Abstract
The present investigation was conducted to assess the species composition of Copepoda in Munroe Island from October 2020 to September 2022. As the information about the species composition of Copepoda is scarce in the mangrove habitats of the southern part of Kerala, their appraisal assumes greater significance. Copepod samples collected from the mangrove habitats of Munroe Island of Kerala (southern India) revealed 31 species belonging to 18 genera and 15 families. The order Calanoida was recognized as the most dominant taxa with 23 species, followed by Harpacticoida (five species) and Cyclopoida (three species). Among the 15 families encountered, Acartiidae, Centropagidae, Harpacticidae, Paracalanidae and Pseudodiaptomidae were the most diverse. Species such as Acartia bilobata, Paracalanus parvus, Pseudodiaptomus aurivillii, Pseudocalanus elongatus, Microsetella norvegica, and Oithona similis were found to be perennial. The investigation calls for intensive copepod surveys to reveal their ecology and diversity in the hitherto less-studied region in southern India.
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