Family : Burhinidae75. Stone-Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus WV R W - -Family : Laridae76. Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus M C W - -77. Common Black-headed Gull L. ridibundus WC C W - -78. Great Black-headed Gull L. ichthyaetus WV C W - -79. Lesser Black-backed Gull? L. fuscus? WV C W - -80. Yellow-legged Gull L. cachinnans WV C W - -81. Caspian Tern Sterna caspia WV C W - -82. Common Tern S. hirundo L C W - -83. Little Tern S. albifrons WV C W Y,V 1784. River Tern S. aurantia L C W - -85. Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica M R W - -86. Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus WV C W - -Family : Columbidae87. Eurasian Collared – Dove Streptopelia decaocto L C Yr Y,V 5188. Spotted Dove Streptopeiia chinensis L C Yr Y,V 4989. Rock Pigeon Columba livia L C Yr - -Family : Psittacidae90. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri L C Yr Y,V 207Family : Cuculidae91. Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea L C Yr A* -92. Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris L R Yr Y,V 693. Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus M R W - -94. Indian Hawk-Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius LM R W - -95. Large Hawk-Cuckoo H. sparverioides LM C W - -96. Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus L R Yr - -Family : Tytonidae97. Barn Owl Tyto alba L C Yr Y,V 5

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Family : Strigidae98. Little Owl Athene noctua L C Yr Y,V 799. Spotted Owlet A. brama L C Yr Y,V 9Family : Caprimulgidae100. Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus L C Yr Y,V 7Family : Apodidae101. Asian Palm-Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis L C Yr Y,V 15102. House Swift Apus affinis M C Yr Y,V 14Family : Alcedinidae103. Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis L C Yr Y,V 22Family : Dacelonidae104. Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata L R Yr Y,V 2105. White-throated Kingfisher H. smyrnensis L C Yr Y,V 15Family : Cerylidae106. Lesser Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis L C Yr - -Family : Meropidae107. Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus M C W - -108. Green Bee-eater M. orientalis LM C W - -Family : Coraciidae109. Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis L C Yr Y,V 8Family : Upupidae110. Common Hoopoe Upupa epops L C Yr Y,V 5Family : Picidae111. Black-rumped Flamebacked Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense L C Yr Y,V 2112. Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla WV VR W - -Family : Pittidae113. Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura WV C W - -Family : Alaudidae114. Ashy-crowned Sparrow-LarkEremopterix grisea M R Yr Y,V 7115. Crested Lark Galerida cristata M R Yr Y,V 8116. Eastern Skylark Alauda gulgula L C Yr Y,V 6117. Rufous-winged Bush-Lark Mirafra assamica L C Yr Y,V 42Family : Hirundinidae118. Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica L C Yr Y,V 11Family : Laniidae119. Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus M C W - -120. Brown Shrike L. cristatus M C W - -121. Long-tailed Shrike L. schach M C W - -Family : Sturnidae122. Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum L C Yr Y,V 5123. Chestnut-tailed Starling S. malabaricus M C W - -124. Common Myna Acridotheres cristis L C Yr Y,V 47Family : Corvidae125. Ashy Wood-Swallow Artamus fuscus L C Yr - -126. Asian Paradise-Flycatcher Tersiphone paradisi M R W - -127. Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus L C Yr Y,V 11128. Common lora Aegithina tiphia L C Yr Y,V 8129. Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus LM R W - -130. House Crow Corvus splendens L C Yr Y,V 213131. Jungle Crow C. macrorhynchos L C Yr Y,V 196132. Lesser Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus M C W - -

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133. Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda L R Yr - -Family : Pycnonotidae134. Himalayan Bulbul Pycnonotus leucogenys L C Yr Y,V 71135. Red-vented Bulbul P. cafer L C Yr Y,V 67Family : Muscicapidae136. Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica M R W - -137. Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata L C Yr Y,V 3138. Orange-headed Thrush Zoothera citrina M R W - -139. Pied Thrush Z. wardii M R W - -140. Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis L C Yr Y,V 5141. Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata LM R W - -142. Red-throated Flycatcher Ficedula parva M R W - -143. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae M R W - -Family : Sylviidae144. Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum WV C W - -145. Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius L C Yr Y,V 37146. Lesser White-throat Sylvia curruca LM C W - -147. Pale-capped Babbler Turdoides affinis L C Yr Y,V 4Family : Cisticolidae148. Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis L C Yr - -Family : Passeridae149. Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus L C W - -150. Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea M C W Y,V 8151. Yellow Wagtail M. flava M C W - -152. House Sparrow Passer domesticus L C Yr Y,V 74153. Long-billed Pipit Anthus similis L C Yr Y,V 39154. Paddyfield Pipit A. rufulus L C Yr Y,V 43155. Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata L C W - -Family : Nectariniidae156. Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica L C Yr Y,V 11157. Purple-rumped Sunbird N. zeylonica L C Yr Y,V 9158. Tickell’s Flowerpecker Dicaeum erthrorhynchos L C Yr Y,V 3Family : Ploceidae159. Black-headed Munia Lonchura malacca L C W - -Family : Fringillidae160. Rose Finch Carpodacus erythrinus L C Yr - -

L – Local; C – Common; VC – Very Common; R – Rare; VR – Very Rare; M – Migrant;LM – Local Migrant; WV – Winter Visitor; Yr – Year round resident; W – Winter resident;Y – Species breeds in Mangroves; U* - Species breeds at Uthayamarthandapuram;V – Species breeds at the village of Muthupet; A* - Breeds in crow’s nestSource : Oswin (1999)

There is a book concerned with Sundarbans ecology of wild life, breedingbiology of the tigers, deer, honey bees, crocodiles, fish and birds with clearpicture on the behavioural patterns of the wild animals in relation to humanbehaviour, which are useful to scientists, biologists and tourists (Chaudhuri andChakrabarti, 1989).

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8. BIOCHEMISTRY

A. Flora

Indian medicinal plants have been screened in vitro against humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV) on MT-4 cells. HIV-1 infected MT-4 cells werecultured for five days in the presence of the plant extracts at various concen-trations. Anti-HIV activity was evaluated by using tetrazolium-based colorimetricassay. Of the 20 plants, four are effective (Premanathan et al., 1997).

The mangrove plant extracts have been tested in vitro against New Castledisease (Premanathan et al., 1992; Premanathan et al., 1993), Vaccinia(Premanathan et al., 1994a), Encephalomyocarditis (Premanathan et al., 1994b),Semliki forest virus (Premanathan et al., 1995), Human Immunodeficiency virus(Premanathan et al., 1996) and Hepatitis B viruses. A few of the extracts areeffective against all the viruses.

A broad spectrum antiviral activity is exhibited in bark of Rhizophoramucronata and leaves of Bruguiera cylindrica. In general, plants belonging to thefamily-Rhizoporaceae are the source of potential antiviral substances (Premanathanet al., 1999). The bark of Rhizophora mucronata shows the highest antiviralactivity against Vaccinia virus, Encephalomyocarditis and Semliki forest virus withselective indices of 4.71, 15.4 and 17.59, respectively. Stilt roots of Rhizophoramucronata exhibit a maximum activity against New Castle disease virus with100% inhibition of haemagglutination. The bark of Ceriops decandra, Bruguieracylindrica and stilt root of Rhizophora mucronata show anti-HIV activity at92.16, 91.70 and 90.89%, respectively (Kathiresan et al., 1995, Premanathan etal., 1993).

Seventy three marine plant extracts have been tested in vitro in chickembryo fibroblast cell culture and their anti-vaccinia virus activity is evaluated interms of reduction in number of plaques by the extracts. Only seven extracts showthe acitivity. Sargassum wightii, a seaweed has the highest activity, reducing 65per cent of plaques by Vaccinia virus (Premanathan et al., 1994, 1994a).

Sixteen mangrove plant extracts have been tested against a plant virus(Tabacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and two extracts–Bruguiera cylindrica andExcoecaria agallocha – show significant anti-TMV activity (Padmakumar andAyyakkannu, 1994).

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Plant extracts have been tested in vitro against New Castle disease virus(NDV) in CAM culture and their gross antiviral activity is evaluated in terms ofpercent inhibition of haemagglutination. The extracts have also been tested invitro in CEF cell culture against Vaccinia virus (VV) and their antiviral activity isevaluated in terms of reduction in number of plaques. Of the 51 extracts, only10 are effective against NDV and four against VV.

The plant extracts have been tested in vitro against Encephalomyocarditisvirus (EMCV) in LM cells and their antiviral activity is evaluated in terms ofinhibition of cytopathic effect (CPE). Thirteen extracts show anti-EMCV activitywhen assayed along with the virus (Premanathan et al., 1999).

Indian medicinal plants have been screened in vitro against HumanImmunodeficiency virus activity (HIV). Of the 69 plants species screened, 16 areeffective against HIV-1 and 4 are against both HIV-1 and HIV-2. The mosteffective ones against HIV-1 and HIV-2 are respectively Cinnamomum cassia(bark) and Cardiospermum helicacabum (shoot + fruit) (Premanathan et al.,2000).

A polysaccharide extracted from the bark of Rhizophora mucronatashows anti-viral activity against Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in an invitro cell culture system (Premanathan et al., 1999).

Lignin extracted from leaf of Ceriops decandra exhibits antibacterialaction due to its O2- scavenging activity, protecting the mice from pathogenicEscherichia coli (Sakagami et al., 1998).

