Journal of the Indian Fisheries Asso 9 30, 2003, 9-17

CROBE HOS OF INTERTIDAL ZONE OF VERSOVA ALONG T COAST OF t>AI

K. Anandan, P. K. Varshney*, A. K. Jaiswar and Chandra Prakash Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Fisheries University Road, Versova, - 400 061 *Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Lucknow Centre, Chinhat, Lucknow - 227 105

S rzCT To assess the biodiversity of macrobenthos in the changing environment along the coast of Mumbai, the intertidal zone of Versova was identified. The water quality in this intertidal region was poor with low pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen, and high nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and ammonia. The substratum was sandy with 1.29% organic matter in it. Mean faunal density of 2257 no./m2 was recorded during the study which was mainly contributed by polychaetes (83.5%) followed by amphipods (14.5%), while other groups represented were isopods, crabs, hermit crabs, unidentified decapods, pelecypods and gastropods. Average biomass of 34.83 g/m 2 (93.7%) was contributed by polychaetes. Shannon and Wiener Index (0.4107) indicated heavy pollution in the intertidal area of Versova.

Key words: Macrobenthos, intertidal, density, biomass, pollution, Shannon and Wiener index

INTRODUCTION area of 1.36 km Z receives sewage (131,000,000 1/d) and industrial wastes The intertidal areas of Mumbai have (600,0001/d) from the adjacent areas. been polluted due to the discharge of industrial waste and sewage. Pollution of The production potential of demersal the intertidal areas of Mumbai has resulted fishery of the near-shore region is dependent in the loss of biodiversity from the coastal on the production of benthos of the region. areas. Some of the localities have become To assess this production potential of completely baiTen. Benthic organisms are macrobenthos, a large number of the most disturbed group among the affected investigations on fauna have been carried fauna of the intertidal area. Versova Creek out at different intertidal areas of Mumbai and the intertidal area along the Versova (Varshney, 1982; Padmakumar, 1983; Village are the examples of such affected Dwivedi and Varshney, 1986; Jaiswar, areas. This small creek with an aproximate 1999). However, information on the

* Corresponding author 10 K. ANANDAN, P. K. VARSHNEY, A. K. JAISWAR AND CHANDRA PRAKASH

intertidal fauna of Versova Creek is scanty Holme and McIntyre (1984). For the (Sreeramamurthy, 1980). Therefore, the estimation of density and biomass, sediment present study on the intertidal from 0.1-m2 area was collected in replicates macrobenthos of Versova in the prevailing from each zone, and was sieved with 0.5- environmental conditions was taken up. mm mesh sieve and preserved with rose Bengal solution for identification and analysis in the laboratory. The benthic MATERIAL AND METHODS population in the 0.1-m 2 area was considered to assess the density and Study Area biomass. Averages often random samples Versova Creek is the mouth of the of benthos each from 1-m 2 area at marked Creek in the northwest part of Mumbai. It stations of the fixed transect were computed. opens into the Arabian Sea in south. At the For biomass estimation, benthic animals northern extremity, it has a dense forest of found in 1-m2 area were weighed. mangroves, which has been continuously To correlate the distribution and destroyed and reclaimed. The common abundance patterns with pollution in mangrove species reported is Avecinea different months, Shannon and Wiener marina. Versova beach is sandy and index was calculated by the formula: partially protected by the , which is northward of Versova opposite to S Malad. H' = lin Pi ln i=1 Three sampling stations were identified and fixed in the intertidal zone in the upper where, H' = diversity index, S = total littoral, mid littoral and lower littoral zones number of species in the community sample in a transect (Stephenson, 1953). The and Pi = proportion of ith species in the sampling for environmental and biological community sample. parameters was done during spring low tide of every month from September 2001 to February 2002. The environmental RESULTS parameters included air and water The results of environmental temperatures, pH, alkalinity, chloride, parameters studied for Versova are salinity, dissolved oxygen, free CO 2, presented in Table 1. ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, organic matter, iron, and manganese in water. Sediment was differentiated into Temperature sand, silt and clay using sieves of different Both air and water temperatures mesh sizes (Holme and McIntyre, 1984). recorded at Verosva varied form 22.0 to The water and sediment samples were 32.5 0C and from 19.5 to 29.0 ° C, analyzed following the method of Strickland respectively. The highest air (32.5 °C) and and Parsons (1968). The analysis of benthic water (29.0°C) temperatures were recorded samples was done following the method of

