Abundance and Species Composition of Harpacticoid Copepods from a Sea Grass Patch of South Andaman, India

Abundance and species composition of Harpacticoida (Copepoda) inhabiting blades of Thalassia hemprichii and their canopy sediments were examined during the study period. Eleven different meiofaunal taxa were recorded from the study site, among which the blades comprised nine taxa and the canopy sediment constituted all eleven taxa. Harpacticoid Copepods were the dominating meiofaunal component in blades (86%) as well as in canopy sediments (57%) of T. hemprichii. A total of 47 species belonging to 34 genera distributed within 14 families of harpacticoid copepods were recorded. Harpacticoids on canopy sediments were significantly higher (t- test, p<0.05) compared to the seagrass blades. Canuellina nicobaris was the most abundant species followed by Scottolana longipes and Harpacticus spinulosus in both habitats. Higher diversity (H') and equitability (J) of harpacticoid species were found in blade. Bray Curtis similarity shows that two distinct clusters of species in the habitats.