Biotoxicity of the blinding tree, Excoecaria agallocha on marineorganisms has been studied. Latex from the plant shows a knock-down effect onmarine organisms including phytoplankton productivity (Kathiresan andSubramonia Thangam, 1987a; Kathiresan et al., 1987). The toxicity of the latexis counteracted by light treatments (Kathiresan and Subramonia Thangam,1987b). Phytoplankton productivity as influenced by latex of Excoecariaagallocha has been studied in Pichavaram, Vellar and Agniar estuaries. The latexstrongly inhibited the productivity of Agniar estuary and the effect is lesspronounced in other two biotopes. In general, increasing concentrations of thelatex decrease the photosynthetic rate and increase the respiratory activity(Kathiresan et al., 1990). The soil bacteria and yeasts degrade the latex but notfungi (Reddy et al., 1991). The latex causes metabolic depression of the rice field

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crab, Oxiotelphusa senex in terms of oxygen consumption. The latex also inhibitATPase system in the gill and hepatopancreas tissues of the crab (Ramamurthi etal., 1991).

Lipids and waxes in leaves of some mangroves of Sundarbans show asimilarity. Mangrove leaves have low triglycerides and simple fatty acids. Fattyacids with C16 and C18 chains are common. Presence of C18 chain in wax estersis an important character. This similarity in fatty acid composition maintains thewater economy and helps in the adaptation of mangroves in physiologically dry soil(Bagchi et al., 1988).

Considerable loss in wet weight, ash content, carbohydrate, lipid andorganic carbon contents, and increase in protein and total nitrogen content takeplace with the progress of decomposition of Ulva lactuca. The carbon : nitrogenratio decreases from 16.6 to 4.8. Readily leachable carbohydrates are completelylost from the thalli by 12 days (Vasantha et al., 1998).

The seagrass Porteresia coarctata grown in Prentice and Chuksar Islandsof Sundarban mangroves has been studied for biochemical components. Majorsterols are sitosterol and stigmasterol, and other components are campesterol andcholesterol. Major pentacyclic triterpenoids are lupeol and oleanolic acid; othercomponents are α-amyrin, β-amyrin and ursolic acid. Considerable quantitativedifferences are observed in the sterol and triterpenoid compositions. Among thetriterpenoids, betulin occurs only in the sample of Chuksar Island (Misra etal.,1987).

In Aegiceras majus leaves, major triterpenoids are lupeol, amyrin, elenolicacid and ursolic acid. In Sesuvium portulacastrum, major fatty acids are myristic,palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. Major sterols found in leaves ofthis plant are campesterol, stigmasterol and sitosterol. These typical componentsare biotransformed by benthic animals like mudskippers, bivalves and gastropodsand thus entering into the food chain of this ecosystem (Chattopadhyay et al.,1990).

Seasonal variations in protein, polyphenol, and tannin concentrations inleaves of nine mangrove species of Rhizophoraceae are reported. Protein concen-tration varied from 0.108 g/g dry wt in Bruguiera cylindrica to 0.231 g/g dry wtin B. sexangula. The polyphenol concentration ranged from 0.111 g/g dry wt inB. sexangula to 0.488 g/g dry wt in C. decandra and the tannin concentration

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from 0.088 g/g dry wt in B. parviflora to 0.408 g/g dry wt in B. sexangula.Concentrations of these organic constituents in leaf tissues are highest during therainy season (Basak et al., 1998).

Chemical examination of Suaeda maritima and S. monoica shows thepresence of octacosan-1-ol, 8-hydroxydotriacontan 3α-one and beta sitosterol. Inaddition, S. maritima yields lupeol (Subrahmanyam et al., 1992).

An unusual secondary metabolite-2-nitro-4-(2’nitroethenyl) phenol hasbeen isolated from the leaves of Sonneratia acida (Bose et al., 1992). Penaeusindicus when fed with cholesterol extracted from leaves of Rhizophora sp. showspromotion in growth, conversion efficiency and increased levels of biochemicalconstituents of the shrimp (Xavier Ramesh and Kathiresan, 1992).

Leaf behaviour pattern of some mangrove species, with their environmenthas been studied. The transpiration rate is high in all the species from lowersurface. The diffusive resistance is more for the upper surface and the variation doexist between and within the species. The stomata are amphistomatic except intwo species where they are hypostomatic type. Diffusive resistance for CO2 ismuch higher in Heritiera and Xylocarpus than the other species (Mulik, 1996).

Analysis of biochemical constituents shows that the leaves are rich incarbohydrates, lipids and proteins. They also have a high caloric value and hencethey form a source of nutrition to the animals feeding on decaying leaves ofmangroves.

Levels of chlorophyll a, b, a+b, a:b, carotenoids, TAN (Titrable AcidNumber), proteins, polyphenols, and tannins in 14 species of mangroves found inthe Bhitarkanika mangrove forest and Mahanadi delta have been estimated. Totalchlorophyll content varies from 0.21% in Aglaia cucullata and Ceriops decandrato 0.56% in Aegiceras corniculatum. The chlorophyll a:b ratio is minimum (1.55)in Avicennia officinalis and maximum (3.50) in Bruguiera sexangula. Thecarotenoids vary from 0.04% in B. sexangula to 0.17% in A. corniculatum.TAN values range from 20 to 45 in A. officinalis and Heritiera littoralisrespectively. The TAN values show negative correlation with chlorophyll ‘b’ andor carotenoids, and positive correlation with chlorophyll a:b ratio, among thespecies. Total leaf protein content significantly varies from 12.21% in Heritieramacrophylla to 29.22% in H. fomes. Tannin and polyphenols from the leaves ofmangroves show significant variation, ranging from 8.39 to 44.27% in

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A. cucullata and B. sexangula and from 11.39 to 52.89% in A. officinalis andC. decandra respectively (Table 19) (Basak et al., 1996).

Pigments have been quantified in 11 plant species for one year periodalong with measurements of solar radiation and UV-B radiation, atmosphericozone, atmospheric temperature, water temperature, salinity and pH (Moorthy andKathiresan, 1997b). The pigments are high in species of Rhizophoraceae membersfrom May to July. Accessory pigments–flavonoids and anthocyanin are highrespectively during July-September and October–November (Oswin andKathiresan, 1994). The highest concentration of fatty acid in the decomposingleaves is palmitic acid (16:0). Unsaturated fatty acids such as, 18:1 w7c and 18:1w9c are present in decomposing leaves of both Avicennia and Rhizophora(Rajendran and Kathiresan, 2000).

Table 19. Variation in photosynthetic pigments, secondary metabolites,protein and titrable acid number (TAN) in 14 mangrove species.TAN values expressed as ml of decinormal NaOH required toneutralize the acid in the extract of 100 g fresh weight

Photosynthetic pigments have been studied in leaves of different age of 12species of mangroves, collected from sun and shaded conditions of Kali estuary,Karnataka. The contents vary between leaf types and plant types. There issignificant relationship between attenuated light and total chlorophyll content(Menon and Neelakantan, 1992).

Source : Basak et al. (1996)

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Determination of different forms of inorganic P and their relationship withavailable P extracted with different extractants in the acidic Entisols andSulphaquepts of Andaman under tropical deciduous and mangrove trees has beenundertaken (Mongia and Bandyopadhyay, 1996).

Steviol and five new diterpenes have been isolated from the outer layer ofthe root bark of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza collected from Andaman and NicobarIslands. They are ent-kaur- 16-en- 13-hydroxy- 19-al; 15(S)-isopimar-7-en-15,16-diol, ent-kaur- 16-en-13, 19-diol, methyl-ent-kaur-9(11)-en-13, 17-epoxy-16-hydroxy-19-oate; 1 beta, 15(R)-ent-pimar-8(14)-en-1,15,16-triol(Subrahmanyam et al., 1999). A novel beyerane diterpenoid has been isolatedfrom the ethyl acetate extract of Rhizophora mucronata and its structure isestablished as ent-3β, 20-epoxy-3α, 18-dihydroxy-15-beyerene 2 by physicaland spectral (1H, 13C, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, 1H-1H NOESY, HMQC, HMBC &MASS) data and chemical reactions (Anjaneyulu et al., 2000).

The energy content ranges between 2875 and 4161, and from 3182 to4688 g cal/g dry weight of the litter (Table 20). The energy released from the litterduring one year period is 67.2 and 77.3% in the decomposing leaf litter ofA. marina and R. apiculata respectively and the absolute energy content isdeclined from 77.2 to 25.2 and 117.2 to 26.6 K.cals (Karunanithi andSaravanamuthu, 1995).

Table 20. Variation in the energy content of the leaf litter at different stagesof decomposition in the mangrove habitat

EC – Energy Content; AE – Absolute Energy; E: - Energy LossSource : Karunanithi and Saravanamuthu (1995)

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Mangroves have physiological modifications (in photosynthesis and insynthesis of carbohydrate and polyphenols) to establish water and salt economy(Bhosale and Mulik, 1992).

The effect of water quality has been studied by analysing the leaves ofAvicennia officinalis. The levels of chlorophylls and carbohydrates in the leavesraise with lowering of BOD and salinity. However, polyphenols do not show thistrend (Kadam and Bhosale, 1987).

