Infaunal Macrobenthic Community of Soft Bottom Sediment in a Tropical Shelf

Abstract

Abstract Studies of benthic communities in tropical shelf waters are limited. In this study, we deal with the infaunal benthic community of soft bottom sediment of the tropical eastern Arabian Sea shelf. Benthic macroinfauna was sampled with a Smith–McIntyre grab at 30 stations on the continental shelf of the eastern Arabian Sea (northwest coast of India) during January–February (premonsoon) and November (postmonsoon) 2003 from 30 to 200 m depth. The faunal composition, abundance, and diversity of species together with environmental parameters are reported. The sites were clustered into “associations” on the basis mainly of sediment texture and depth. Mean benthic abundance was high in the shallow and intermediate depths and decreased toward deeper areas. Diversity increased with depths up to 100 m during both seasons and decreased beyond 100 m depth. The dominant benthic group was Polychaeta during both seasons. Species richness and diversity were higher during premonsoon compared with postmonsoon. Shall...