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- Title
Monsoon-Related Flux in Inter-tidal Foraminiferal Diversity in the West Coast of India.
- Authors
Gadi, Subhadra Devi; Patil, Rajashekhar K.
- Abstract
Studies on paleomonsoons rely on fossil foraminifera (forams) of sea bed core samples. While the stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen of foram shells are predominantly analysed, fluxes in foraminiferal assemblage in response to monsoons are not well recorded. To assess such fluxes at the level of the taxon as well as individual species, a study of inter-tidal foraminiferal diversity was undertaken over a period of 18 months, from October 2007 to March 2006, at an estuarine and a non- estuarine site on the west coast of India. Well-defined seasonality was seen both in live (LFN) and total foraminiferal number (TFN). The LFN and TFN reached a peak after SW monsoons with a lag of about three months. Population density, species richness and Shannon diversity indices of forams decline during summer and are lowest during monsoon. Several dominant species show seasonal fluxes with decrease in density during monsoon and peaks following post-monsoon. The density of angular, asymmetric forams increases during post-monsoon period. Fluxes in foram diversity correlate significantly with hydrological and sediment characteristics affected by monsoon. Forams showed significant (0.01 level) positive correlation with calcium and pH levels. It is likely that organic matter and phosphate enrichment due to monsoon and ocean upwelling increases foram density. These observations are useful in proxy validation of core sample data aimed at deducing paleomonsoons and paleoclimate.
- Subjects
INDIA; FOSSIL foraminifera; TROPICAL dry forests; ESTUARINE biology; PALEOCLIMATOLOGY; HYDROLOGY; SEDIMENTARY structures; STATISTICAL correlation
- Publication
International Journal of Ecology & Environmental Sciences, 2009, Vol 35, Issue 4, p343
- ISSN
0377-015X
- Publication type
Article