The foliar spray β - alanin and betanin increases salt excretion in Acanthusilicifolius, which has a protective role through altering metabolic process such asion regulation (Mulik, 1987; Mulik and Bhosale, 1995). Proline accumulation inplants viz., water, saline, freezing, heat, light and chemo-stress conditions has beenreviewed. The metabolic causes of proline accumulation and its role in stressresistance of plants are disscussed (Kathiresan,1987)

The photosynthetic efficiency of four rhizophoracean mangroves,Rhizophora apiculata, R. mucronata, Bruguiera cylindrica and Ceriopsdecandra has been studied in randomly collected propagules from Pichavarammangrove forest by estimating the concentration of photosynthetic pigments inprotein complexes of the thylakoid membrane. Reaction center chlorophyll (RC-chl) is maximum in B. cylindrica and minimum in R. mucronata. Of the totalamount of chlorophylls, RC-chl constitutes about 50%. The light harvestingcomplex chlorophyll (LHC-chl) is highest in C. decandra and lowest inR. mucronata. Net photosynthesis is found to be higher in B. cylindrica andlower in R. mucronata with the respective CO2 fixation of 20.52 and 10.83µmol/m2/s. A positive correlation is obtained between RC-chl and net photo-synthesis. The stomatal conductance to CO2 influx is also found to be high and lowin B. cylindrica and R. mucronata respectively (Moorthy and Kathiresan, 1999a).

Seedlings of Rhizophora apiculata exposed to UV-B radiation at fourdoses equivalent to 10, 20, 30, and 40 % ozone depletion have been experimen-tally studied. The seedlings irradiated with high doses of UV-B has characteristicdecline in contents of specific proteins with molecular masses of 33, 23, and 17kDa. On the contrary, proteins of 55, 33, 25, 23 and 17 kDa accumulate in theseedlings exposed to low doses of UV-B. The UV-B, in general, enhancesformation of saturated fatty acids and reduces unsaturated fatty acids, to amaximum extent of 88 and 26%, respectively. The low dose of UV-B increasescontent of oleic acid in reaction centre chlorophylls and the activities of

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photosystem (PI and PII), and the high dose reduces it by 34%. The high dose ofUV-B enhances the lipid peroxidation by 48%, whereas the low doses of UV-Bdo not show any significant effect. The contents of amino acids such as aspartate,glutamate, asparagine, serine, glutamine, threonine, and histidine are increased inlow UV-B doses by 53, 86, 142, 72, 3, 119 and 32 %, respectively; while inhigh doses they are reduced significantly (Moorthy and Kathiresan, 1998).

Effect of ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiation on Rhizophora apiculataseedlings in terms of biomass and nutrient accumulation show an increase ofbiomass in the seedlings exposed to low dose of UV-B. The Na/K ratio is lowerin leaves, but higher in stem and root of seedlings exposed to UV-B. The degreeof nutrient accumulation is in the decreasing order - root > stem > leaves(Moorthy and Kathiresan, 1998).

Changes in photosynthesis and biochemical constituents have been studiedin Rhizophora apiculata seedlings grown under solar and solar enhanced UV-Bradiation, equivalent to 10, 20, 30 and 40% stratospheric ozone depletion. Theseedlings grown under 10% UV-B radiation show an increase of 45% net photo-synthetic rate (PN) and 47% stomatal conductance, while seedlings grown under40% UV-B radiation exhibit a decrease of 59% PN with simultaneous elevation of73% intercellular CO2 concentration. Effects of UV-B on contents of lipids,saccharides, amino acids and proteins are significant only at high doses of UV-Bradiation. The concentration of anthocyanin is reduced with increasing doses ofUV-B. The reverse is true with phenols and flavonoids (Moorthy and Kathiresan,1997a).

B. Fauna

Toxicity

Technical grade heptachlor, phosalone and carbaryl have been tested foracute toxicity to the edible crab Scylla serrata. The 96 h LC50 values of thethree pesticides are 322, 406 and 466 µg/1 respectively. Heptachlor producesinstant hyperactivity, hyper-excitability and finally death due to exhaustion.Phosalone and carbaryl also induce similar effects resulting in gradual death.Profuse defaecation is observed in crabs exposed to phosalone and carbaryl(Subba Rao and Kannupandi, 1990).

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The ethanol extracts of different parts of 7 mangrove species have beentested against fingerlings of Liza macrolepis. The total free sugar, protein andcholesterol of muscle tissue of the tested fishes indicate that in all cases of lethalityby different extracts, there is a considerable reduction (Madhu and Madhu, 1997).

The larvicidal activity of nine macrophytes extracts prepared in petroleumether (PE) and chloroform (C) has been tested against Artemia salina nauplii. TheLC50 values for the PE-fraction of Microdictyon pseudohapteron andAcanthophora muscoides and C-fraction of S. isoetifolium are 11.75, 42.5 and41.5 ppm respectively (Devi et al., 1998).

The 24hr LC50 of marine plant extracts against Ceratonereis costae hasbeen studied. The fruit and leaf of Aegiceras corniculatum and leaf ofRhizophora mucronata are more toxic to C. costae by showing the LC50 of 0.24,0.26 and 0.28 mg/ml respectively. The extracts which are not found effectiveagainst C. costae are Padina gymnospora, Excoecaria agallocha andLumnitzera racemosa (Premanathan et al., 1988).

The extracts of Caulerpa scalpelliformis, Dictyota dichotoma,Enteromorpha clathrata and E. intestinalis are effective against the larvae ofAedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus giving rise to LC50 values less than100 mg/1. The extracts of Caulerpa peltata and C. racemosa are effective onlyagainst the larvae of Aedes aegypti but not against Culex quinquefasciatus(Subramonia Thangam and Kathiresan, 1993a).

Fifteen mangrove species extracted in acetone and petroleum etherseparately, have been tested for their activity against the larvae of mosquito Culexquinquefasciatus. Petroleum ether extract of R. apiculata is most effective withLC50 of 25.7 mg/1. The extract further shows synergistic larvicidal activity withpyrethrum. The synergism and the synergistic factor is 0.81 at 5 mg/1 (SubramoniaThangam and Kathiresan, 1997).

Marine plant extracts have been screened against Anopheles stephensi, amosquito vector of malaria and Tanais stanfordii, a wood fouling marineorganism. Out of 100 plant extracts tested only 9 plant extracts are effective incausing mortality with a concentration of 100 ppm. The stilt root extract ofRhizophora apiculata and the seaweed Dictyota dichotoma are effective with 24hr LC50 values of 17 and 22 ppm respectively (Kathiresan et al., 1990).

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Mosquito larvicidal activity has been studied on three insecticides (DDT,BHC and Malathion). These chemical insecticides show synergistic effect with leafand flower extracts of Bougainvillea glabra on Culex sitiens (SubramoniaThangam and Kathiresan, 1990).

Mangrove plant extracts also exhibit smoke repellency and killing effect onCulex quinquefasciatus (Thangam and Kathiresan, 1992a) and Aedes aegypti(Thangam and Kathiresan, 1992b).

Nine species of marine plants have been tested against mosquito larvae.The seaweed Microdictyon pseudohapteron is most effective with LC50 values of50 mg/l followed by Acanthophora muscoides (62.5 mg/l). The Petroleum etherextract of Syringodium isoetifolium is effective at 450 mg/l. All other fractionsshow activity between 800 and 2000 mg/l. The Chloroform extracts fractions ofDerris heterophylla, Sonneratia caseolaris, Acanthophora muscoides,Halophila ovalis, Syringodium isoetifolium and Umbilicaria aprine are ineffec-tive even at 2000 mg/l (Devi et al., 1997).

Light-induced effects of latex on a salt marsh mosquito Culex sitiens havebeen studied. The effect is more pronounced at high concentration (400 mg/l) ofthe latex, and this mortality effect is reversed by 19%, 24%, 37% in blue, yellowand red lights respectively, and a total mortality is noted in dark, white, Indico andgreen lights within 24hr of exposure. At low concentration (50 mg/l) 20% mortalityis observed in white light and dark conditions, and the effect is reduced by 2%,15%, 8% and 10% in Indico, Blue, Yellow and Red respectively and while thegreen light accelerates the negative effect, caused by latex by 20% (Table 21; Fig.2) (Kathiresan and Subramonia Thangam, 1987b).

Table 21. Light induced effects of latex of Excoecaria agallocha on saltmarsh mosquito

Source : Kathiresan and Subramonia Thangam (1987b)

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Fig 2. Effect of extracts from latex, leaf and root of Excoecaria agallocha onestuarine mosquito Culex sitiens (adopted from Kathiresan andSubramonia Thangam, 1987b)

Metal accumulation in mangroves and fauna

Levels of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Ni in shrimps and crabs from Thane-Basseincreek system have been evaluated for a period of one year and reported asbaseline data future monitoring of this vital ecosystem. The pattern of concentrationis in the order of Zn>Cu>Cd>Ni>Pb. In shrimps, maximum levels of Cu (av 41.3ppm dry wt.) and Zn (av. 164 ppm dry wt.) are observed in Metapenaeusbrevicornis from Thane creek and in Exopalaemon stylifera from Bassein creek.The crab, Scylla serrata from Thane creek shows maximum concentration of Cu(av. 73 ppm dry wt.) and Zn (av. 376 ppm dry wt.). Cd, Pb and Ni contributevery little to the percentage contribution of the metals estimated (Table 22, 23)(Asha Jyothi and Nair, 1999a). Concentrations of Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Ni indifferent tissues of 10 species of fish from Thane and Bassein creeks have beenestimated for a period of 15 months. In general, fish from Bassein creek showhigher concentration of metals than those collected from Thane creek (Asha Jyothiand Nair, 1999b).

