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Brachyuran Crabs Diversity of Mahi and Dhadhar Estuaries, Gujarat, India

Author Affiliations

  • 1Marine Biodiversity The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA
  • 2Ecology Lab The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA
  • 3Department of Zoology The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA
  • 4Faculty of Science The M.S. University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, INDIA

Res. J. Marine Sci., Volume 1, Issue (2), Pages 8-11, July,28 (2013)

Abstract

Gujarat has got two gulfs, the gulf of Kachchh and gulf of Khambhat. The biodiversity of gulf of Kachchh is studied well. There are several studies citing faunal diversity for gulf of Kachchh but in case of gulf of Khambhat very less work has been carried out, especially on brachyuran crab taxa. In view of the significance of the mangrove habitat, in present study we selected three stations with different habitat specifications as non-mangrove site, restored mangrove site and natural mangrove site. Total 14 species of brachyuran crabs were recorded belonging to 11 genera and 9 families. Crabs belonging to family ocypodidae and macrophthalmidae were most dominant with 6 species. The other major outcome of the study was that maximum diversity was found at natural mangrove site with 13 species, followed by restored mangrove site with 10 species and least diversity was recorded at non-mangrove site with 9 species.

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