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MACROBENTHOS OF INTERTIDAL ZONE OF VERSOVA 11 ALONG THE COAST OF MUMBAI

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in the month of October 2001, while the dissolved oxygen content (4 mg/1) was lowest was recorded in the month of recorded in September and October 2001. January 2002. The average air and water temperatures for the six months were 26.58 Free Carbon Dioxide and 24.91°C, respectively. The free carbon dioxide ranged between of 8.0 mg/1 in September 2001 to 4.0 mg/I pH in November 2001. The average value was The pH values varied form 7.4 to 8.2. 5.05 mg/1 for the entire period. The maximum pH (8.2) was recorded in January and February 2002, and the lowest monia-Nitrogen pH (7.4) was observed in September and October 2001. It was also noticed that pH The ammonia-nitrogen ranged from increased gradually from October to 0.80 to 0.90 mg/I and the average value for February. the entire period was 0.85 mg/l. The ammonia-nitrogen content gradually increased from September to February and Alkalinity the highest value was observed in February The alkalinity ranged from 140 to 170 2002. mg/l. The alkalinity gradually increased from September to February and the Nitrite-Nitrogen maximum alkalinity (170 mg/1) was recorded in February. The average The values of nitrite-nitrogen varied alkalinity for the six months was 158.6 within a narrow range of 0.85 mg/I in mg/l. November 2001 to 0.90 mg/1 in February 2002 and the average value for the entire period was 0.87 mg/I. Salinity The salinity varied within the range of Nitrate-Nitrogen 30 to 35%0. The maximum salinity was noticed in February 2001 and the lowest The nitrate-nitrogen contents varied one was recorded in September 2001. The from 1.38 mg/l in September 2001 to 1.47 average salinity for the six months was mg/1 in February 2002. The nitrate 33.2%0. content increased gradually from September 2001 to February 2002. The average nitrate- nitrogen content for the six months was Dissolved Oxygen 1.43 mg/l. The dissolved oxygen content ranged form 4.0 to 4.6 mg/l. The average dissolved Inorganic Phosphorous oxygen content for the entire period was 4.2 mg/1. The highest value (4.6 mg/1) was The inorganic phosphate-phosphorus observed in November 2001 while the lowest content was poor. The values varied from • -

MACROBENTHOS OF INTERTIDAL ZONE OF VERSOVA 13 ALONG THE COAST OF MUMBAI

0.12 to 0.15 mg/l. The average value of 1-1 6750

phosphate-phosphorus during the course of 6890 CV 1-4 Cl study was 0.13 mg/l. N 6900 6900 4.4 1-4 !--) I I I CO Organic Matter in Water O An increasing trend in the organic Cl N matter from September 2001 (78.0 mg/1) to 0 0 0 0 N 1-4 '44 L-- February 2002 (87.5 mg/1) was seen. The N C0 E- ClI I I ,„..4 CO 0 • average value of organic matter in water i- for six months was '83.08 mg/l.

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01 Cl The sediment at Versova beach was 1 Cl basically sandy in nature as it comprised N 98.5% sand, 1.0% silt and 0.5% clay. Analysis of the sediment revealed 0.75% organic carbon, 1.29% total organic matter, 1-1 0.0075% total nitrogen and pH 7.5. 0 0 r-4 0 CO 10 rl y-i 1-1