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Table 22. Concentration of metals (ppm dry wt.) in shrimps and crabscollected from Thane creek (values given are range and averagein parentheses)

Source : Asha Jyothi and Nair (1999a)

Table 23. Concentration of metals (ppm dry wt.) in shrimps and crabscollected from Bassein creek (Values given are range andaverage in parentheses)

Source : Asha Jyothi and Nair (1999b)

Biochemical changes

The biochemical components such as total protein, carbohydrate and lipidshave been measured during larval development of the mangrove crab Metaplax

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elegans from first zoea to first crab stage. Protein content per larva increases fromfirst zoea to fifth zoea, but decreases in megalopa, again increases in first crabstage. Carbohydrate content increases from first zoea to third zoea, decreases infourth and fifth stage, and increases in megalopa and first crab stage. The totallipid shows upward trend from first zoea to first crab (Balagurunathan andKannupandi, 1995).

The major biochemical constituents like total protein, carbohydrate, lipidand water of a pulmonate snail, Pythia plicata have been studied seasonally. Theminimum protein value of 15.71% is recorded in July when the snail starts layingeggs. The minimum carbohydrate content of 0.89% is observed during theadvancement of the male gonad in October, while the maximum value of 3.04% isrecorded during the post development of gonad after egg-laying in September. Theminimum lipid value of 0.0052% is registered in December during spermatogenesis.The water content is minimum (61.79%) in June when the snails start egg-laying;while it is maximum (78.86%) in February during the gonadal development(Shanmugam, 1991b).

The mullet, Liza parsia of Sundarbans has highly unsaturated fatty acidswith chain length of 18, 20, 22 carbon atoms (Chattopadhyay et al., 1990).

The annual biocalcification of aragonite by Macoma birmanica is 314.3g/m2/year which is 2.5 times higher than biomass production and almost is equal tothe elimination rate, 311.4 g/m2/year. Rapid response of this biogenous aragonite tothe process of neutralization of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide through itsdissolution is observed, which is almost close to its maximum capacity (Saha andJana, 1999). The chemical composition of the extrapallial fluid of Macomabirmanica has also been examined in order to understand the process ofcalcification. Concentrations of inorganic ions Na+, K+, Ca2, C1- and SO4

2- are inhigher proportion in the pallial fluid than those in the ambient medium (Saha et al.,2000).

Food conversion efficiency and growth in the white shrimp Penaeusindicus fed with decomposed mangrove leaves of Avicennia marina show higherassimilation efficiency (87.96%), gross growth efficiency (10.82%), net growthefficiency (12.3%) and relative growth rate (0.0603 g/day) than those fed withA. officinalis (Table 24). This is attributed to its high calorific and protein contentin the leaves of A. marina (Athithan and Ramadhas, 2000).

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Table 24. Food conversion efficiency and growth in Penaeus indicus fed withthe decomposed leaves of A. marina and A. officinalis*

* - Calculations made on the dry weight basis with standard deviation values in parenthesesSource : Athithan and Ramadhas (2000)

The cyanobacterial strain, isolated from Pichavaram mangrove forestmaintained and cultured with marine nutrient medium in the laboratory, whenincorporated with basal feed increase the growth of two penaeid prawns(Palaniselvam and Kathiresan, 1998).

Sediment Chemistry

In the sediments of the mangrove swamps of Cochin, phenolic compoundsand total microbial counts range from 0.018 to 16.75 ppm, and 25 x 104 to 110 x104/g respectively with distinct seasonal variations. Phenol concentration is highest(16.75 ppm) during monsoon month (Imelda Joseph and Chandrika, 2000).

The organic carbon estimated in mangrove sediment shows higher valuesduring summer and premonsoon and lower values during monsoon. This higherorganic carbon content in mangrove sediments during summer together with thehigh standing crop of benthic cynaobacteria indicate that these organic compoundswould be utilized by cyanobacteria (Ramachandra Rao and Krishnamurthy, 1994).

9. UTILIZATION

Mangrove ecosystem is a natural resource providing benefits to mankind inmany ways. Owing to their high productivity and sheltered nature, mangrovesserve many ecological functions that make the mangroves as one of the most

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productive coastal marine ecosystems. In the recent years, land use activitiesencroach into the coastal mangrove areas. These activities in many ways are indirect conflict with the objectives of conservation and sustainable traditional use ofthe mangroves (Ramachandran, 1993). The status regarding the utilization andconservation of mangroves in India, has been outlined (Rao, 1991; Ramdial,1991). Significance of mangroves has been documented in a symposium volumeedited by Agate et al. (1991).

The mangroves are considered “wasteland” in most parts of the world andare either ignored or abused, until the late 1960’s (Snedaker, 1987). Beginning in1960’s and extending through the early 1970’s, the ecological and economic valuesof mangroves began to be documented. Among the cited values, the roles ofmangrove forests in coastal protection (against storms and erosion), theperpetuation of coastal water quality, and in the maintenance and production ofcoastal fishery resources (Snedaker, 1987) are worth-mentioning.

Various international organizations such as UNESCO (United NationsEducation, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris), FAO (Food and Agri-cultural Organization, Rome), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme,Nairobi), USAID (United States Agency for International Development), IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature), ISME (International Society forMangrove Ecosystems, Japan), ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization,Japan), Ramsar Convention for Wetlands, and MAP (Mangrove Action Project,Washington) initiated a variety of programmes on the conservation and manage-ment of mangrove resources.

Mangroves produce nutrients and enrich the coastal sea. Mangroves alsohelp in recycling of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. It is perhaps the only bioticsystem that recycles sulphur in nature and makes it available in an assimilable formto other organisms. Thus, mangrove waters are rich in organic and inorganicnutrients. For example, Pichavaram mangrove waters (Tamil Nadu) contain 4 timesmore of nitrate, 20 times more of suspended organic matter and inorganicphosphates as compared to adjoining seawater of the Bay of Bengal. When thenutrient-rich mangrove waters mix with the sea, results in increased fertility of thesea (Kathiresan, 1994). The organic detritus enriched with biomass of bacteria,fungi and protozoans, gives rise to protein-rich particulate organic matter and thisforms the energetic food of crabs, worms, shrimps and small fishes, which in turn,form prey to large fishes. The mangrove leaves also produce secondarymetabolites as “chemical weapon” to fight against pathogenic microorganisms(Kathiresan, 1996).

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Importance of the mangrove ecosystem in fisheries has been discussed(Purushan, 1991; Agate, 1991; Jeyaseelan et al., 1991; Rajendran andKathiresan, 1999b; Kathiresan, 2000). With a high rate of primary production, themangroves are able to sustain populations of fish, shellfish and wildlife. They serveas prime breeding and nursery grounds for many animal species especially forprawns so it is often called “No mangroves, no prawns” (Macnae, 1968). Theyserve as custodians of their juvenile stock and as natural wealth (Kathiresan,1995a). Small scale fisheries in mangrove waters produce nearly one million tonsof finfishes, molluscs, crabs and shrimps annually, that is equivalent to about 1.1per cent of the world fishery catch (Kepetsky, 1985). Mangroves provide directemployment for about 0.5 million fisherfolk. A total of about one million jobs theworldwide is dependent on mangrove-associated fisheries. The density ofpopulation dependent on mangroves is estimated about 5.6 persons/km2 (FAO,1988). Besides the capture fishery, culture fishery is also prevalent in themangrove-rich area.

Prospects of aquaculture have been outlined in a mangrove ecosystem inPichavaram in terms of biotic problems such as seed resources, recruitment failure,menace by predators, threat posed to mangrove vegetation through siltation, byfarm construction and deforestation (Krishnamurthy and Jeyaseelan, 1986).

The mangroves help the socio-economic development of the coastalcommunities by supplying ‘seeds’ for aquaculture industries as well as providingthe traditional sources of medicines, honey, firewood, fodder and timber.

Details of a pilot project on forestry-cum-fish culture in the Sundarbanshave been given (Madhu, 1987). Culture potentiality of Kali estuary and adjoiningbrackishwater system are assessed based on water quality, soil fertility and bioticcomponents (plankton and benthos) (Neelakantan et al., 1987). The potential ofcoastal aquaculture in Andamans has been studied and guidelines for theestablishment of prawn fish farms in low lying marshes are given (Sundararajanand Dorairaj, 1987). The reclamation of areas affected with acid sulphate soil issuggested by liming, repetitive flushing, etc. to reduce pressure on currentlyavailable fertile areas (Silas, 1987a). A study on the interactions of capture,captive and culture fisheries in Sundarbans has been made for the management ofmangrove associated fisheries and aquaculture (Silas, 1987b).

A silvipisiculture project in the Sundarbans has been implemented by theforest department of the West Bengal Government, with technical assistance given

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by the Bay of Bengal Programme and funds provided by SIDA (SwedishInternational Development Authority), between 1983 and 1988. It is necessary todevelop high yielding aquaculture techniques, and construction of appropriatecost-effective sluice designs and a social feasibility study to stimulate people’sparticipation in the project (Angell and Muir, 1990).

