GOMBRT Publication No. 22 Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India A comprehensive updated species list Edited by S Balaji (Jr), J K Patterson Edward and V Deepak Samuel Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust Ramanathapuram - 623 504, Tamil Nadu Pricipal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force, Chennai Programme Analyst, Energy & Environment Unit, UNDP, New Delhi Energy & Environment Unit, UNDP, New Delhi. Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India A comprehensive updated species list Edited by S Balaji (Jr) J K Patterson Edward V Deepak Samuel Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust Ramanathapuram - 623 504, Tamil Nadu Citation : Balaji (Jr), S, J K Patterson Edward and V Deepak Samuel 2012. Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India - A comprehensive updated species list. Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, Publication No. 22, 128 p. This publication has no commercial value It is for private scientific and educational circulation only October 2012 Published by Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust Ramanathapuram - 623 504, Tamilnadu, India Prepared by Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust and Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute Editors S Balaji (Jr) Chief Conservator of Forests & Trust Director GoMBRT, Jawan Bhavan Building (1st Floor) 102/26, Devipattinam Road, Kenikarai Ramanathapuram-623504, Tamilnadu, India. J K Patterson Edward Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute 44-Beach Road, Tuticorin 628 001, Tamil Nadu, India V Deepak Samuel Programme Specialist, UNDP GoMBRT, Jawan Bhavan Building (1st Floor) 102/26, Devipattinam Road, Kenikarai Ramanathapuram-623504, Tamilnadu, India. c Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, 2012 Available from : Chief Conservator of Forests & Trust Director, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, Jawan Bhavan Building (1st Floor), 102/26, Devipattinam Road, Kenikarai, Ramanathapuram-623504, Tamilnadu, India. Ph.: 04567-226335, Fax: 04567-229228, E-mail: [email protected] Web :www.gombrt.org Front cover : Fish assemblage, Gulf of Mannar (Photo courtesy SDMRI) Back cover : Hard and Soft corals, Gulf of Mannar (Photo courtesy GoMBRT) Typeset & Printed by Rehana Offset Printers, Srivilliputtur. Ph. : 04563-260383 E-mail : [email protected] CONTENTS Foreword i Messages iii Preface vii Introduction 1 Species List - Abstract 5 Protista 7 Phytoplankton 9 Seaweeds 11 Seagrass 15 Mangrove 17 Flowering Plants 19 Zooplankton 21 Porifera 23 Coelentrata 25 Nematoda 33 Platyhelminthes - Trematoda 35 Annelida - Polychaeta 37 Bryozoa 39 Chaetognatha 41 Arthropoda 43 Echinodermata 47 Mollusca 51 Tunicata - Ascidacea 69 Tunicata - Thaliacea 77 Hemichordata 79 Cephalochordata 81 Pisces 83 Reptiles - Turtles 109 Reptiles - Sea Snakes 111 Aves 113 Marine Mammals 121 References 123 & Chairman, Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust Foreword Marine and Coastal areas - which include nearshore land and coastal waters upto continental shelf or to a depth of 250 m - are rich in bioresources that play a key role in maintaining earth system functions like regulation of weather, climate and hydrological cycle, as well as in ensuring food security and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities. Besides, coastal and marine biodiversity also reduces vulnearability during natural disasters like cyclones and tsunamis, thus creating a social safety net through ecosystem components and services. Preserving the coastal ecosystem thus gains significance for peninsular states like Tamil Nadu, having about one eighth of the coast line of the country. Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, situated in the southern tip of India is a repository of rich marine biodiversity. This Reserve is one of the vastly studied regions, principally due to its diverse and dense marine flora and fauna especially sea cows, green turtles, coral reefs, seagrasses, mangroves and endemic species like Balanoglossus, mangrove associate Pemphis acidula and seagrass Enhalus acoroides. Realising the imperativeness of preserving this biodiversity treasure for posterity, the Gul of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GoMBRT) was constituted by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu during the year 2002 as a “Special Purpose Vehicle” to conserve and sustainably manage the marine resources of the region with community participation and stakeholders co-ordination. As part of this endeavour, the Trust has been commissioning research projects on marine biodiversity conservation issues vis-a-vis livelihood needs and resources use by the community. One such study has been to create a baseline data on the diversity of marine resources in the region. The Trust has, painstakingly, collated information from various research studies undertaken in the past from all over the world on the biodiversity status of i the Gulf of Mannar region and has brought out the publication titled “Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India - A comprehensive updated species list”. This publication enlists 4223 species of marine flora and fauna occurring in the region, as against the most commonly reported figure of 3600 species in all popular scientific publications, thus laying to rest the presumptions on biodiversity of the region. I am sure that this bio-inventory species check list will be of immense use, not only to scientists, but also to resource managers and resource users in evolving strategies for effective conservation and management. The timing of this research work coincides with India hosting the Eleventh Conference of Parties (COP 11) of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad, in October 2012 as also during the period when the CBD has identified the themes for the International Day for Biological Diversity in 2012 as Marine and Coastal Biodiversity. I appreciate the sincere efforts taken by the Editors and the Trust in bringing out this invaluable publication and I commend it to all the stakeholders. Chennai - 9 22-09-2012 ii C.V. Sankar, I.A.S., Environment and Forests Dept. Principal Secretary to Govt. & Secretariat Vice Chairman, Chennai - 600 0009 Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust Message India, one of the 12 mega biodiversity countries in the world, also possesses the distinction of having the richest coastal and marine biodiversity hot spots in the entire Southern East Asia viz. the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, situated in the southern tip of the Country in the state of Tamil Nadu. Livelihood needs of the local coastal community are chiefly met from the bioresources of this region. The fisher community, striving hard to decrease its poverty has consequently decreased the biodiversity too, by adopting unsustainable fishing practices. Over exploitation of bioresources in the region has caused habitat degradation and habitat loss of the marine flora and fauna. Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GoMBRT) was founded by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 2002 to facilitate conservation and sustainable use of the Gulf of Mannar’s globally significant assemblage of coastal and marine biodiversity through community participation. The trust has focused on awareness creation, capacity building and providing sustainable complementary livelihood options for the primary stakeholder community, besides aiding resource managers to evolve suitable management strategies for conservation. One such activity of the Trust is to document the marine resources of the region. Popular scientific literature suggest the diversity of coastal and marine biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar region at 3600 species. As all the available biodiversity status reports have based their findings on approximation, the Trust has undertaken the documentation work of collating information from various research publications caused by diverse scientific institutions worldwide and has brought out this publication entitled “Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India - A comprehensive updated species list”. I am pleased to learn that the Trust, an organization of the State Government, has undertaken this painstaking effort, in listing 4223 species of coastal and marine flora and fauna recorded in Gulf of Mannar region. This comprehensive inventory, I am sure, would iii provide the baseline information on the floral and faunal species, including micro organisms of Gulf of Mannar region, to all the researchers, conservation managers and other stakeholders. The tireless and painstaking effort put forth by the Editorial Team deserves sincere appreciation, especially when India is hosting the Conference of Parties (COP 11) of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in Hyderabad in October, 2012. Chennai 21-09-2012 iv Gautam Dey, I.F.S., Panagal Maaligai Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Chennai - 600 015 Head of Forest Force Message It gives me immense pleasure to learn that the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust (GoMBRT), a state owned organization, has prepared publication of “Coastal and Marine Biodiversity of Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India - A comprehensive updated species list”, a book inventorising the biodiversity of the region. This would serve as a bench mark reference for all stakeholders, especially the marine scientists, biologists and the student community interested in monitoring of bioresources status in the region over future periods of time. This unique publication coincides with the period when the