Abstract
Harbours are heavily stressed coastal habitats characterised by high concentration of contaminant and low diversity of benthic community. The west coast of India harbours most of the major harbours compared to the east coast. Very few studies have compared the macrobenthic community between different Indian harbours. The present study was therefore conducted in three important harbour (Ratnagiri, Goa, Karwar) along the central west coast of India. The paper discusses the health status of the three harbours diagnosed using various biotic indices. Sediment samples were collected using van Veen grab (0.11 m2) on board CRV Sagar Sukti. A total of 55 macrobenthic taxa were identified and were numerically dominated by polychaete. Biomass was high (0.14–145.7 g m–2) and was made largely by echiurans (>80%). Overall, polychaete dominated the macrobenthic diversity. Opportunistic P.pinnata, Notomastus sp. and Mediomastus sp., dominated the macrobenthic community responding to the increased in the harbour. Biotic indices (Polychaete:Amphipod ratio, ABC curve and geometric class abundance) and the dominance of opportunistic species indicate that, the three harbours are under stress from anthropogenic activities.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anon (2003). Road Map for Oil Spill Management for India. In A report of the project review and monitoring committee for oil spill management.
Anon (1996). Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Coastal Pollution. Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India, (30 pp). New Delhi.
Ansari, Z. A., Achuthankutty, C. T., & Dalal, S. G. (2006). Overexploitation of fishery resources, with particular reference Goa. In S. Sonak (Ed.), Multiple dimension of global environmental change (pp. 285–299). New Delhi: TERI Press.
Ansari, Z. A., Sreepada, R. A., & Kanti, A. (1994). Macro benthic assemblage in the soft sediment of Mormugao harbour, Goa (central west coast of India). Indian Journal of Marine Science, 23, 225–231.
Belan, T. A. (2003). Marine environmental quality assessment using polychaete taxocene characteristics in Vancouver harbour. Marine Environmental Research, 57, 89–101.
Bryan, G. W., & Langston, W. J. (1992). Bioavailability, accumulation and effects of heavy metals in sediments with a special reference to United Kingdom estuaries: A review. Environmental Pollution, 76, 89–131.
Carrasco, F. D. (1997). Sublittoral macrobenthic fauna off Punta Coloso, Antofagasta, northern Chile: High persistence of the polychaete assemblages. Bulletin of Marine Science, 60, 443–459.
Clarke, K. R., & Warwick, R. M. (1994). Changes in marine communities: An approach to statistical analysis and interpretation. Plymouth, England: Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
Danulat, E., Muniz, P., García-Alonso, J., & Yannicelli, B. (2002). First assessment of the highly contaminated harbour of Montevideo, Uruguay. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44, 554–565.
Dauvin, J. C., & Ruellet, T. (2007). Polychaete/amphipod ratio revisited. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 55(1–6), 215–224.
Franz, D. R., & Tanacredi, J. T. (1999). Secondary production of the Amphipoda, Ampelisca abidita mills and its impact in the diet of juvenile winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus). In Jamaica Bay, N. Estuaries (Vol. 15, pp. 193–203).
Glémarec, M., & Hily, C. (1981). Perturbations apportées à la macrofaune benthique de la baie de Concarneau par les effluents urbains et portuaires. Acta Oecologica Oecologia Applicata, 2, 139–150.
Guerra-García, J., & García-Gómez, J. C. (2004). Polychaete assemblage and sediment pollution in a harbour with two opposing entrances. Helgoland Marine Research, 58, 183–191.
Harkantra, S. N. (2004). Benthos and demersal fishery resources assessment in the shelf region of Indian coast. In V. S. Somvanshi (Ed.), Large marine ecosystems: Exploration and exploitation for sustainable development and conservation on fish stocks, Fishery survey of India (pp. 54–58).
Hines, A. H., Hadden, A. E., & Weichest, L. A. (1990). Guild structure and foraging impact of blue crabs and epibenthic fish in a sub estuary of Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecological Progress Series, 67, 105–126.
Holm-Hansen, O. (1978). Chlorophyll a determination: Improvements in methodology. Oikos, 30, 438–447.
