Decadal study of Bivalve diversity along the coast of the Maharashtra coastline

Abstract

The Maharashtra coast is an active and diverse collection of the bivalves species under the influence of various habitats, hydrodynamic and anthropogenic pressures. The study is a decadal research review of spatial and temporal dynamics in bivalve diversity in large coastal areas (estuaries, mangrove ecosystems and sandy beaches, and rocky intertidal environments). Community structure was measured using systematic sampling, species lists, and ecological measures including Shannon-Wiener diversity, Simpson dominance and evenness as calculated by Pielou. Findings have shown that there are significant changes of species richness and a general decrease in sensitive taxa with regions that have undergone coastal development, pollution and sediment change. On the other hand, comparatively undisturbed locations maintained or grew in diversity and the diversity of some bivalve assemblage highlighted the resilience and adaptive ability of specific assemblages. The long-term curves also indicate that species are shifting their ranges due to climatic changes in the salinity and temperature of the sea, with some taxa either increasing, or reducing by the decade. The analysis also demonstrates the new trends of homogenization of the community in the disturbed habitats, which points to the possible impact on the ecosystem. On the whole, these results indicate that there is a need to continue with the monitoring of biodiversity and manage the coastal zones as one means to preserve ecologically and economically significant bivalve populations. The dataset that was achieved in the course of this work offers a crucial foundation of future ecological modelling and empowers evidence-based policy interventions to the conservation of coastal ecosystems in Maharashtra coast.