Population Density

0 920 A general pattern of density distribution ,....1 N 0 0 cv, 1.-4 "7P C0 I I was observed where low density occurred CO 3460 -,o 0T-4 at upper littoral level, and higher values in o o 0 0 0 C-- Cl 1-4 Cl CT) (.0 00 S1 I r2 i I I C- co mid and lower littoral levels. The highest .,, :i ,-4 r-i cn cs1 ti ci)(1) population density of macrobenthos was 0 . "Cl 14 i 2. I 1 11-rD 1 I Lo observed at mid littoral (6900 no CN the month of February 2002, chiefly .-,, crs -,_›, • al contributed by polychaetes. The monthly K 6:4 "CS O rn rn ril cn cl) ci) CD 'CI 'CI average population density varied from a., o 4-) 'CI to 'CS 0 0 . 0 .. . -4 CI 0 a, - -0 Cl -0c, 4. C241 '1:1a0) ci) 0 o 0 o aD 837 no./m2 in January to 4720 no./m2 in Q ;--1 CD 0, cel -,. 1 sa, g°2 February (Table 2). czi 'cl o .,, C D i 71 5 C g "4 -C 4 E— 1 E4 PA t-ICI) 0 ca., 0 rd El <4 for entireperiod(Table 4). from 0.094inFebruary2002to0.920 December 2001withan averageof0.4107 calculated duringthestudyperiodvaried decapods (0.47%)andamphipods(0.26%). period followedbypelecypods(5.00%), were recordedfromupperlittoralzone(1.516- biomass wererecordedfrommid(0.154- 93.78% ofthetotalbiomassforentire 26.840 g/m m m weight) recordedwas23.63g/m February (Table3).Highervaluesof Biomass 28.05 g/m September, 12.29g/m Lumbrinereis hartmani 118.160 g/m (Natica lineata) crabs, hermitpelecypods,gastropods was theseconddominantgroup,which occasionally represented. the totalpopulationchieflyconstitutedby the dominantgroupcontributing83.5%to pelceypods andgastropods.Polychaetawas contributed 14.5%tothetotal.Isopods, and was mainlyconstitutedbypolychaetes, 14 Faunal Composition amphipods, isopods,crabs,hermit 2 2 inNovember,29.98g/m ) littoralregions,whilelowvaluesof Shannon andWienerdiversityindex The averagemonthlybiomass(wet Nephthys The benthicfaunaofVersovabeach K. ANANDAN,P.VARSHNEY,A.JAISWARANDCHANDRAPRAKASH 2 2 inJanuaryand86.46g/m ). Polychaetesalonecontributed 2 ) andlower(2.499-124.936 sp. (Nephthydae).Amphipoda and decapodswere 2 inOctober,28.30g/ (Lumbrinereidae) 2 inDecember, 2 in 2 in g/ • C) Co ,—, 0 0 C/2 0 cd 0 4 CD ■ Cl Cl 4 Cl •••4 Li ct) , - ,_, 0 , CO N CD CD • C° 0 CD CO CC " CO 1-1 C) Cl U) N CO CO N CO 1--1 N 6 r-)1 CD CC ca • U) 'C° 1--I 0 CO • 0 CD CO 1-4 N t14 CO C) o - . . !

118.160 115.5.593 o CO • c) r•-) tn ° LC d • CO U) Lo , I I )t R I 6 v-4 r I 1 1 - 1 I I 6 ci I I I , I I 1 i) CO U) Cl Cc; 0 (g) 0 CD cC N I I 1

I

Unidentified

34.609 5.822 Average biomass

MACROBENTHOS OF INTERTIDAL ZONE OF VERSOVA 15 ALONG THE COAST OF MUMBAI

Table 4: Monthly Shannon and Wiener were recorded at the upper littoral zone index at Versova during the present study. Anandan (2002) Month Diversity also observed similar results for Seven Bungalows, Versova, Madh Island and September 2001 0.573 Creek. It is the general pattern of October 2001 0.423 distribution of organisms in the intertidal November 2001 0.264 area (Jaiswar, 1999) and polychaetes December 2001 0.920 dominate in the benthos of the coastal regions (Varshney, 1982). In the present January 2002 0.190 study also, they were the dominant group February 2002 0.094 contributing 83.5% to the total population. The important species reported to contribute were L. hartmani and Nephthys sp. The. DISCUSSION second dominant group was amphipods followed by isopods, crabs, hermit crabs The lower values of pH, alkalinity, other decapods, pelecypods and gastropods. salinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate Pelecypoda was represented by Donax sp., observed in September may be due to the while Natica lineata land run off during monsoon, and the higher - represented Gastropoda. These species were also reported values thereafter may be clue to the from the adjacent Seven Bungalows beach precipitation during post monsoon. Similar (Anandan, 2002). The low population density results have been observed by earlier and biomass at the Versova intertidal area workers (Varshney, 1982; Varshney et al., may primarily be due to the pollution stress 1988; Anandan, 2002) for Mumai waters. and secondarily due to the sandy Sediment was sandy in nature, i.e., it substratum. Damodaran (1973) and contained 98.50% of sand with very low Varshney (1982) also linked the preference (0.75%) organic carbon and 1.29% total of organisms with sediment composition. organic matter. This type of result was also recorded by Damodaran (1973). The Coefficients of correlation (r) calculated water quality at Versova was unhealthy as to determine the dependence of biomass compared to that at Seven Bungalows production on the organic matter content (Anandan, 2002). The reason may be clue to of sediment and the salinity of the overlying the separation of the Seven Bungalows water were found to be 0.657 and 0.680, beach by about lkm from the creek mouth. respectively. These values indicate that 66% Versova beach being linked to the creek of biomass production is influenced by the receives concentrated pollutants directly organic matter deposited in the intertidal discharged into the creek. This results in area and 68 6 , of biomass production is high concentrations of nutrients, influenced by salinity of overlying water. comparatively lower salinity and low Sreeram amurthy (1980) also found a high dissolved oxygen. correlation between these two parameters.

