MolluscsinMangroves:ACaseStudy

Prof.A.ShanmugamandMrs.S.Vairamani
CentreofAdvancedStudyinMarineBiology AnnamalaiUniversity

n the geological time scale Molluscs evolved about 600 million years ago during the Cambrian period. The name Mollusca was first used by Linnaeus in the year 1757. Structurally Molluscs are a heterogeneous group of animals with different structural form such as slugs, mussels, octopuses and snails. Majority of the mollusks are known by their shell; but in some forms the shell is absent. Molluscs have been classified basedontheirmorphological,anatomicalandbiologicalfeatures. Molluscs are second only to Arthropoda in numerical abundance. The number of species identified under Phylum Mollusca vary between 80,000 to 1,00,000. Molluscs have colonized all possible habitats fro deep sea to high mountains. They are more abundant in the littoralzonesoftropicalseas.GastropodsandBivalvesconstitute98%of the total population of mollusca and they inhabit land, freshwater and marine environments. The other classes of Mollusca are exclusively marine. GastropodsinMangroveEcosystem Thegastropodmolluscs,representedbysnails,whelks,cowries,limpets, sea hares and their allies, are among the commonest epifaunal species that exist in the mangrove ecosystems. The gastropods are suitably adapted to various macrohabitats of the mangrove ecosystems. Marine species are found in the bottoms as well as in water bodies, the pulmonate snail and several other groups have conquered mangrove lands with the elimination of the gills and conversion of the mantle cavity into lungs. The mangroves provide ideal conditions for higher productivity of gastropods which in turn, serve as food, particularly the veliger larvae for numerous other animals. Because of their predatory nature, the gastropods occupy a central role in maintaining the functioning and productivity of mangroves through cleaning root systemsfromtheencrustingfaunalikebarnacles.Thesnailsalsoserve

372 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

as intermediate host for many trematode parasities. Based on the structure of the molluscan assemblages, the pollution damage in mangroveforestscanbeassessed. Thus gastropods have a significant ecological role to play in the mangrove ecosystems. However very little information is available on the gastropod biodiversity of mangroves. Hence it is necessary to documentthebiodiversityofthegroupofthreatenedecosystems. BivalvesinMangroveEcosystem Mangroves are highly zoned, typically occupying the upper half of the eulittoralanddominatingthesupralittoralfringe.Theygrowbestinthe soft mud and these two aspects alone partially explain the lack of the data on mangrove bivalves; the bivalves are in general best adopted to lowertidallevelsandtofirmerdeposits.Lasaearubra,forexample,isone of the few bivalves capable of colonizing the high inter tidal almost worldwide(Morton,1960),although,aswellasseen,theSpartinamarsh associate Geukensia demissa has similar adaptations to a high zoned life (Lent, 1969), as do deposits by a filter feeder enhance the very real problemofthegillcloggingandsedimentremoval. Thus, little is known of mangrove bivalves, especially those few species which appear to be endemic components of the mangrove forests. As will be seen, large number of bivalves have been recorded from the seaward fringe of the mangroves, and their status as true mangroveassociatesisdependableapartfromtheobviousdifficultiesof working in a mangrove forest, numerous authors (Warner, 1969; Sasekumar, 1974; Murty and Balaparameswara Rao, 1977) ignored the bivalves in favor of the more active and therefore more conspicuous mangrove associates (the gastropod) (Robertson, 1960; Brown, 1971; Vermeiji,1974). Coomans (1969) has drawn attention to the inherent interest in mangrove molluscs and Bouchet (1977) has provided data on West Africa mangrove molluscs, drawing on the data by Binder (1968) on IvorycoastmangroveandbyCoomans(1969)ontheCaribbeanfaunato compare the molluscan fauna of various mangrove regions. However, even these authors emphasize the mangrove gastropods, although there are mangrove bivalves of some interest and occasionally, such as the mangrove oysters (especially Crassostrea rhizophorae in the Caribbean) of muchwidereconomicpotential.

A. Shanmugam and S. Vairamani 373

MethodofCollection For the quantitative analysis, the mangrove molluscs were collected by hand picking in a transect of known area or using a quadrate of known size. At the same time the foulers like mussels and oysters were collected by scrapping those using knives or spatula from a known unit area either using a quadrate. Further the infaunal bivalves were collected by hand digging the substratum (Alfred et al., 1997). The arboreal forms were collected from the stems, roots and other parts of the mangrove trees vertically at every 25 cm height by hand picking (Sasekumar,1974). The diagrammatic profile of a mangrove swamp showing a schemeoftheessentialfeaturesofanimalzonationisdepictedbelow.