Pioneering investigations have shown that some of the mangrove vegetationcan serve for a variety of purposes:-(i) as a source of tea, (ii) as a cholesterol-feedfor prawn, (iii) as potential sources of mosquitocides, (iv) for antiviral drugsformulation - especially against AIDS and Jaundice, (v) as source of UV-absorbing compounds, (vi) as a source of bacterial biofertilizers (SubramoniaThangam, 1990; Kathiresan and Pandian, 1991; Premanathan, 1991; XavierRamesh and Kathiresan, 1992; Moorthy and Kathiresan, 1993; Moorthy, 1995;Ravikumar, 1995; Palaniselvam, 1995; Kathiresan, 1995a). Studies on theseaspects have proved the efficacy of the mangrove plants in the aspects oftherapeutic, preventive and clinical medicines as well as in agriculture.

The bark of the Barringtonia asiatica is used to stupefy fish and tocapture them especially by the Nicobar tribes. The bark is used as a fish poisonand the fruit is eaten in Indo-China. The potency of B. asiatica is compared tomohua oil cake, which is frequently used in India to remove unwanted fishes fromnursery and stocking ponds (Roy, 1996).

Mangrove plants have been reported for the first time to control the activityof mosquitoes (Subramonia Thangam, 1990). Plant extracts kill mosquito larvae ofAedes aegypti (Thangam and Kathiresan, 1988, 1991 and 1994), Culextritaeniorhynchus (Thangam and Kathiresan, 1989) and Anopheles stephensi(Thangam and Kathiresan, 1988). The stilt root extract of R. apiculata killsmosquito larvae (Kathiresan, 1991).

The plant extracts show repellent activity against Aedes aegypti when theextracts are applied on the human skin (Subramonia Thangam and Kathiresan,1993b). The plant samples have been tested for mosquito larvicidal activity againstAedes aegypti. The stilt root of Rhizophora apiculata and of R. mucronata andleaf of Avicennia marina are most effective in providing protection time of 70.0,54.5 and 46.0 min, respectively against the mosquito bite. Even the commerciallyavailable repellent compounds like dimethylphthalrnate give protection for less thana hour (Subramonia Thangam and Kathiresan, 1993c).

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The bark of Rhizophora and Bruguiera spp. is used for tannin extraction.Leaves of the Avicennia are good fodder, while the fruits of Sonneratia formpart of the local diet. Mangrove plants are being used in folklore medicine fortreatment of several diseases. Rhizophora mucronata bark is a powerfulastringent and is also used as a cure for diabetes, haemorrhage and angina. Theextract of the Acanthus ilicifolius leaf is used to treat rheumatic disorders, whilethat of the Bruguiera species is used for high blood pressure. In addition, thebark and the leaves of Excoecaria agallocha are used to treat a variety ofailments (Krishnamoorthy, 1997).

Tannins which are commercially important plant products, have beenstudied for their seasonal changes in 14 mangrove species, and the tannins rangefrom 2.41 to 21.42 mg/g dry weight (Kathiresan and Veera Ravi, 1990). Themangroves have also been studied for gallotannins (which are used in leather,medical, pharmaceutical, food and in beverage industries) and the gallotanninsrange from 0.013 to 3.555 mg/g dry weight (Veera Ravi and Kathiresan, 1990).Among the mangrove Rhizophora species shows rich content of tannins especiallycommercial gallotannins (Kathiresan, 1991). The tannin content is reported todecrease very rapidly during decomposition (Rajendran and Kathiresan, 2000).The content of proline has been estimated in some mangrove plants and found inhigh concentrations (Kathiresan and Visveswaran, 1990).

For centuries, people in India have been gathering honey made from thenectar of mangrove species. Honey extraction, to date, has been a cottageindustry but there is a large potential of a larger industry that would not have anegative impact on mangrove systems (Krishnamurthy, 1990).

As these mangroves are rich in polyphenolic compounds, the leaves havebeen attempted for making a beverage with same qualities as black tea. Themangrove tea as a beverage is proved to have better quality and no mammaliantoxicity (Kathiresan, 1995c). Further attempt has been made to improve thequality of mangrove tea by UV-in addition treatments (Kathiresan and Pandian,1991, 1993). By the presence of secondary metabolites such as anthocyanian andflavonoids, the mangrove leaves appear to absorb solar UV-radiation and makethe environment less hazardous (Moorthy, 1995).

Impact of UV–irradiation on the quality of black tea in Ceriops decandrahas been studied. The quality of black tea is maximum (2.229%) in leaf samplescollected during summer and withered under UV for 90 min. and the quality is

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also maximum (3.464%) in monsoon samples withered under UV for 120 min. Thequality of black tea is high (0.75%) in leaves sampled during summer andfermented under UV for 120 min. and the quality is also high (5.846%) inmonsoon samples fermented under UV for 150 min. (Kathiresan and Pandian,1991).

10. DEGRADATION

Mangroves are endangered by hostile habitat and human abuse(Kathiresan, 1995a). Our country has lost 40% of mangrove area of what existeda century ago (Krishnamurthy et al., 1987). The general factors that affect themangrove ecosystems are loss of habitat, human interference, trade and over-exploitation etc. Several specific issues, which deserve immediate attention are(1) prawn farming practices, (2) cattle grazing, (3) tree felling, (4) reduced fresh-water supply, (5) hypersalinity, (6) heavy sedimentation, (7) natural calamities,(8) pest problems, (9) unsustainable fishing practices, and (10) lack of people’sparticipation. The above - mentioned issues specific to mangrove areas have to betaken into consideration in evolving remedial or alternative measures (Kathiresan,1999a).

The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) recorded a decline of7,000 ha of mangroves in India within six-year period from 1975 to 1981. Thefast destruction and degradation of the mangroves have already caused coastalerosion and fall in fishery resources. A coastal place in Tamil Nadu (Vedaranyam)lost 40% of its mangrove area with a reduction of 18% of fishery resources withina 13 year-period from 1976 to 1989 (Padmavathi, 1991). If the trend is notreversed, mangroves will get completely wiped out (Kathiresan, 1995a).

It is feared that most of our shorelines will be denuded of forests andvegetation cover. This is realized as the most serious problem for the reason ofexplosion of the human population-75% of which occupy the coastal area imposingheavy pressures on coastal resources. Hence, non-sustainable use and over-exploitation of mangroves have to be controlled immediately, besides taking themeasures on regeneration, restoration and afforestation of the mangroves(Kathiresan, 1995a). It has been estimated that approximately 1,00,000 ha ofbarren intertidal mangrove area are available for afforestation programme along theIndian coast (Untawale, 1987).

Our mangroves suffer under various forms of pressures viz. the agriculture,aquaculture, industry, fuelwood extraction and diversion of water for irrigation,

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which lead to a reduction in freshwater inflow and increased salinity that affectmangroves (Ranganath et al., 1989). Prawn culture is often carried out at theexpense of mangroves (Franklin and Palanivelu, 1989).

In India, there is severe pressure to convert mangrove forests foragriculture, industries, aquaculture and upstream river-water diversions forirrigation and other purposes. Such encroachments severely disturb mangroveecosystems by diminishing freshwater inflows, increasing soil salinity and interferingwith nutrient supply. In general, the mangrove forests in India are categorized as‘degraded’, due in part to illicit felling and cattle grazing, which put enormouspressure on this fragile coastal environment (Krishnamoorthy, 1997).

The decline of mangrove vegetation at Pichavaram inspite of it being aReserved Forest since 1880 might be ascribed to heavy anthropogenic pressures(collection of fire-wood, grazing and fishing). The Coleroon river linked to themangrove lagoon has been dammed for providing irrigation, thus depriving themangroves of freshwater supply at critical stages, resulting in an increase ofsalinity (Meher Homji, 1991).

Damage to the Sundarbans has been summarized by Scott (1989). In thewestern part large areas are settled and cultivated by people and very little naturalmangrove forest remains. Further more, there has been a major reduction in theinflow of freshwater into this part as a result of the construction of the FarakkaBarrage in 1971 designed to divert freshwater southwards and to alleviate therapid siltation in the port of Calcutta. The freshwater inflow in estuaries isnecessary for seed germination and establishment of mangrove seedlings (Scott,1989). The forest is almost without Heritiera fomes due to the decline in fresh-water supply (Karim, 1988). Large scale destruction of estuarine fish and prawnseed resources in Hooghly-Matlah estuarine system of the Sundarbans has beenreported (Das et al., 1987).

The destruction of seeds of brackishwater fin fish and shell fish has beenestimated in Sundarbans. The seed collectors destroy about 181.4 million seeds ofeconomic and uneconomic varieties of brackishwater fin fish and shell fish afterretaining only the seeds of tiger shrimp during January to September. The seedcollectors are interested in the seed of tiger shrimp only as it has trade value andthe fishermen intend to intensify effort towards collection of tiger shrimp for moremonetory return although their knowledge level towards fin fish and shell fishconservation has been found to be medium to high (Bhaumik et al., 1992).