Low population density and biomass Generally, Shannon and Wiener 16 K. ANANDAN, P. K. VARSHNEY, A. K. JAISWAR AND CHANDRA PRAKASH

diversity index of 3.0-4.5 indicates slight, Seven Bungalows, Bombay. Geobios, 2.0-3.0 light, 1.0-2.0 moderate and 0.0-1.0 13: 112-117. heavy pollution of water (Staub et al., 1970). Holme, M. A. and McIntyre, A. D. (ed.), During the present study, it varied from 1984. Methods for the Study of Marine 0.094 to 0.920, which revealed heavy Benthos (2nd edition). Blackwell pollution in the intertidal area of Versova. Scientific Publication, Oxford, 387 pp. A community dominated by relatively few species would indicate environmental stress Jaiswar, A. K., 1999. Intertidal (Plafkin et al., 1989) that gives very low Biodiversity with Reference to Mollusca diversity indices for the particular water in an around Mumbai. Ph. D. Thesis, body. Community becomes more dissimilar Mumbai University, Mumbai, 131 pp. as stress increases and accordingly, species Padmakumar, K. G., 1983. Ecology of diversity decreases with decreasing water Mangrove Swamp Island Bombay with quality. From the study, it is confirmed Reference to Sewage Pollution. Ph. D. that the Versova intertidal area is highly Thesis, University of Bombay, Bombay, polluted and therefore, appropriate 570 pp. measures should be taken to check the increasing levels of pollution. Plafkin, J. L., Barbour, M. T., Porter, K. D., Gross, S. K. and Hughes, R. M., 1989. Rapid Bioassessment ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Protocols for Use in Streams and The authors are thankful to Dr. S. C. Rivers. Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Mukherjee, Director, CIFE, for Fish. United States Environmental encouragement during the course of study Protection Agency, Washiington, D.C. and for granting permission for publication. Sreeramamurthy, K. B., 1980. Ecology of Intertidal Macrofauna at Versova REFERENCES and Seven Bungalows Beaches, M. Sc. Dissertation, University of Bombay, Anandan, K., 2002. Biodiversity of Bombay, 239 pp. Intertidal Macrobenthic Organisms along the Coast of Mumbai. M. F. Sc. Staub, R., Apllying, J. W., Hofstaler, Dissertation, Central Institute of A. H. and Hass, I. J., 1970. The effect Fisheries Education, Mumbai, 103 pp. of industrial wastes of Memphis and Shelby country on primary plankton Damodaran, R., 1973. Studies on the production. Biosciences, 20: 905-912. benthos of the mud banks of the Kerala coast, Bull. Dep. Mar. Sci., Univ. . Stephenson, T. A., 1953. The world Cochin, 6: 1-126. between tide marks. In: Essays in Marine Biology being the Richard Dwivedi, S. N. and Varshney, P. K., Elmhurst Memorial Lectures. Oliver 1986. Intertidal macrodenthic fauna of and Boyd, Edinburgh, pp. 73-100. deteriorated mangrove ecosystem off MACROBENTHOS OF INTERTIDAL ZONE OF VERSOVA 17 ALONG THE COAST OF MUMBAI

Strickland, J. D. H. and Parsons, T. University of Bombay, tiombay, 228 R., 1968. A Manual of Seawater pp. Analysis (2nd edition). Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ottawa, Varshney, P. K., Govindan, K., 311 pp. Gailkwood, I.T. D. and Desai, B. N., 1988. Macrobenthos off Versova Varshney, P. K., 1982. Biological (Bombay), west coast of , in relation Productivity of Polluted and Unpolluted to environmental condition. Indian J. Environments of Bombay with Special Mar. Sci.,17: 222-227. Reference to Benthos. Ph. D. Thesis,