IdentificationofGastropods The shell characters such as shape, spire length and shape, mouth opening, opercular shape, umbilicus shape and size, colour and ornamentation of the shell are used mainly for the identification of gastropods apart from the internal characters of which the important oneisradula. IdentificationofBivalves The bivalves are identified mainly based on the shell morphology. The shellcomprisesoftwovalves.Ifthevalvesaresimilar,theshellissaidto

374 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

be equivalve (clams, mussels); if dissimilar, ineqivalve (scallops). The outer surface is usually covered with a periostracum. The outer surface maybestriatedorribbed.Thetwo valvesare heldtogetherbyan elastic ligament, which leaves a scar on the hinge. The hinge may in addition have interlocking ridges called the dentition. The individual ridges (or teeth) may be similar. The two valves are attracted to the soft body by adductor muscles that produce scar on the interior surface. If each valves has a single such scar, the shell is said to be monomyarian. If there are two scars on each valve, the shell is dimyarian. At hinge, the shell has a projection called the umbo; this always points towards the anterior end of the animal (i.e., the end where the mouth is). Thus we can distinguish an anterior adductor scar and a posterior adductor scar in dimyarian shells. A slender scar often touches these two that marks the attachment of the mantle folded into a posterior siphon for conveying water away from the body when the animal is feeding by converted ciliary currents such shells show a pallial sinus in the pallial line. Preservationofthesample Preservation of sample is carried out in three stages namely, narcotization or anaesthetization, killing and fixation and permanent preservation. The process of narcotization ensures that organisms are expandedfullydisplayingtheircharacteristicfeatures. Menthol / Magnesium chloride: The animals are kept in clean water in an enamel tray / Petri dish / bowl depending on the size of the sample.Powderedmentholormagnesiumchlorideissprinkledoverthe water and covered with a lid. The sample is left undisturbed for at least 12hours. Alcohol or Chloral hydrate: 70% Ethyl alcohol or 1% Chloral hydrate is added drop by drop are frequent intervals to water in which animalsarekeptandensuringthatthesampleiscoveredwithalid. The next step is fixation. After ensuring that the animals are narcotizedtheyaretransferredtocontainerswithfixatives.Thecommon chemical used for fixation of animals in the field is 4 to 10% neutral formalin solution. For molluscs, ethyl alcohol is the best known killing andpreservingmedium. The animals are finally preserved either in 4% formalin or 90% alcoholorrectifiedspirit.

A. Shanmugam and S. Vairamani 375

MolluscanspeciesinIndia We made a molluscan survey along the east coast of India, which occupies 57% of total Indian mangroves. This coast is endowed with the worlds largest single block of mangrove forest, the Gangetic Sunderbans in West Bengal with an area of 2109 km2 in India. The coast isalso colonized withluxuriantmangroveforestsintheStatesof Orissa, AndraPradeshandTamilNadu. Table1.DistributionofmolluscanspeciesoneastcoastofIndia
Nameofmangroveareasineastcoastof India Bhitarkanika No. Nameofspecies

Muriaganga

Sundarbans

Pichavaram

Mahanadi

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Amphineurasp. Assimineabeddomeana A.brevicula Auriculagangetica Bactronophorussp. Bankiaspp. Cassidulanucleus Cerithideacingulata C.obtusa C.alata Crassostreagryphoides C.madrassensis C.cuttackensis Dicyathifersp. Dostiacrepidularia Ellobiumaurisjudae Littorinamelanstoma L.scabra Lyrodussp. Martesiasp. Melampusceylonicus M.pulchella Meretrixmeretrix Modiolusmetcalfei Nassasp.

Muthupet

Godavari

Krishna

376 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

Nausitorasp. Neritaarticulata N.violacea Pseudoneritasulculosa Neritina(Dostia)violacea Nodilittorina Nototeredosp. Onchidiumsp. O.tenerum O.tigrinum O.typhae Pernaviridis Pilaglobusa(freshwater phyla) Polymesodabengalensis Potamacmaeafluviatilis Pythiaplicata Saccostreacucculata Stenothyradeltae Tanysiphonrivalis Telescopiumtelescopium Teredorasp. Thaissp.

BiodiversityMeasurement 1. SpeciesDiversity(ShannonandWeaver,1949)

H ' = ni / N log 2 ni / N
i =1

2.

SpeciesRichness(Gleason,1922)

SR =
3.

S 1 Log e N

DominanceIndex(McNaughton1967)

100(n1 + n 2) N

A. Shanmugam and S. Vairamani 377

4.

Evenness(Pielou,1966)

Factorsaffectingbiodiversityandconservation,ingeneral The following are some of the important factors that are affecting

J '=
molluscandiversityingeneral. 1.

H' Log 2 S

IrrationalandOverexploitation In some locations, Parangipettai coast, Kakinada Bay and canal, the molluscs are exploited mainly for lime production and ornamental purposes and now to certain extent animal feed in aquaindustry. For example nearly 22 bags of T. telescopium and 23 bags of other gastropods were fished and sent to the lime industry every week during the six month long period of observation during 1986fromPichavarammangroves and Vellar estuary areas along the east coast of India (Kasinathan and Shanmugam,1988).

2. 3.

