Trends in Mangrove meiobenthic studies in India: an overview

Abstract

In spite, of being the most threatened coastal habitats in the world, mangrove ecosystems offer a host of goods and services to the coastal communities. With over 4,975 sq.km of the mangrove area, India has the largest mangrove in Asia that constitutes about 45% of the total mangrove cover in South Asia. Mangroves are ecologically significant for their role in shoreline protection but it also acts as important reservoirs of biodiversity comprising both terrestrial and aquatic species. In the present communication, we reviewed the published literature on meiofauna found associated with mangroves. These microscopic organisms occur in very high densities in mangrove sediment and thus constitute a major component of the diet of commercially important fish and prawn larvae. In addition to the importance of meiofauna in the benthic food chain, larval feeding, meiofauna is also used very effectively in coastal environmental monitoring. While a significant number of scientific reports are published involving studies on meiofauna of Indian mangroves, the majority of these studies have focused only on the phylum of taxon or group level identification. Moreover, only a few of the studies have highlighted the role of food availability and abundance of meiofauna within the mangrove mudflat. Consequently, we recommend that future studies should explore the role of meiofaunal species, especially the dominant taxa, in the mangrove ecosystem functioning.

Keywords

• Meiofauna
• Mangrove
• India
• Research Trends