ABSTRACT
In aquatic ecosystems, bottom sediments play a vital role in regulating and sustaining various ecological processes. Bottom sediments influence the primary and secondary productivity, mobilize nutrients and act as sinks. This study investigates the temporal and spatial variations in sediment characteristics and benthic macro-invertebrate communities in Kottakayal, a wetland in South Kerala, India. Sediment samples were collected using Van Veen grab from six sampling sites and analyzed for its texture, temperature, pH and organic carbon. Macrofauna were sieved, identified and quantified in terms of biomass and abundance. The sediment texture was predominantly sandy loam, with seasonal variations. Higher silt and clay particles were noticed during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon at the sites which were affected by mining activities. Twenty macro-invertebrate species representing the phyla Mollusca, Arthropoda and Annelida were recorded. Abundance and biomass were high during the monsoon. Correlation analysis revealed positive links between organic carbon and Pelecypoda, Polychaeta and total benthos but negatively associated with depth and clay content. Substratum instability resulting from clay mining at sites 4 and 5 led to reduced abundance. The results underscore the role of sediment quality in benthic community structuring and fisheries potential, thereby emphasizing the need for sustainable mining practices.
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
CITATION
REFERENCES
License: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Visit for more details http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.