Basics of Marine and Estuarine Ecology

490 Pages·2016·37.06 MB·English

by  Abhijit Mitra

Abhijit Mitra · Sufi a Zaman
Basics of
Marine and
Estuarine
Ecology
Basics of Marine and Estuarine Ecology

Abhijit Mitra (cid:129) Sufia Zaman
Basics of Marine
and Estuarine Ecology
AbhijitMitra SufiaZaman
DepartmentofMarineScience DepartmentofOceanography
UniversityofCalcutta TechnoIndiaUniversity
Kolkata,WestBengal Kolkata,WestBengal
India India
ISBN978-81-322-2705-2 ISBN978-81-322-2707-6(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-81-322-2707-6
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2015957433
SpringerNewDelhiHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
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Acknowledgement
The purpose of this book is to focus the marine and estuarine ecosystem,
which is one of the vital resource reservoirs of the planet Earth. These
resourcesarenotonlytheabioticresourceslikeoil,naturalgasorminerals,
butalsoencompasslivingresourceslikecoastalvegetation,fishes,molluscs,
arthropodsandrepresentativesofalmostalltheanimalphyla.Wehopethis
bookwillbeausefulsourceofinformationforthoseworkingforaworldthat
isecologicallysustainable.
Thisbookisnotafinalworkbutshouldbeviewedaspartofanongoing
process, of a continuing effort to understand a set of complex interrelated
global issues. It is part of a continuous flow of ecosystem related research
papersandbooks.Indeed,someofthematerialinthisbookhavebeentaken
fromourownearlierpapers,whereresearchscholarslikeDr.AnandaGupta,
Dr.AmitavaAich,Dr.KiranLalDas,Dr.AftabAlam,Dr.HarekrishnaJana,
Dr.RajrupaGhosh,Mr.ProsenjitPramanick,Mr.ShankhadeepChakraborty,
Mr. Atanu Roy, Ms. Bulti Nayak, Ms. Suhana Datta, Mr. Deepta
Chakravartty, Ms. Kasturi Sengupta, Mr. Kunal Mondal, Mr. Subhasmita
Sinha,Ms.MahuaRoychowdhury,Mr.SaumyaKantiRay,Mr.RahulBose
andMr.SauravSettcontributedtheirfindingsthroughrigorousfieldwork.
Our debt to Dr. Kakoli Banerjee, Subhdra Devi Gadi and Dr. Rajrupa
Ghosh is uncommonly large. Their contribution went far beyond that of
editorsastheyaddedtextureandcolourtoourprose.Attimesitwasdifficult
totellwheneditingendedandwritingbegan.
Eachofourcolleagues,Dr.SubhraBikashBhattacharyaandMr.Tanmay
Ray Chaudhuri, put great effort in updating the book. We are thankful to
Dr.PardisFazlioftheDepartmentofBiologicalandAgriculturalEngineer-
ing, University Putra, Selangor, Malaysia, for her effort in representing our
dataingraphicalforms.
WearealsoindebtedtotheMinistryofEnvironmentandForest,Ministry
of Earth Science, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govern-
ment of India, and IUCN for funding our venture through various projects.
Several innovative programmes that constitute the annexure sections of the
present book may serve as a road map in climate change mitigation and
adaptation process. Few examples of such innovations are mangrove based
fruit products by Mr. Prosenjit Pramanick, carbon content in gastropods by
v
vi Acknowledgement
Ms. Bulti Nayak etc., which are valuable assets of the present knowledge
reservoir.
Finally,Dr.AbhijitMitra expresseshisgratefulness tohis wifeShampa,
daughter Ankita and mother Manjulika whose inspirations and
encouragements acted as boosters to complete the manuscript. In many
rigorous field works in Sundarbans, the assistance provided by Ankita has
helped the authors to add case studies of various dimensions. The sacrifice
andinspirationthatDr.MitrareceivedfromhisfatherLateDhaneshChandra
Mitra can be considered as the foundation pillar of his effort in learning
ecologyandgraspingthesubject.
Dr. Sufia Zaman expresses her deepest gratitude to her mother Mrs.
Ayesha Zamanfor her unconditional love andpractical day-to-daysupport,
andtoherfatherMr.Salim-uz-Zamanwhogaveherimmensemoralsupport.
Dr.ZamanalsoacknowledgesthesupportofherbelovedhusbandDr.Sahid
ImamMallick.Dr.Zamanwishestoaccordherdeepsenseofgratitudetoher
family members including her uncle (Mr. Pradip Kumar Mitra) and aunt
(LateMrs.KanikaMitra),youngersister(Ms.SharmileeZaman),herin-laws
and beloved grandmother (Mrs. Shibani Dhar) for their encouragement and
inspirationthroughoutthestrenuousperiodofmanuscriptpreparation.
Contents
1 MarineEcosystem:AnOverview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 BenthicCompartment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.1 SupralittoralZone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1.2 EulittoralZone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1.3 SublittoralZone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.1.4 ContinentalShelf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.1.5 ContinentalSlope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.1.6 BathyalZone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1.7 AbyssalPlains. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1.8 HadalZone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2 AquaticCompartment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.2.1 ClassificationontheBasis
ofLightPenetration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.2.2 HowtoEstimatetheAgeofOceanWater?. . . 14
1.2.3 DissolvedOxygen(DO)Consumption
Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2.4 DecayRateof14CMethod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2.5 90SrContentMethod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2.6 HydrogenIsotopeMethod. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2 EstuarineEcosystem:AnOverview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.1 DefinitionandEcosystemServices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.1.1 EcosystemServices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.2 Classification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3 PhysicalProcessesintheMarineandEstuarine
