Mesozooplankton community structure in a degrading mangrove ecosystem of the Cochin coast, India

• DOI: 10.1111/lre.12159
• Publication Date: 2017-03-22T23:09:10Z
• Authors: Suseela Sreelekshmi; Chakkalakkal M. P...; Philomina Joseph; Rani Varghese; Sivasankaran Bijo...
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 14. Life underwater; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

Abstract The diversity, abundance and community structure of mesozooplankton from the hydrographically differing mangrove habitats in Cochin, Kerala (India), were investigated. Eleven zooplankton groups identified, with calanoid copepods (62%) comprising predominant population, followed by crustacean nauplii (22%) mysids (12%). Nitrogen limiting (N: P ratio 5.13 ± 7.03) a mixo‐mesohaline salinity (8.96 3 psu) relatively low temperatures (30.28 0.9 °C) was characteristic feature study zones. Non‐metric multidimensional scaling based on Bray–Curtis similarity ( PRIMER ) analysis revealed there little variation among sampling sites (stress 0.05; ANOSIM test Global R :0.325). BEST indicated that temperature exhibited best correlation ρ = 0.701) fauna. results this severe reduction abundance, biomass diversity. It is clear communities are depleting, along vegetation, because shallowness unsuitable environmental conditions water bodies attributable to anthropogenic stresses.