J. Env. Bio-Sci., 2015: Vol.

29 (2):523-528
(523) ISSN 0973-6913 (Print), ISSN 0976-3384 (On Line)

ESTUARINE FISH DIVERSITY OF MANAKUDY ESTUARY, KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT,

TAMIL NADU, INDIA.
P. Pavinkumar*, P. Jawahar and H. S. Mogalekar
Department of Fisheries Biology and Resource Management, Fisheries College & Research Institute,
Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, Thoothukudi-628 008, Tamil Nadu, India.
[Corresponding author E-mail*: pavinmfsc@gmail.com]

Received: 11-07-2015 Accepted: 29-08-2015

The investigation was contacted for 12 months (September 2013 to August 2014) to document the fish diversity and ecological
status of Manakudy estuary in the Kanyakumari district of southern Tamil Nadu. During the study period 77 number of fish species
were recorded which were coming under 41 families belongs to 11 orders. Most dominant fish species mainly belonged to
Perciformes, Clupeiformes and Siluriformes orders. Average seasonal species abundance data used as input for calculating
various biodiversity indices including Shannon - Wiener diversity ranged from 3.3 to 4.1, Margalef's species richness ranged from
7.07 to 13.45, Pielou's evenness ranged from 0.960 to 0.973, Taxonomic diversity ranged from 80.22 to 84.83, Average taxonomic
distinctness index ranged from 83.06 to 86.72, Variation in taxonomic distinctness index ranged from 320 to 368 and Total
phylogenetic diversity ranged from 1966 to 3966 (PRIMER v6 software). Observed values for various biodiversity indices indicated
relatively stable and rich fish diversity for the Manakudy estuary.

Estuaries constitute essential habitats for diadromous and
estuarine resident fish species to complete their life cycle1.
Owing to the abundance of food availability, estuaries serve as
nursery grounds for many marine fish species. Manakudy
estuary found in Kanyakumari district is one of the major
estuary in Tamil Nadu2. The ecological and socio-economic
importance of estuaries has been well documented in
temperate and tropical environments3. Some workers indicated
the major fishing gears employed in the estuary were gill nets,
cast nets, stake nets, scoop nets, ring nets, traps and Chinese
dip nets in the estuaries of southwest coast of India4. Estuaries
are among the most productive areas on world but at the same
time most modified, unstable and threatened ecosystem due
to major natural and human perturbations5. However, decline
in fish stocks as a result of overfishing, insufficient
management and habitat degradation, reduces the chances
of its sustainability6. Therefore present investigation was
conducted for 12 months (September 2013 to August 2014) to
document the fish diversity and ecological status of Manakudy
estuary in the Kanyakumari district of southern Tamil Nadu,
India.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Manakudy estuary endowed with diverse aquatic habitats
including shallow open waters, sandy beaches, muddy flats,
mangrove forest, and river-delta and sea grass ecosystems. It
is the tropical bar-built estuary with 150 hectors of total area
located along west coast of Tamil Nadu at N 8 06 045 to 8 05
477 latitude and E 77 28 016 to 77 29 045 longitude.
Fish sampling was conducted during low tide by using cast
net (18 mm mesh) from selected 3 stations. The fish samples
were sorted in field itself and identified up to species level in
Laboratory. Representative specimens for each fish species
were preserved in formalin for further reference in department
museum. Collected fishes were identified without any ambiguity
using standard keys and books7-9. A check list of estuarine fish
species available in the Manakudy estuary of southern Tamil
Nadu along with their systematic position was prepared based
on the species recorded during the present study.
Environmental data collected at each site including water depth,
water salinity, surface water temperatures and pH. Water depth
was measured by calibrated pole and the surface water salinity
measured with a hand-held refractometer. Surface water
temperatures were obtained using mercury-in-glass and the
pH was measured by using pH paper as well as pH meter.
The species composition and abundance data were recorded
during summer (April-June), Pre-monsoon (July-September),
Monsoon (October-December) and Post-monsoon (January-
March) seasons. The collected data were pooled together and
made into four seasons and the seasonal data were used for
the biodiversity assessment studies. Biodiversity indices were
calculated for various seasons using PRIMER v6 software.

