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Dash B, Rout SS, Lovaraju A, Charan Kumar B, Bharati A, Ganesh T, Satyanarayana B, Raman AV, Rakhesh M, Raut D. Macrobenthic community of a tropical bay system revisited: Historical changes in response to anthropogenic forcing. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2021; 171:112775. [PMID: 34375747 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The present study examines historical perspectives of the macrobenthic community in response to different phases of anthropogenic perturbations in Kakinada Bay, a tropical embayment on the east coast of India. Multivariate analysis of the snapshot data (1958-2017) revealed considerable changes in the Bay environment following a breakwater construction across the Bay mouth in 1997. Subsequently, port expansion activities, industrialization, urbanization, and geomorphic alterations in the Godavari delta brought deterrent changes in the Bay. The fluctuations over the years in hydrographical and sediment characteristics increased environmental heterogeneity and caused significant spatio-temporal shifts in the macrobenthic community between 1995-1996 and 2016-2017. The observed variabilities were suggestive of anthropogenic perturbations of the system with future repercussions on Bay ecosystem functioning. Overall, this study provides evidence on the long-term impact of anthropogenic activities on coastal marine communities and stresses the importance of macrobenthos as bioindicators of such changes in tropical systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhagyashree Dash
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India; Centre for Excellence in Environment & Public Health, Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India
| | - Sonali Sanghamitra Rout
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India; Centre for Excellence in Environment & Public Health, Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India
| | - Avvari Lovaraju
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India
| | - Basuri Charan Kumar
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India; National Centre for Coastal Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Chennai, India
| | - Adapa Bharati
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India
| | - Thiruchitrambalam Ganesh
- Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Port Blair, A & N Islands, India
| | - Behara Satyanarayana
- Mangrove Research Unit, Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia
| | - Akkur Vasudevan Raman
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India
| | - Madhusoodhanan Rakhesh
- Ecosystem Based Management of Marine Resources Programme, Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Salmiya, Kuwait.
| | - Dipti Raut
- Centre for Excellence in Environment & Public Health, Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, India.
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