Resumen del producto

The community structure of meiofauna was assessedrelative to environmental parameters in four zones (nonmangrove, Avicennia zone, mixed zone, and Rhizophora zone) of Pichavaram Mangrove Forest, which is located along thesoutheast coast of India. Field sampling was carried out fromJune 2016–May 2017. The meiofaunal data were evaluated using univariate and multivariate statistics. The highest abundanceof meiofauna (434 ind/10 cm-2) was recorded in the Rhizophora zone and the lowest (270 ind/10 cm-2) in thenon-mangrove zone. A total of 62 species representing four meiofaunal groups were recorded, including 38 species offoraminifera, 12 species of nematodes, seven species of ostracods,and five species of harpacticoids. Diversity (ShannonH) mostly ranged from 3–4, and was highest (3.86±0.26)in the Avicennia zone and averaged ~3.3 in the other threezones. The Margalef richness index was ~6 in the Avicenniaand Rhizophora zones and ~5 in the non-mangrove and mixedzones. The BIO-ENV and CCA analyses identified sediment texture and organic matter as key variables influencing the distribution of meiofauna, while % calcium carbonate, salinity, and sediment pH were also important. Monitoring studies of meiofaunal taxa may help elucidate their roles in coastal blue-carbon cycling and will also contribute to understanding how mangrove-associated habitats influence meiofaunal distributions.

Palabras clave: Foraminifera; mangrove; India; Meiofauna

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