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| Abstract Submission No. | ABS-2022-09-0431 |
| Title of Abstract | The role of habitat distinctness in shaping functional and taxonomic diversity of zoobenthos of urbanized coastal ecosystem |
| Authors | Santosh Gaikwad*, Sabyasachi Sautya, Mandar Nanajkar, Sadiq Bukhari |
| Organisation | CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography |
| Address | CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre. Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Pincode: 400053 Mobile: 8976140552 E-mail: santygaikwad@gmail.com |
| Country | India |
| Presentation | Oral |
| Abstract | The marine ecosystem harbours varieties of habitats with an immense diversity of life. Such biodiversity is essential for ecosystem services which regulate through their energetics and functional mechanisms. In today's situation, biodiversity is affected by the rapid loss of functional diversity and processes due to human intervention. Therefore, an analysis of functional diversity is one of the crucial approaches towards ecological understanding and conservation. In recent decades, functional diversity has increasingly been used in marine assemblages, but this approach is very limited in tropical waters compared to the temperate region. The present study aimed to understand the key role of the habitat structures in influencing the taxonomic, functional diversity of benthic macrofaunal community from various habitats. We investigated the macrofauna of 10 transects along the intertidal region of Mumbai, India. The habitat types [1) wave exposure: exposed (E)/sheltered (S), 2) substratum: rocky (r)/sandy (s)/Mud (m)/Boulder (b), and beach slope : low (L)/high (H)] were classified into seven groups: ErL, ErH, SmL, SsL, SsH, EbL and EmbL. A total of 72 species belonging to 12 phyla, including 48 species belonging to 22 families of polychaetes were recorded. The highest number of species was recorded at transect CR8 (EmbL), while CR10 (SsH) was the lowest. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (n-MDS) based on macrofaunal taxa and polychaete abundance showed an indistinct grouping between habitat types. However, the n-MDS based on functional traits of polychaete species have revealed many clear patterns in the habitats. The ErL, ErH, EbL and EmbL sites formed a cluster based on a taxonomic assessment which failed to discriminate small scale changes within habitat types. The functional traits aligned with the habitat structure and heterogeneity, e.g. a large body size found at rocky zone than that of sandy texture. Similarly, tube dwellers and permanently attached traits dominated the exposed rocky shore area. Multi-trait functional diversity index (wFDc, Rao) showed marked variation during the present study, whereas FAD2 showed the lowest values in the site where the earlier reclamation has occurred nearby sites (CR3 and CR7) in comparison to other similar habitat types. Thus, our study suggests that habitats have been less influenced the taxonomic diversity, whereas the functional traits have been altered predominantly. The taxonomic diversity indices were found to be less efficient than functional diversity describing the habitat distinctness in considerable detail. This study emphasizes the use of a functional approach for zoobenthic studies for small scale spatial changes, which may be promising in the areas where the urban development has occupied and influenced the ecosystem processes. |