Uca marionis Mud Volcanoes: A Unique Ichnological Tool from the Bay of Bengal Coast of India for Ready Assessment of Beach Stability

Abstract

Formation of burrow-head mud volcanoes by the mud-loving amphibious crab Uca marionis (Alcock) selectively on the either sides of estuary mouths along the Bay of Bengal coast, eastern India, requires peculiar substratal and biological conditions where soft muddy bottom sediments of the coastal mudflats are covered by a thin blanket of relatively rigid beach sands that provide a false substrate stability. Shallow-seated mud layers, being within the substrate penetration power, allow opportunistic burrowing by the crab and consequent oozing out of internal mud slur to form conical heaps of mud resembling volcanic cones. Removal of this thin sand cover prompts very fast erosion of the bottom mud and consequent widening of the estuary mouth and rapid beach erosion. A thick and rigid sand cover restricts deeper burrowing by the crabs. Uca marionis mud volcanoes, by virtue of limited power of vertical penetration down to required muddy substrate and requirement of special substrate conditions and geomorphic position along the coastal zone, are considered as unique ichnological tools that readily identify and precisely demarcate highly unstable or erosion-prone beach sectors, and thus help in planning, protection and execution of various coastal developmental programs. Wide zoogeographic distribution of Uca in tropical-subtropical sea coasts greatly enhances the application potential of this new ichnological tool. Fossilized biogenic mud volcanoes in post-Jurassic geologic records would ease taxonomic identification of the ancient trace producers and coastal marine palaeogeomorphic interpretations.