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 ESTUARINE FISH DIVERSITY OF MANAKUDY ESTUARY (524)

Average seasonal species abundance data used as input for most of them are food fishes organized fishing may be
calculating various biodiversity indices such as Shannon - recommended.
Wiener diversity (H'), Margalef's species richness ('d'), Pielou's
Environmental parameters: The environmental parameter
evenness (J'), Taxonomic diversity ( Δ ), Average taxonomic
observed during the present study was within the range recorded
distinctness index ( Δ +), Variation in taxonomic distinctness
in various estuaries 2, 11-12. The salinity was found to be relatively
index (/\+) , Total phylogenetic diversity (sPhi+) and Bray-
higher in summer season (25.8 ± 22.9 ppt) and lower at
Curtis similarity.
monsoon season (17.85 ± 18.7ppt). The reduced salinity at
monsoon was attributed due to heavy rain fall during, combined
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
with flooding of the river systems. The pH value ranged from
In the present investigation, an intensive study was undertaken 7.0 to 7.3. The temperature fluctuated in between 24.8 to
to document the ichthyofaunal diversity of Manakudy estuary. 310C.
A total of 2776 number of fishes were collected from Manakudy
Biodiversity indices: The seasonal variation in biodiversity
estuary. Collected fishes were identified up to species level
indices estimated for Manakudy estuary presented in Table-3.
and checklist of identified estuarine fish species was prepared
The Shannon Wiener diversity (H') value in the different seasons
(Table-1). Various biodiversity indices were estimated by using
varied from 3.39 (monsoon) to 4.13 (summer). Shannon wiener
PRIMER V6 software. Based on the biodiversity indices
index occur between 3.6 and 4.80 indicates the system is in
estimates of estuarine fishes, conservation strategies were
good ecological status15. Maximum Shannon-Wiener diversity
proposed to study the ichthyofaunal diversity of Manakudy
index (H') value was 4.13 reported with the presence of 70
estuary.
species during summer (H') value was 3.39 was minimum value
Checklist of Fishes: Present ichthyofaunal investigation with presence of 34 species. Similarly, higher H' values (4.52
revealed presence of 77 fish species belonging to 11 order, 41 to 5.81) were recorded at Vellar estuary10. This indicated well
families and 58 genera. Present record of 77 fish species is preserved nature of estuary.
less when compared to earlier studies and as per documented
The calculated Margalef species richness in the present study
availability of 95 species from Vellar estuary of Tamil Nadu10.
ranged from 7.07 to 13.45. Among the 4 seasons, the highest
The lower number of species might be due to less area of
space 'd' value was estimated for summer season (13.45) with
present study. Whereas, present species record is reasonably
77 species and the lowest value estimated for monsoon season
higher compared earlier workers who identified only 23 and 30
(7.07) with 34 species. Present estimated Margalef richness
fish species respectively11-12. The higher number of fishes
index was higher than the Vellar estuary10.
reported during the present study might be due to good water
flow, comparatively lower salinity and better sampling. In Evenness index expresses how evenly the individuals are
comparison with the results of fish diversity of the above distributed among the different species. Generally, species
mentioned estuaries, the fish diversity along the estuarine area evenness increases when the species richness and species
of southern Tamil Nadu reveals to be satisfactory. diversity decreases. Alternatively, the species evenness
decreases when the individual species dominance increases16.
Family composition study revealed the representation of
The above hypothesis stands true, as observed in the present
Mugilidae was higher than other families in present investigation.
study. Pielou's evenness (J') calculated in the present study was
Similar dominance of Mugilidae was indicated12-13. During the
relatively higher in the range of 0.960 to 0.973. Thus, it could
present study, the numbers of fishes collected were invariably
be inferred that the species evenness is relatively high which
lower during monsoon period and higher during summer period.
might be due to representation of individual species in evenly
Similar observation, a sudden fall in total fauna and numbers
nature and not dominated by individual species. Species
was earlier observed in monsoon which gradually built up in
evenness index (J) was comparatively lower at summer season
succeeding months14. The present report on Manakudy
than the monsoon season and it may be due to the lower
indicated the availability of 77 species in the estuary. Since
species richness during monsoon. In the present scenario,

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 (525) PAVINKUMAR, JAWAHAR AND MOGALEKAR

Table-1. Check list for fishes recorded in the Manakudy estuary.

