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<p>Ascidians are filter-feeding sac-like marine urochordates of great evolutionary, ecological and economic importance. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the most important hot spots of biodiversity in India, while the ascidian diversity of this region is very scanty. Ascidians belonging to 29 species were identified at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the field research carried out from March 2014 to April 2015. Eight species (<italic>Didemnum granulatum, Didemnum molle</italic>, <italic>Didemnum psammatodes</italic>, <italic>Diplosoma listerianum</italic>, <italic>Lissoclinum fragile</italic>, <italic>Lissoclinum levitum</italic>, <italic>Lissoclinum patella</italic>, <italic>Trididemnum Cyclops</italic>) from the Didemnidae family were found and identified. Various diversity indices, such as the Shannon -Wiener index (H’), Margalef’s index (D), Pielou’s index (J’), K-dominance curves, Cluster Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling, were used to analyze the diversity, richness and evenness of species, and to compare the diversity between samples and their resemblance in terms of species composition. The maximum species richness was observed in Campbell Bay (2.424) and the minimum in Haddo Wharf (0.910). This finding shows the rich species diversity of ascidian fauna at Andaman and Nicobar Islands.</p>
</abstract>

Ascidians are filter-feeding sac-like marine urochordates of great evolutionary, ecological and economic importance. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the most important hot spots of biodiversity in India, while the ascidian diversity of this region is very scanty. Ascidians belonging to 29 species were identified at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during the field research carried out from March 2014 to April 2015. Eight species (Didemnum granulatum, Didemnum molle, Didemnum psammatodes, Diplosoma listerianum, Lissoclinum fragile, Lissoclinum levitum, Lissoclinum patella, Trididemnum Cyclops) from the Didemnidae family were found and identified. Various diversity indices, such as the Shannon -Wiener index (H’), Margalef’s index (D), Pielou’s index (J’), K-dominance curves, Cluster Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling, were used to analyze the diversity, richness and evenness of species, and to compare the diversity between samples and their resemblance in terms of species composition. The maximum species richness was observed in Campbell Bay (2.424) and the minimum in Haddo Wharf (0.910). This finding shows the rich species diversity of ascidian fauna at Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Ascidian diversity (Chordata: Tunicata) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Ascidian diversity (Chordata: Tunicata) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India"}

Ascidians are filter-feeding sac-like marine urochordates of great evolutionary, ecological and economic importance. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the...

Ascidian diversity (Chordata: Tunicata) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

Article Category: Original research paper

Published Online: Jun 18, 2018

Page range: 107 - 117

Received: Aug 30, 2017

Accepted: Nov 16, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ohs-2018-0012

© 2018 Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, University of Gdańsk, Poland

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.