Volume : 4, Issue : 4, April - 2015

A STUDY ON DIVERSITY OF MOLLUSCS IN MAYABUNDER ISLANDS

Priyankadevi, K. Revathi, C. Raghunathan

Abstract :

<p>&nbsp;he Andaman sea Eco region is biologically rich in both diversity and abundance. The high diversity is encountered from&nbsp;</p> <div>genus to individual species, habitat and ecosystems. The coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, marine lakes and deep&nbsp;</div> <div>sea valleys of the region form a constellation of diverse habitat that support a spectacular variety of fauna. Molluscs&nbsp;</div> <div>are highly successful inverteates in terms of ecology and adaptation and are found nearly in all habitats ranging from deepest ocean trenches&nbsp;</div> <div>to the intertidal zones, and freshwater to land occupying a wide range of habitats. Much of the molluscan diversity occurs in the tropical world.&nbsp;</div> <div>Despite this great diversity, very few studies on molluscs have been carried out in the tropical world. An attempt was made to study the diversity&nbsp;</div> <div>and distribution of molluscs along the intertidal regions of mayabunder islands. During the survey three different beaches of mayabunder were&nbsp;</div> <div>selected, named, Aves Island, Sound Island and Karmatang beach. The study area lies in the northern part of the middle Andaman Island 12.93&nbsp;</div> <div>N 92.93 E. A total of 45 molluscs (bivalves and gastropods) were investigated from these islands. Gastropods were more abundant than the&nbsp;</div> <div>bivalves. Maximum species were obtained from Karmatang beach as compared to Aves Island and Sound Island. The dominant gastropods&nbsp;</div> <div>species belong to order Neogastropoda in Aves Island and Karmatang beach and species under order Littorinimorpha were found rich in Sound&nbsp;</div> <div>Island. The community structure is stable around the study area; it seems that habitat type has a strong influence on the distribution and&nbsp;</div> <div>abundance of both phyla. The present study investigated rich diversity of molluscs which included gastropods and bivalves. The result of the&nbsp;</div> <div>present study will be discussed.</div>