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 ESTUARINE FISH DIVERSITY OF MANAKUDY ESTUARY (526)

Table-2 . Environmental Parameters Recorded Monthly From Manakudy Estuary.

Table-3 . Diversity indices of fish species in Manakudy estuary.

Table-4. Bray-Curtis similarity for Manakudy estuary.

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 (527) PAVINKUMAR, JAWAHAR AND MOGALEKAR
Figure-1. Composition of different orders in Manakudy
Estuary of Southern Tamil Nadu.
Figure-3. Seasonal Variation in Dominance Plot-
Manakudy Estuary.
the evenness estimated in this estuary was reasonably higher
indicating these estuarine communities are not under stress.
Higher values of taxonomic diversity indices suggest that, on
average; the species in the assemblage are not closely related,
being higher biodiversity17. Similar results were observed in
Manakudy estuary, the highest taxonomic diversity ( Δ ) value
was estimated for summer season was 84.83 due to occurrence
of more number of species (77), and the minimum value was
estimated during monsoon season was 80.22 with 34 species.
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Figure-2. Seasonal Similarity in Dendrogram Of Fish
Diversity In Manakudy Estuary.
These indices are closely related to the Shannon-Weaver Index
and provide additional information with respect to the level of
phylogenetic relationship present in samples.
The average taxonomic distinctness is the average taxonomic
distances apart of all the pairs of species of a species list.
The average taxonomic distinctness for Manakudy estuary
was higher in the summer season (86.72) and minimum during
monsoon season (83.06). The Δ + had a positive correlation
with the species richness. Similar correlation has been
established in the Changjiang Estuary18. The average taxonomic
distinctness was found to be higher during the warm season.
Similar observations were reported by various authors for reef
fish communities19-20.
The variation in taxonomic distinctness is a complementary
index of average taxonomic distinctness values and
encompasses the evenness of the taxonomic or phylogenetic
relationship (/\+) between the taxa. This index measures
variance in pair wise path lengths between each pair of species,
reflecting the unevenness of the taxonomic tree 21. True to the
fact that samples from biodiversity rich areas have more
stability and less variation than the areas with low diversity,
the variation in taxonomic distinctness was found to be lower
in summer season (320.58) than the monsoon season
(368.81). The present study also has conformity with the study
of earlier workers where highly diverse Pichavaram mangrove
 ESTUARINE FISH DIVERSITY OF MANAKUDY ESTUARY
had less variation in the taxonomic distinctness of brachyuran 5.
crabs and less diverse Vellar mangrove had more variation22.
6.
In a healthy environment, due to rich faunal assemblages,
(taxonomic breadth) the total phylogenetic diversity and average 7.
phylogenetic diversity are always higher 22-23. The total
phylogenetic diversity index (sPhi+), which vouches for the
taxonomic breadth of the biota, also clearly exhibited the highly 8.
diverse nature of Manakudy estuary (in the range 1966.66 to
3966.66)24. While studying phylogenetic diversity of finfish
9.
within the Vellar estuary, earlier workers recorded maximum
the sPhi+ value near marine zone and less at freshwater zone.
10.
Similar observations were reported for hermit crab by some
workers at the Vellar estuary25.
11.
In the species dominance plot, showing curve for summer 12.
season lies on lower side and rises gradually due to less
13.
individual species dominance than the other curves for Pre-
monsoon and Post- monsoon, Monsoon seasons in Manakudy
14.
estuary. The curve that peaks slowly for summer species
dominance curve which has relatively greater number of species
15.
and more evenness 26. As lower diversity was found during the
monsoon season was found at the top (Fig.-3). While 16.
comparing seasons, dendrogram shows that summer and pre-
monsoon form a separate cluster while other seasons have
closer similarity and form separate clusters (Fig.-2). 17.
In present study, the broad-scale analysis suggest that ichthyo-
18.
faunal assemblages in this estuary exhibit a relatively a high
degree of similarity at the species level across systems. From 19.
the study it has been observed that the Manakudy estuary
was represented with relatively stable and rich fish diversity. 20.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
21.
First author thank the Dean Fisheries College and Research
Institute, Thoothukudi for his constant support and Tamil Nadu 22.
Fisheries University for providing merit scholarship.
23.
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