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Due to different Government policies, Sagar island gradually becamealmost completely settled with a population of 149,222 (1991), naturally growingat 3.99% per year. Coastal erosion, that reduced the total supratidal area of Sagarby about a quarter within 144 years (from 284.55 km2 in 1851-55 to 219.26 km2

in 1997), forms the most important natural environmental hazard affecting theisland. Among other things, the erosion can primarily be related to the disturbanceof morphological steady state of the Hugli estuary due to reclamation of itsintertidal areas. Most of the erosion takes place episodically during tropicalcyclones (Bandyopadhyay, 1998).

Mangrove destruction in the Andamans and Nicobar is described by Baglaand Menon (1989). About 10,000 ha had reportedly been cut since 1960, mainlyfor fuel. Mangroves and coral reef of South Andaman Islands have been mappedthrough remote sensing data to identify the degraded areas due to human activities(Krishnamoorthy et al., 1993).

Human activities disturb the structural and functional aspects of mangroveforests of Andaman Islands. Species are very sensitive to anthropogenic pressures.The intensive cutting and browsing have resulted in almost total elimination of thespecies (Singh et al., 1990).

In Orissa, large area of mangroves are cleared in the Hatamundia ReservedForest for aquaculture purposes. Mangroves are degraded and cleared nearKaranjmal and near Paradip port on the mouth of the Mahanadi river (RSAM,1992).

Mangrove ecosystem in the Mahanadi delta (20°1 5’ to 20° 70’ N and87° to 87° 40’E) spreads over the southern part of the two districts, Cuttack andBalasore, and the mangroves constitute most significant mangal formation in Indiasupporting over 60 mangrove species. This highly productive ecosystem is an idealbase for pisiculture, crocodile farming, feeding ground for birds, and valuableforest based industries. Besides natural calamities, human exploitation, especiallyforest operation, land reclamation, resettlements, diversion of freshwater, rapiddeforestation and developmental activities are impoverishing this unique ecosystem(Banerjee, 1992).

Palynology of 4.30 m deep soil profile from Rambha has provided clues oftwo phases of mangrove development since mid-late Holocene. The first phasebetween 3,800 and 2,000 years B.P. has revealed the existence of core mangrove

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forest with a maximum development of rhizophoraceous members. This feature ofvegetation mosaic is suggestive of typical deltaic environment with consistency insea-level rise, leading to constant seawater depths in the estuary. Thereafter, insecond phase, traumatic decline in Rhizophoraceae, disappearance of Heritiera,sporadicity of Aegialitis, Sonneratia, etc. and overall degradation of coremangroves vis-a-vis uprise in the values of hinterland taxa has been recorded.This shift in the vegetation from frontline core mangroves to the peripheralmangrove components has been brought about by the lowering down of sea-levelsand plentiful freshwater discharge in the estuary since 2,000 years B.P. Anotherimportant feature of this study relates to the introduction of Casuarina andmember of Anacardiaceae in the mangrove areas around 700 years B.P. due toman-made activities (Khandelwal and Gupta, 1991).

In Andhra Pradesh, the mangroves are destroyed for prawn culture, saltmanufacturing, domestic uses, and also by cyclonic effects and due to replacementof Casuarina plantations by farmers (Jayasundaramma et al., 1987).

Cattle grazing is a major problem for destruction of mangroves especiallyin Pichavaram of Tamil Nadu. In Muthupet, the siltation, indiscriminate cutting andheavy human pressure are the problems. Elangovan (1993) has studied theecology, phenology, heavy metal distribution and sociology of the Pichavaram andMuthupet mangroves and has emphasized the need to educate the people aboutvarious aspects of mangroves.

The factors responsible for degradation of mangroves in Arabian sea areagriculture, constructions, urban development and industrialization (Untawale et al.,1992). In Gujarat State, there is an excessive grazing by camels in the Great Rann(Scott, 1989) while in the Gulf of Kachchh, loss of mangroves is as aconsequence of cutting for fuel and timber. In the past, trees are taller and denser;but many areas are now reduced to shrubby vegetation by grazing and cutting;95% of mature trees have been cut in the last 20 years (Chavan, 1985; Scott,1989).

The mangroves are severely degraded and reduced from 275 to 218sq.km in the part of Gulf of Kachchh and 138 to 33 sq.km in the core area of theMarine National Park, from 1975 to 1986. Near the mouth of the Gulf, themangroves along with the marsh vegetation are drastically reduced from 730 to180 sq. km. from 1975 to 1982. The destruction is mainly because of their use asfuel and fodder, and the proliferation of the salt works. The analysis of the satellitedata, thus helps in planning proper conservation measures and ultimately to itsbetter management (Nayak et al., 1988).

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In the Gulf of Khambhat, mangroves are heavily exploited and reduced toopen scrubby forest (Scott, 1989). There are formerly extensive tracts ofmangrove in the Gulf of Khambhat, but now there are probably less than 20,000ha (Scott, 1989; IUCN, 1993).

Mangrove destruction proceeds almost unhindered in Karnataka, Goa andMaharashtra. Mangroves on the Karnataka coast are being seriously damaged bypollution and felling. Mangroves in Goa are polluted by oil. The oil has affectedSonneratia spp. near Elephant Island, Mumbai (Bombay). Arsenic content inmangroves from Goa coast is reportedly more in young leaves than in mature andyellow leaves (Rao, et al., 1991). The mangrove lands are privately owned inalmost all parts of Maharashtra. These people have raised the level of mangroveland after clearing the vegetation to stop the inflow of high tide water for farmingor construction of buildings (Bhosale and Mulik, 1991a). In some areas ofMaharashtra, roads are being constructed right in the mangrove areas (Bhosaleand Mulik, 1991a). The major impacts of domestic sewage and industrial effluentson destruction of mangroves are much felt (Bhosale and Mulik, 1991b), Physico-chemical features of Thane creek of Maharashtra reveal that the pollutiondecreases the acreage of mangrove on the banks (Kadam, 1992).

The large coastal lagoons of Kerala suffered from uncontrolled urbandevelopment. Mangroves are felled for agriculture in large areas of coastal landsand that drastically altered the ecology of the swamps (Scott, 1989). Kerala oncehad over 7,000 hectares of mangroves fringing its unique estuarine systems(Ramachandran and Mohanan, 1987). Because of exploitation, indiscriminate landuse, reclamation activities etc., it has now become reduced to few discrete stands,confined to some small pockets of the Kerala backwaters. A mangrove locationthat demands immediate attention is at Kumarakom, located nearer to Kottayamtown on eastern bank of the Vembanad estuary. The impacts of tourism andreplantation of the coconut and rubber on the mangroves and the birdsanctuary have been critically evaluated based on simple biocybernetic principles(Ramachandran and Mohanan, 1987). At Cochin, mangroves have been destroyedfor fuel, agriculture, aquaculture and for development of roads, industries andhousing complexes (Sunil Kumar and Antony, 1994).

Biodeterioration of mangrove vegetation by marine organisms has beenwell-documented along Indian coast (Santhakumaran and Sawant, 1991). Thewood borers belonging to the genera of Bactronophorus, Teredo, Lyrodus,Bankia, Dicyathifer, Martesia and Sphaeroma damage mangroves in the Krishnaestuarine areas (Rambabu et al., 1987b). Marine wood-borers have been studied

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for their distribution along the east coast of India that include Andaman andNicobar islands. There are 11 species of wood borers viz., Bankiacampanellata, B. gracilis, B. rochi, Nausitora dunlopei, N. hedleyi,Nototeredo edax, Spathoteredo obtusa, Dicyathifer manni, Lyroduspedicellatus, Teredo furcifera and Mertesia striata. Of these species, Bankiagracilis and Spathoteredo obtusa are new records (Santhakumaran andSrinivasan, 1988).

Destruction of mangrove vegetation by Sphaeroma terebrans has beenrecorded along Kerala coast in Cochin backwaters (Santhakumari, 1991). InPichavaram, ten species of molluscan wood-borers cause damage to mangrovewood and they are five teredinids viz., Bankia campanellata, B. carinata,Dicyathifer manni, Lyrodus pedicellatus and Teredo furcifera; two pholads viz.,Martesia striata and M. nairi (Sivakumar, 1992; Sivakumar and Kathiresan,1995). Besides wood borers, wood fouling marine organisms like bryozoans dooccur in mangrove vegetation especially in the stilt roots of Rhizophora species inPichavaram (Nair, 1991).

A dangerous pest, Aspidiotus destructor (belonging to the phylum-Arthropoda, class-Insecta, order-Hemiptera and family-Diaspidiae) damages theseedlings of Rhizophora. This pest can be controlled by using monocrotophos,dimethoate and demeton (Kathiresan, 1993).

The problem of foliovory has been studied in 10 species of mangroves,damaging from 1 to 12% of leaf area. Avicennia species are highly damaged andCeriops decandra, Excoecaria agallocha and Rhizophora annamalayana areleast affected, and the damage is negatively correlated with tannin content ofmangrove leaves (Kathiresan, 1992). Another serious problem identified inPichavaram is that a large amount of propagules, which are produced in thecanopy just above the waterways, are washed into the sea and wasted. A specialcare, therefore, is suggested to collect the mature hypocotyls from the canopy andto plant them in appropriate places, which seems worthwhile in the presentconditions of fast disappearance of mangrove forests (Kathiresan and Moorthy,1992a).

11. CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Mangroves are mostly degraded except at few places. The total wetlandarea which has been converted for other uses is about 40 million hectares in India,

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as compared with 10 million hectares in Indonesia and about 2 million hectares inMalaysia (Untawale, 1992). The rate of deforestation in India is around 1.5 millionhectares per year. This deforestation had led to soil acidification, loss of nutrients,soil erosion and decline in fishery potential. Rehabilitation programmes for thesedegraded marsh areas have been suggested (Untawale, 1992). It is necessary toundertake management plans to conserve the mangroves (RSAM, 1992; Jagtap etal.,1993).

The luxuriant mangrove area needs more of protection and active manage-ment. A partially degraded area requires either natural regeneration (if propagulesare available abundantly) or rehabilitation (if propagules availablility is low). Aseriously degraded area needs reforestation. The most successful mangroves usedfor restoration of degraded areas are Avicennia marina, A. officinalis,Sonneratia caseolaris, Rhizophora mucronata and R. apiculata (Kathiresan,1999a).

The entire country has been mapped for her wetlands and shoreline, usingsatellite data by the Department of Space (RSAM, 1992). Hence, the classificationfor each mangrove area is known. For instance, the area classification ofPichavaram mangroves has been given in the Table 25 below, as per the revisedsatellite imagery and field census plots undertaken by the Institute of RemoteSensing, Anna University, Chennai (Madras).

Table 25. Area classification of Pichavaram Mangroves

The dense mangrove forest exists in 241 ha and the remaining ones may bepotential areas for mangrove plantation (RSAM, 1992). IRS-IA and IB data areuseful in providing information on the extent and condition of coastal habitats.These inputs have formed major elements for preparing coastal zone managementplans. IRS-IC data have improved spatial resolution (5.6 m PAN data), extendedspectral range (inclusion of middle infra-red band in LISS – III), increasedrepetitively (5 days for WiFS data) and opened up new vistas of applications inthe coastal zone. IRS-IC data indicate that coral reef zonation, identification oftree and shrub mangroves, seaweed/seagrass beds, improved delineation of coastalfeatures such as fringe mangroves, mudflats, beach, dune vegetation, saline areas

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etc., as well as better understanding of suspended sediment patterns are nowpossible. These additional information will certainly form vital remote-sensing-based input for preparing coastal zone management plans (Nayak et al., 1996).

Methods of conservation including afforestation of selected sites aresuggested (Jayasundaramma et al., 1987). The impact of human activities andenvironmental changes on mangroves have been analysed. Detailed guidelines arealso given for the rehabilitation of degraded marine ecosystems (Ahmad, 1990).The guidelines for the selection of mangrove areas for preservation, conservationand declaration of forest reserves and areas for agricultural and aquacultural usehave been proposed for the Bay Islands (Bandyopadhyay, 1991). A bookletentitled “How to grow mangroves” has been prepared in the National Institute ofOceanography, Goa (Untawale, 1986). Mangrove genetic resource centers forfurther research, development and management studies have been proposed(Deshmukh, 1991b). A tentative National Mangrove Plan for India is proposedfor the implementation of research and development programmes (Untawale,1991). Regeneration and growth performance have been studied in two species,Rhizophora mucronata and R. apiculata (Kulkarni and Bhosale, 1991). Theafforestation trials made in large scale at two sites in Goa and six sites inMaharashtra as a part of the UNDP/UNESCO regional mangrove project forAsia and the Pacific are described (Kogo, 1987). Similar attempt has been madein areas near Ratnagiri and Kalbadevi estuary with large scale plantation ofRhizophora mucronata (Kulkarni and Bhosale, 1992) and also in theSundarbans, on an experimental basis (Banerjee and Choudhury, 1987; Lahiri,1991). In the subsequent year with improved seed drill, better result has beenobtained. This method has opened up a possibility of large scale afforestation ofblank areas in mangrove swamp within a limited period (Lahiri, 1991).

Planting has been tried with Rhizophora apiculata and R. mucronata inthe Pichavaram mangroves (Sekar et al.,1989) as well as at Porto Novo at TamilNadu and Ariyankuppam area in Pondicherry of southeast coast of India(Kathiresan, 1995a; Kathiresan et al., 1996, 2000). Aerial seeding of Avicenniaand Sonneratia has been tried during August-September (1989) on the mud-flatsof Sundarbans and has achieved a 50% success (Lahiri, 1991).

The Indian Sundarbans extend over an area of 4,264 sq. km and is theonly “Mangrove Tigerland” of the world. Owing to a neotectonic movement,Bengal-basin tilted eastward during 12th to 16th Century, resulting in large scalereduction of freshwater flow, increase of salinity and accelerated tidal action of

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sea. This has caused progressive extinction of wild animals like Javan Rhino, WaterBuffaloe, Swamp Deer, Barking Deer, Gharial, Sweet Water Turtles like Chitraetc., from the Indian Sundarbans. The top predator, the Bengal Tiger roamsunabated in the mangroves forests. Along with the normal terrestrial prey like wildboar, cheetal and monkey, mangrove tiger also gets a portion of food from fish,crab, water monitor and turtles. Sundarbans Tiger Reserve has been formed with atotal conservation approach. Apart from declaring core area as National Parkrestoring strong legal protection, the management has also been taken into account,(a) catering to the needs of peripheral human population, (b) reducing the age-oldtiger-human conflict; and (c) special conservation efforts to save the threatenedspecies (Sanyal, 1992).

Mangroves and most of the halophytes prefer glykic conditions for theirseed germination. Different modes of seed germination in mangroves and theirsignificance has been studied (Bhosale and Mulik, 1991b).

Mangrove seedlings have been extensively investigated. Some chemicalsenhance the root growth of Rhizophora and Avicennia and the chemicals areNAA, IBA, Keradix, IAA, phenolics, GA3, methanol, boric acids, triacontanol etc.(Kathiresan et al., 1990, 1995; Kathiresan et al.,1993; Kathiresan and Moorthy,1994b, 1994c). Viviparous hypocotyls of Rhizophora mucronata treated withascorbic acid, KCl, KMNO4 and MgCl2 for 24, 48 and 72 hours at differentconcentrations exhibit initiation and elongation of roots (Kathiresan and Moorthy,1994a).

Some of these chemicals-triacontanol and methanol-enhance many fold ofphotosynthetic activity and biomass production in Rhizophora species (Moorthyand Kathiresan, 1993; Kathiresan and Moorthy, 1994d; Kathiresan et al., 1996).

Boric acid enhances the rooting at lower concentrations. For example, theboric acid improves rooting of Rhizophora apiculata hypocotyls when treatedwith 0.001% for 24 hours and 0.0001% for 48 hours (Kathiresan and Moorthy,1992b).

Most mangroves are now shrubby, with an average height of 2 m. whileAvicennia marina attains moderate height along creeks and towards the sea.Heights of dominant trees in the Gulf of Kachchh are normally 5 to 7 m, rarelyexceeding 9 m in western mangroves (Singh, 2000).

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Exposure of mangrove seedlings to electric current has been studied at anintensity of 10, 20 and 30 mA for 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hrs in differentcombinations, either to plumule or radicle or both parts of the propagules ofRhizophora mucronata. The root elongation is significantly influenced by durationof exposure, site of propagule treated and combined effects of current intensity xsite of propagule treated. Leaf number and area are significantly influenced byintensity of electric current and duration of exposure; whereas shoot elongation isaffected by the duration of exposure. The root number is significantly affected byduration of exposure (Kathiresan and Rajendran, 2000).

Root growth of R. mucronata has been studied in seedlings, which aregrown in estuarine water with leaf litter of nine mangrove and associate species,separately under laboratory conditions. The root growth is inhibited by theleachates of leaf litter remarkably by Suaeda monoica, Lumnitzera racemosa,Ceriops decandra and Rhizophora apiculata (Kathiresan et al., 1993).

Effect of effluent from a shrimp pond on shoot biomass of five species ofmangroves has been studied. It is suggested that atleast 70% of diluted effluents isrequired for growing vigourous seedlings (Rajendran and Kathiresan, 1996).

The rooting performance of Rhizophora mucronata exhibits a wide rangeof salt tolerance. Rooting takes place even in freshwater and in salinity of 45 g/1.However, the rooting potential is reduced by 28% in 40 g/1 as compared to thatin freshwater. Better rooting is recorded in salinity ranging from 15 to 35 g/1(Kathiresan, 1996). The silt clay loam and clay loam favour the shoot growth by22.7% and 138.9% and leaf area expansion by 69% and 116.6% in R. apiculataand R. mucronata respectively when irrigated with freshwater (Kathiresan et al.,1996, 1997).

The optimal conditions favourable for growth of Rhizophora species havebeen standardized, such as propagule length, plantation depth, soil depth, soiltype, salinity, leachates, pH and light intensity (Kathiresan and Thangam, 1989;Kathiresan and Thangam, 1990; Kathiresan and Xavier Ramesh, 1991; Kathiresanand Moorthy, 1992a, 1993; Kathiresan et al., 1993; Kathiresan et al., 1995).

Performance of mangrove seedlings has been studied under natural fieldconditions. The seedlings easily get adapted in the natural soil habitats whenplanted after chemical treatments. The Rhizophora apiculata seedlings grow morerapidly in lower intertidal zones than those in upper intertidal ones of the Vellar

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estuary in Tamil Nadu. The growth is also rapid towards the monsoon month ofDecember associated with low salinity and high levels of nutrients (Kathiresan etal., 1996).

