Seaweed distribution in South and Little Andaman

Abstract

The seaweed flora of India is highly diversified and comprises mostly of tropical species, but boreal, temperate, and subtropical elements have also been reported. A total 1,153 species and 271 genera of marine algae, including forms and varieties, have been recorded from Indian waters, and about 105 species have been reported in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The scenario regarding the seaweed biomass of Andaman and Nicobar is very scanty, and very few studies have been carried out. The dominant species in these Islands are Acetabularia calyculus, Codium taitense, Halimeda sp., Dictyosphaeria cavernosa, Padina pavonica, Pocockiella sp., Turbinaria sp., Galaxaura sp. In this chapter, we have discussed about the distribution of seaweeds in four different locations in South and Little Andaman. A total of 27 genera of seaweeds were collected during the period of study. Seaweeds belonging to Rhodophyceae were found to be dominant (39.38%) followed by Chlorophyceae (35.71%) and Phaeophyceae (25%).