Macrobenthic Communities of the Vellar Estuary in the Bay
of Bengal in Tamil-Nadu in South India

M. V. Chertoprud^a, E. S. Chertoprud^a, A. Saravanakumar^b, T. Thangaradjou^b, and Yu. A. Mazei^c

^a Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

^b Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India

^c Belinsky Penza State University, Penza, Russia

e-mail: lymnaea@yandex.ru

Received February 29, 2012; in final form, May 2, 2012

Abstract—The macrobenthic fauna and communities of the Vellar Estuary located at the southeast cost of India
(1130 N, 7945 E) and the adjacent marine and river habitats are described on the basis of original data (70
samples over 10 transects). The fauna consists of 115 macrobenthic species and 79 species in estuarine habitats.
We described 14 types of macrobenthic communities with different compositions of the dominant species. The
leading ecological factors of the distribution of the communities are the salinity, depth, and bottom type. The
Vellar estuary consists of two longitudinal zones of macrobenthos. The polyhalinic area is populated by the
marine species, but it is related not to a salinity decrease but to the protection from waves and silt on the bottom
in this area. The polyhalinic communities are most abundant in terms of the biomass and species richness. The
mesohalinic area is inhabited by brackish water species and communities with low abundance. The sublittoral
estuarine area is dominated by filter-feeders—the bivalves Crassostrea madrasensis, Meretrix casta, Modiolus
metcalfei, and Scapharca inaequivalves—and the littoral zone is dominated by the gastropods Cerithidea cin-
gulata, some crabs, and polychaetes. The ecosystem function of the Vellar estuary can be defined as a filter for
the fine organic particles transported by the river.

DOI: 10.1134/S0001437013010049

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