Spatio – Temporal Variation of Meio-fauna Distribution in Bhavanapadu Creek, Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh, India
Ravi Kumar Kurapati *
Department of Marine Living Resources, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam– 530003, India.
Amarnath Dogiparti
Department of Marine Living Resources, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam– 530003, India.
Sunil Kumar Duddu
Department of Marine Living Resources, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam– 530003, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study was conducted to observe distribution of meio-fauna community structure and its variation both spatially and temporally in relation to the sediment temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll – a, organic carbon and soil composition. A monthly sampling was carried out during one year of time period at three stations. The meio-faunal density ranged from 27 to 56 no/10 cm2. Among them harpacticoid copepods were dominant followed by nematodes. The fauna was significantly correlated with environmental parameters like temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, organic carbon and dissolved oxygen.
Keywords: Meio-fauna, spatio-temporal variation, environmental parameters