The mangrove species show better growth performance while grown in soilsubstrate inoculated with cyanobacterial mat (Palaniselvam and Kathiresan, 1998).The seedlings of Rhizophora apiculata exhibit better growth performance in theVellar estuarine area, which is rich in potassium (Kathiresan et al., 1994). Theartificial pruning of shoot apices of seedlings of Rhizophora species (R. apiculataand R. mucronata) has resulted in increased branches upto 5 (Kathiresan, 1989).

All these investigations have developed the techniques beneficial for raisingvigorous seedlings of mangroves in nursery and filed conditions (Kathiresan,1995d).

A large scale plantation of the mangroves in degraded shorelines is animmediate need to protect coastal economy. But, conventional type of mangrovepropagation is difficult due to some physiological constraints. In this context, tissueculture appears to be promising as a number of propagules can be produced bythis technique in a short span of time in many non-mangrove species (Kathiresan,1990).

The techniques of tissue culture and vegetative propagation have beenattempted to regenerate endangered species of mangroves (Kathiresan, 1990;Kathiresan and Ravikumar, 1993, 1995b). Tissue culture has been successful toinduce callus formation in leaf explants from five species of marine halophytes viz.,Salicornia brachiata, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Sonneratia apetala, Suaedamonoica and Xylocarpus granatum (Kathiresan and Ravikumar, 1997).

As the mangrove seeds are available mainly in summer months along westcoast of India, a method for storage of these seeds upto 4 months has beenproposed. The technique involves wrapping of the seeds in blotting paper or acoarse cloth 3 to 4 fold to cover its 1/3 portion or radicular end by keeping thepaper/coarse cloth always moist by sprinkling water from time to time, withoutallowing the propagules to dry out (Gaykar and Bhosale, 1990).

12. MANAGEMENT OF MANGROVES

The Government of India has committed for the conservation of forestsand wildlife. This is evidently demonstrated by a 1976 amendment to the Indian

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Constitution, which states that it shall be the duty of every citizen of India toprotect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers andwildlife.

Realizing the importance of mangroves, the Government of India set up theNational Mangrove Committee in the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1976to advise the government about mangrove conservation and development. In itsfirst meeting, the panel, which consists of scientists, researchers and experts on themangrove ecosystem, emphasized the need to conduct a survey of the extent ofexisting mangrove areas within the country. The government subsequentlyintroduced a scheme for mangrove conservation and protection, consisting of : (i)identification of selected mangrove areas for conservation; (ii) preparation of amanagement plan; (iii) promotion of research; (iv) adoption of a multidisciplinaryapproach involving state governments, universities, research institutions and localorganizations.

In 1979, the National Mangrove Committee recommended areas forresearch and development and for management of the mangroves, which includedthe following:

• nation wide mapping of the mangrove areas, preferably by remote sensingtechniques coupled with land surveys, and time series to assess the rate ofdegradation of the ecosystems;

• quantitative surveys of area, climatic regime, rate of growth of forests treesand seasonal variations of environmental parameters;

• assessment of suitable sites for reserve forests;

• conservation programmes;

• afforestation of degraded mangrove areas;

• study of management methods, the ecology of mangroves, their flora andfauna, their microbiology and the biochemistry of organic matter andsediments.

The government also supports research by academic institutions fordevelopment of mangrove ecosystems on a sound ecological basis. In 1987, the

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National Mangrove Committee identified 15 areas (Table 26) to start with forconservation and preparation of management action plan and the committee alsoidentified the nodal academic/research institutions. The action plan for theconcerned areas are drawn up by the state level Steering Committees. Now, morethan 32 areas are under active conservation and management. The action plansbroadly cover natural regeneration in selected areas, afforestation and protectivemeasures. These plans have been implemented with the financial assistance of theMinistry of Environment and Forests. Simultaneously many research projectsrelated to mangrove conservation are carried out in academic institutions, with thefinancial assistance of Ministry of Environment and Forests and various State andCentral Governmental agencies.

Table 26. The areas selected for the management of the mangroves by theNational Mangrove Committee (1987)

M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai initiated a project onconservation of mangrove genetic resources with an assistance from InternationalTropical Timber Organization, Japan, in 1991. The center identified 23 sites fromnine countries: Papua New Guinea, The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,India, Pakistan, Cameroon and Senegal, as potential sites for establishment ofmangrove genetic resources conservation centers. In India alone, 4 sites have beenidentified viz., Chorao Island (Goa), Pichavaram, Coringa and Bhitarkanika(Swaminathan et al., 1994). Also, a Mangrove Ecosystems Information Service(MEIS) is functioning in the Foundation. Similar Environmental Information SystemCentre (ENVIS) has been established in the Centre of Advanced Study in MarineBiology in 1992 with the financial assistance of the Ministry of Environment andForests, Government of India, New Delhi.

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In India, a legislative framework for the conservation and management ofmangroves is already in place. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 and the Wildlife(Protection) Act, 1972 provide protection to flora and fauna. There is mentionabout mangroves, but these Acts can also apply to the conservation of mangroveecosystems. Since 1927, the Indian Forest Act has been applied to the mangroveforests of the Sundarbans, which have been declared as a reserved area (Naskarand Mandal, 1999).

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 states that no forest area shall bediverted for any non-forestry purpose without prior approval of the Government ofIndia. This Act has proved very effective in preventing diversion of mangroveforest areas for non-forestry purposes.

The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 has had a crucial role in theconservation and management of mangrove ecosystems. It declares a CoastalRegulation Zone in which industrial and other activities such as discharge ofuntreated water and effluents, dumping of wastes, land reclamation and bundingare restricted in order to protect the coastal environment. Coastal stretches areclassified into four categories and mangroves are included in the most ecologicallysensitive category. The National Forest Policy, 1988 lists effective conservationand management of natural forest ecosystems (including the mangrove ecosystem)as a priority area for forestry research.

13. RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to conserve the mangrove ecosystem the following steps to betaken into account.

• To findout the alternatives to the local community who are depending onmangroves for their fuelwood, timber and fodder requirements.

• To stop the development activities such as aquaculture, agriculture, landreclamation activities for human settlement, mining, and industrialization inthe mangrove area.

• Biological parameters should be monitored through research to facilitatenatural regeneration and further growth of mangroves.

• Reasons for degradation of the mangrove area should be analyzed.

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• Artificial planting should be taken up in all the suitable places includingdegraded areas.

• Efforts should taken to revegete rare and endangered species and savethem from extinction.

• Much research on problems related to management of the mangroveecosystems.

• Training should be given to forest officials and other related staff for betterconservation and management.

• More funding should be provided to carryout research on mangroveecosystem for better resource management.

• A strong enforcement of rules and regulations regarding conservation ofmangroves be implemented.

• Incentives to be given to the staff members who are involved in the betterconservation and management.

• To engage the local people in all the mangrove management programmes.

• Awareness programmes should be organized to import knowledge aboutthe importance of mangrove ecosystems to people who dwell in themangrove ecosystem for better management. Also the people should beeducated through films, exhibitions, newspapers, magazines, posters,stickers, brochures, banners, seminars, nature camps, birdwatching, studytours in the mangrove forests and establishment of mangroves.

14. CONCLUSIONS

Estuaries of India are biologically rich in fishery resources due to mangrovevegetation. Any damage or destruction to this ecosystem can destroy coastalfisheries (Achuthankutty, 1990). In the tropical and subtropical coastal countries,millions of people have their livelihood from fisheries in the mangrove estuaries.Afforestation of denuded areas should be given top priority with participation ofthe local people. Much more research is required for the fast development andbetter diversification of mangrove vegetation in our Country. The results of these

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investigation have to be reviewed from time to time. More awareness programmeson mangrove conservation with scientific base are necessary.

Over 453 research papers on Indian mangroves have been published in a13 year period from 1987 to 2000 (Table 27). Ecology and faunal aspects havebeen well-studied as evident through the 40% of total research papers on there.About 30% of papers pertain other mangrove - related aspects such asmicrobiology, biochemistry and plankton. The papers on pollution, toxicity andmanagement aspects constitute about 14% of publications. The aspects whichreceived poor attention are on degradation, geology, flora and utilization. All thestudies mentioned above are lying scattered. A lot of scientific information isunpublished and lying as grey literature. A integrated approach in mangroveresearch is highly warranted to publish much more reports in order to formulateconcrete policies and practices for better conservation and management of Indianmangroves.

Table 27. Research papers published for Indian mangroves in a 13 yearperiod from 1987-2000

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INDIAMangrove Forests

Published by the Environmental Information System Centre, Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology,Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamilnadu, India.

I N D I A N O C E A N

PAKIST

AN

Gulf ofKachchh

Gulf of Khambat

A R

A B

I A

N

S E

A

Ratnagiri

Goa

Kundapura

Vembanad

LAKSHADWEEP(LACCADIVE)ISLANDS

SRI

LA

NK

A

Muthupet

Pichavaram

Krishna estuary

Coringa

Mahanadi DeltaBhitarkanika

Sundarbans

••

•

••

•••

•••

NEPAL

BANGLADESH

BURM

AANDAMANISLANDS

10° Channal

NICOBARISLANDS

Kilometers

100 0 200100 300