Ecosystems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.1 WavesandTides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.1.1 Tides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.1.2 TheoriesRelatedtoTides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1.3 TidalBoreandTideinRivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
vii
viii Contents
3.2 Currents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.2.1 UpwellingandDownwelling:Causes
andSignificance.. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . . 68
3.2.2 FactorsRegulatingthePatternandDistribution
ofCurrents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.2.3 WhatHappensPractically?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.2.4 ElNin˜o. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4 AbioticVariablesoftheMarineandEstuarine
Ecosystems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.1 ChemicalComponents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.1.1 Spatio-temporalVariationsofSalinity. . . . . . . 90
4.1.2 Deep-WaterSalinity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.1.3 ConservativeandNon-conservativeIons. . . . . 90
4.1.4 DissolvedGasesinSeawater. . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.1.5 Nutrients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.2 SedimentCompartment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.2.1 TransportationofMarineSediments. . . . . . . . 97
4.2.2 ClassificationofMarineSediments. . . . . . . . . 98
4.2.3 Ooze:DefinitionandType. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
4.2.4 SedimentDeposition:ABoonoraCurse?. . . . 101
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
5 ProducersoftheMarineandEstuarineEcosystems. . . . . . 137
5.1 PhytoplanktonCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.1.1 Diatoms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.2 Dinoflagellates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.3 Coccolithophores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.4 Blue-GreenAlgae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.5 GreenAlgae. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.1.6 ClassificationofPhytoplankton. . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.2 Macrophytes. . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . 145
5.2.1 SeaweedCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
5.2.2 Mangroves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.2.3 SeagrassandSaltMarshGrass. . . . . . . . . . . . 156
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
6 ConsumersoftheMarineandEstuarineEcosystems. . . . . 193
6.1 ZooplanktonCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
6.1.1 Zooplankton:DoTheyMaintainUniformity
inTheirLifeTimeline?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.2 VertebrateCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Contents ix
6.2.1 Fishes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
6.2.2 Reptiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
6.2.3 SeaBirds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
6.2.4 MarineMammals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
7 DecomposersoftheMarineandEstuarineEcosystems. . . . 251
7.1 OverviewofMarineandEstuarineMicrobes. . . . . . . . 251
7.1.1 MarineOrganismsasHabitats
ofMicroorganisms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
7.1.2 IdentificationofMarineandEstuarine
Microorganisms:AMolecularGenetic
Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
7.2 ImportanceofMarineandEstuarineMicrobes. . . . . . . 261
7.2.1 ProductionofAntibiotics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
7.2.2 ProductionofAntitumourCompounds. . . . . . 264
7.2.3 ProductionofEnzyme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
7.2.4 BioremediationofPetroleumHydrocarbon. . . 264
7.2.5 DegradationofMangroveLitter. . . . . . . . . . . 265
7.2.6 DrugsfromMarineMicrobes. . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
8 AdaptationofMarineandEstuarineOrganisms. . . . . . . . 303
8.1 AdaptationofOrganismsintheIntertidalZone. . . . . . 303
8.1.1 AdaptationofBiotaInhabitingRockyShore. . . 306
8.1.2 AdaptationofBiotaInhabiting
SoftSubstratum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
8.2 AdaptationofOrganismsInhabitingDeepSea. . . . . . . 318
8.2.1 MorphologicalAdaptations.. . . .. . . . .. . . . . 319
8.2.2 BiochemicalAdaptations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
8.2.3 VentCommunitiesoftheDeepSea. .. . . . . . . 322
8.2.4 PropertiesofVentCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . 323
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
9 HotSpotsofMarineandEstuarineEcosystems. . . . . . . . . 331
9.1 Mangroves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
9.2 CoralReefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
9.2.1 TypesofCoralReefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
9.2.2 CoralReefCharacteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
9.2.3 ReefProductivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352
BrainChurners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Annexure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362