Ingole, B. S., Rodrigues, N., & Ansari, Z. A. (2002). Macrobenthic communities of the coastal waters of Dabhol, west coast of India. Indian Journal of Marine Science, 31(2), 93–99.
Ingole, B., Sivadas, S., Goltekar, R., Clemente, S., Nanajkar, M., Sawant, R., et al. (2006). Ecotoxicological effect of grounded MV river princess on the intertidal benthic organisms of Goa. Environment International, 32, 284–289.
Lowe, S., & Thompson, B. (1997). Identifying benthic indicators for San Francisco bay, regional monitoring program, annual report. Oakland, CA: San Francisco Estuary Institute.
Madhupratap, M., Nair, K. N. V., Gopalakrishnan, T. C., Haridas, P., Nair, K. K., Venugopal, P., et al. (2001). Arabian sea oceanography and fisheries of the West Coast of India. Current Science, 81, 355–361.
Nanajkar, M., & Ingole B. S. (2007). Nematode species diversity as indicator of stressed environment along the central west coast of India. In P. V. Desai & R. Roy (Eds.), Diversity and life processes from ocean and land (pp. 42–52).
Pearson, T. H., & Rosenberg, R. (1978). Macrobenthic succession in relation to organic enrichment and pollution of the marine environment. Oceanography and Marine Biology An annual Review, 16, 229–311.
Raman, A. V. (1995). Pollution effects in Visakhapatnam harbour, India: An overview of 23 years of investigation and monitoring. Helgoland Meeresunters, 49, 633–645.
Rhoads, D. C., & Boyer, L. F. (1982). The effects of marine benthos on physical properties of sediments. A successional perspective. In P. L. McCall & M. J. S Tevesz (Eds.), Animal–sediment relations (Vol. 1, pp. 3–52). New York: Plenum Publication Yale.
Rivero, S. M., Elías, R., & Vallariona, E. A. (2005). First survey of macroinfauna in the Mar del Plata Harbour (Argentina), and the use of polychaetes as pollution indicators. Revista de Biologia Marina y Oceanografía, 40(2), 101–108.
Sengupta, R., Naik, S., & Varadachari, V. V. R. (1989). Environmental pollution in coastal areas of India. In P. Bourdeau, J. A. Haines, W. Klein, & C. R. Krishna Murti (Eds.), Ecotoxicology and climate (pp. 235–246). UK: Scope 38 Wiley.
Somvanshi, V. S., Varghese, S., & Pillai, N. G. K. (2003). National report on tuna fisheries, research and development in India. In Proceedings of indian ocean tuna commission (pp. 1–8). IOTC-SC-03.
Stull, J. K., Haydock, C. I., Smith, R. W., & Montagne, D. E. (1986). Long-term changes in the benthic community on the coastal shelf of Palos Verdes, Southern California. Marine Biology, 91(4), 539–551.
Vincent, C., Heinrich, H., Edwards, A., Nygaard, K., & Haythornthwaite, J. (2002). Guidance on typology, reference conditions and classifications systems for transitional and coastal waters, CIS working group 2.4 (Coast) Common Implementation Strategy of the water Framework Directive, European Commission.
Warwick, R. M., & Clarke, K. R. (1994). Relearning the ABC: Taxonomic changes and abundance/biomass relationships in disturbed benthic communities. Marine Biology, 118, 739–744.
Warwick, R. M. (1986). A new method for detecting pollution effects on marine macrobenthic communities. Marine Biology, 92, 562–557.
Webber, D. F., & Kelly, K. W. (2003). Characterization of sources of organic pollution to Kingston Harbour, the extent of their influence and some rehabilitation recommendations. Bulletin of Marine Science, 73(2), 257–271.
Wilhm, J. L., & Dorris, T. C. (1966). Species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in a stream receiving domestic and oil refinery effluents. American Midland Naturalist, 76, 427–449.
Zingde, M. D. (2002). Degradation of marine habitats and coastal management framework. In Proceedings of the national seminar on creeks, estuaries and mangroves—pollution and conservation, thane (pp. 3–7).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ingole, B., Sivadas, S., Nanajkar, M. et al. A comparative study of macrobenthic community from harbours along the central west coast of India. Environ Monit Assess 154, 135–146 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0384-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0384-5