06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Chilika Lake
Table4.OccurrenceanddistributionofalgaeinCbilikalagoon
Class Name
Northern Central Southern Ouler
sector sector sector channel
Cyanophyceae Anabaena sp. + + +
Gloeocapsa sp. + +
Lyngbya aestuarii ++ ++ ++
L. confervoides ++ ++ ++
Nostoc sp. + +
Oscil/oloria letevineus ++ ++ ++
Phormidium fragile + +
Trichodesmium erythraeum ++
Dianophyceae Ceratium turea + + +
Noctiluca miliaris + + +
Dinophysis candata +
Bacillariophyceae Biddulphia pulchella + +
Tabel/aria fenestrata + +
Pleurosigma elongturn + + +
Chaetoceros affinis + +
SkeJetonema costatum +
Thalassiosira subtilis +
Xanthophyceae Tribonema bombycinum + + +
Chlorophyceae Spirogyra ,p. + + +
Oedogonium sp. + + +
Cladophora glomerata +++ ++
VIva lactuca ++ +++
Chaetomorpha /inum ++ +++ +++ ++
Enteromoprpha intestinalis +++ +++ ++ ++
E. compressa ++ +++
Charophyceae Chara sp. + +
Nitella ,p. +
Rhodophyceae Graci/aria verrucosa ++
210
Macrozoobenthos that play an
important role in sedimentation in
wetlands were studied in Chilika
(Respond Project, 1998). About 60
species mainly representing
coelenterates, polychaetes,
amphipods, tanaidacea, isopods,
gastropods and lamellibranches
contributed to the taxonomic
composition of the benthic
macrofauna of the Chilika lagoon.
Gastropods contributed the largest
number of individuals, which included
Modiolus undulatus, Stenothyra
blanfordiana, Nematonereis
unieornis, Nassarius (Aeieulina)
subeonstrietus, Finella virgata,
Aneistrosyllis eonstrieta, Synidotea
variegata, Heteromastus similis,
Didontoglossa estriata and
Clementia vatheleti. Species
diversity (Shannon-Weiner function)
showed a wide variation with values
ranging from a minimum of 0.02 to
2.08 bits. Comparatively high values
were observed in southern sector and
outer channel, and low values in
Jiuy common +++, common ++1 Jess. common + central and northern sectors
Source: Modilled /rom Adblkary and Sabu, 1992,. Sabu and AdblkaIy, 1999. (Respond Proj ect, 1998). Studies
carabid beetles, moths, wasps and bees, dipteran
insects, neuropteran insects, dragonflies,
damselflies, heteromera and termites. A recent
survey has recorded mosquitoes belonging to 22
species and 5 genera viz. Anopheles, Aedes,
Armageres, Culex, and Mansonia (Dash et al.,
1988). Of the five species of Mysidaceae now
known from brackish waters in India, four species
namely, Rhopalophthalmus egrgius, Macropsis
orientalis, Potamomysis assimilis and Gastro
mutieus were found in Chilika (Patnaik, 1988).
Central sector of the lagoon harbours maximum
percentage of mysids as compared to other sectors
of the lagoon. Mysid is considered as one of the
important food items for prawns and many
brackish water fishes. Mysids, therefore, constitute
the raw materials for preparation of feed for larval
feeding in the prawn hatcheries. A total of 136
species under 66 families were reported from the
Chilika. This number includes 7 species of lanl!
mollusks and 13 species of fresh water mollusks.
The rest of species are either marine or brackish
water / estuarine. Oyster (e.g. Ostrea talpur, Area
spp., Meretix spp.) occurs in small patches.
carried out on the meiobenthos of soft sediments of
Rambha Bay during 1978-80 revealed the relative
abundance, density, composition and seasonal
fluctuation of sedimentary meiofauna (Rao, 1987).
The systematic study revealed as many as 14.
meiofaunal taxa and 117 species in Chilika lagoon.
The density of meiofauna ranged between 1128and
1583/10cm' and the biomass ranged between 7.72
and 10.53 mg/l0cm' in the Rambha Bay.
Brachyuran crabs from Chilika include 28 species
distributed under 22 genera and 9 families (ZSI,
1995). The survey conducted by ZSI (1995),
furthermore, revealed the presence of 13 species of
prawn and shrimps belonging to 8 genera and 5
families; and 8 species of hermit crab belonging to
3 genera and 2 families. According to a recent
estimation released to the media from the CDAas
many as 15 species belonging to 11 genera under
5 families of prawn have been vanished from
Chilika during the last six decades. Furthermore,
4 species of prawn and 5 species of crab recorded
during the last four years have been claimed to be
new (Times of India, New Delhi, Eastern India
Special, 09/12/2001,page 5).