Ecological assessment of two sandy beaches along the Kerala coast, south west coast of India: perspective to pollution

Abstract

The distinct nature of the two shores (Fort Cochin and Dharmadam) of south west coast of India has the potential to evaluate the ecological function and processes. This study observed two different sandy beaches; Fort Cochin and Dharmadam and examined the faunal community structure and anthropological influences. From the entire study, it was uncovered that the shorelines chosen showed disparity in their shoreline profiles and faunal composition. Anthropological invasions and natural processes lead Fort Cochin beach to the threat of obliteration. The Dharmadam beach retained a pristine appearance; however, the temporal evaluation of beach fauna and biotic indices confirmed the occurrence of disturbed community. Impacts of anthropological activities were disclosed in the study and for which various statistical tools and biotic index like AMBI (AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index) were applied so that the ecological status of the system could be explored. AMBI being a biotic index, which derives ecological quality status based on diverse soft bottom macro-fauna as indicators, revealed the proliferation of opportunistic species or r selected species in both beaches, which has an adverse influence on the ecosystem. The application of Caswell neutral model (It is a comparison of Shannon Wiener diversity (H’) with expected diversity) also revealed that the predicted diversity value being larger than that of actual diversity in certain seasons, indicating the dominance of organisms there. Both the statistical tools pointed out that the beaches are in the trail of destruction and disturbances, except in some selected stations. An impulsive conservation program should be necessitated to upkeep those pristine beach ecosystems.