Water Quality & Diversity of Macrobenthos in Karanja Creek (Raigad): Species Diversity, Density, Biomass, Diversity Indices

Assessment of macrobenthos diversity with respect to population density, biomass & diversity indices reflect the marine population, habitat disturbance and serves as an important indicator of environmental conditions. A total of 93 species of macrobenthos belonging to 69 genera and 44 families were recorded along the Karanja creek. The benthic fauna recorded, is highly diversified, heterogeneous in size and was represented by gastropods, crustaceans, pelecypods, polychaetes, echinoderms, coelenterates, cephalopods and poriferans. 3 species of sea lilies (Antedon bifida, A. pitasus and A. rosacea) and 1 species of sea urchin (Echinus esculantus) is a unique diversity characteristic and no earlier reports are available for presence of such a number of echinoderm species in and around Mumbai coast. Coliform species namely Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis and Salmonella typhimurium recorded from water and sediment of Karanja creek confirming the microbial pollution. The data of present analysis should be useful to postgraduate students and researchers of Botany, Zoology & Microbiology.