Diversity of coral reef fishes in Cuddalore waters, south-east coast of India
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Authors
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Ajmal Khan S
Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai - 608 502, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
The present study was undertaken to obtain basic information on the diversity and species richness of coral reef fishes in
Cuddalore waters. Based on collections made for a period of one year, the study has brought to light the occurrence of
25 species of colourful fishes belonging to 16 families. Among the 25 species,
Upeneus vittatus
was found to be the most
dominant species (27.5%). The values of Shannon diversity (log
2
) index, Margalef richness, Simpson richness and Pielou's
evenness during the four seasons covered, varied from 3.3 to 3.9; 2.2 to 3.0; 0.8 to 0.9 and 0.8 to 0.84 respectively. The
maximum diversity and richness were recorded during the pre-monsoon season and the lowest during the monsoon season.
However, these conventional indices could not effectively bring out the differences in diversity between the seasons as the
values ranged narrowly. The recently introduced taxonomic diversity index which ranged from 83.7 to 76.0 was found to be
effective. But the difference between summer (76.8) and monsoon (76.0) seasons with 19 and 15 species respectively was
not distinct. The variation in taxonomic distinctness index (range: 298.9-131.6) and total phylogenetic diversity index (range:
2033.3-1166. 7) effectively brought out the differences between the seasons underscoring the advantage of using these
diversity indices for biodiversity assessment. Further, the present study underlines the need for making a detailed investigation
on the biodiversity of fishes occurring in the reef patches reported off Cuddalore, Parangipettai and Pondicherry making use
of visual census method.