Human activity stress in the natural bed or habitat (mangrove vegetation) HumanExplodingpopulation: The population increase has ledto the increase in the production of wastes both industrial and domestic. The dumping of wastes in the breeding grounds of mollusks led to the mass mortality of molluscan forms (for example oyster beds) apart from making those sites unfit for any molluscan culture. Further for the recolonisation of the molluscan fauna in such areas shall take longerperiod.

4.

NaturalCalamities: The sudden heavy downpour, floods, cyclones, draught and Tsunamies cause mass mortality of the burrowing mollusks. Further the mollusks in the rivers and estuaries are being carried by the flood water into coastal water where these molluscan formsdie.

378 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

5.

ExpansionofAgriculturaldiversityinIndia Theusageoffertilizers,pesticidesandinsecticidestoincreasethe agriculture production to meet out the demand of the exploding human population lead to the arrival of excess / unutilized fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides into the coastal ecosystem via the rivers not only spoils the natural habitats of the mollusks but also pave the way for the bioaccumulation of the pollutants in many species of mollusks making them unfit for human consumption.

6.

Habitat Destruction due to reclamation activities such as dam construction, factories, highways, mining operations (subfossil collection)etc. Illegaltradeandpoachingofthespeciesunderdanger Toalesserextenttheprofessionalshellcollectionisalsoaffecting themolluscanresources. ConservationStrategies

7. 8.

Biodiversity is the hot topic like hole in the ozone layer and global warming all over the world. There are biodiversity conventions signed by many countries to save their biological diversity. In the past one decadeithastakenitsmomentumanditsprotectionisthetalkandneed of the hour. The studies on biodiversity will not only give a clear idea about the resource assessment of any biotope / ecosystem but also ensurethesustainableuseofcoastalhabitatswhichincludebiodiversity. The resource assessment is the basic prerequisite hot only for any type of biodiversity or faunal assemblage studies but also form the basis for IUCNcategorizationofthesameinanybiotope/ecosystem. a. Regulationofmeshsizeofthehanddredgeanddredgingmainly in estuarine and shallow coastal habitat Kalanadi estuary & VembanadLakeP.malabarica,M.casta&Villoritasp. Strict vigilance in exploitation of undersized animals AshtamudiestuaryP.malabarica Issuinglicenseforfishing(likechank)&Limeshellfishingrights issue of license as practiced by the State Dept. of Mining & eeology(KeralaMinerMineralsConcessionRules,1967) Imposing ban on fishing in the spawning season (Fishing Holidays) undersized chanks and Egg masses in Trawl catchesalongTNcoast

b. c.

d.

A. Shanmugam and S. Vairamani 379

e. f.

Educatingthefisherfolkabouttheneedforconservation Commercial leasing out of estuaries and natural beds in consultation with experts from National Committee on Marine Parks Demarcation of the area for dredging of the subfossil resources after thorough and detailed Geological investigations. For example, the mining of subfossil deposite in the estuaries and river beds in Kalanadi and Vembanad lake damages the natural habitat and adversely affect traditional occupation of fisherman (Nayaretal.,1984;Achari,1988). To replenish the clam resources, Clam sanctuaries or Clam Parkinknownclamfishingestuaries. Clam farming by semi culture (transplanting the seed clams from dense beds to other suitable places in the estuary) is suggestedtoaugumentproduction. Identification of the species under threat and ranching (Giant claminLakshadweepandAndaman&NicobarIslands). If possible, paying some compensation or providing basic amenities or arranging some alternating job / income source duringthefishingclosingseason Since the pearl oysters in the natural beds are influenced by many biotic and abiotic factors in terms of their recruitment, growth, health etc. a Pearl Breeding Reserve in the same habitat (GOM) may be maintained; Likewise the Chank BreedingReserve DeclarationasProhibitedareasforfishingInAndamanNicobar islands Trochus & Turbo overexploitation by Divers lead to a decrease in the landings in recent years. So areas around Little Andamans, Nicobar, Katchai and Comorta islands upto 500 m fromshoreline Resource survey should be intensified to collect more information on distribution of species / population / communities and their economic potentials and IUCN categorisation

g.

h. i.

j. k.

l.

m.

n.

ACaseStudy Until 1994, there was no licensing system in Ashtamudi Lake. In 1994, State Government after having discussions with clam fishermen,

380 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

scientistsandgovernmentofficialslaiddownthefollowingconservation measures. i. ii. iii. Imposing ban on clam fishing (Fishing Holidays) from October toJanuarywhenspawningandspatsettlementoccur Meshsizeregulationinthedredge Paphia:morethan30mm & otherclams:morethan20mm Meatcountofclamsexportedalwayslessthan1400nos/kg

iv. Strictvigilanceinexploitationofundersizedclams References

Alfred, J.B., R.K. Varshney and A.K. Ghosh (Eds.) (1997). An assessment manual for faunal biodiversity in South Asia. SACEP/NORAD publicationseriesonBiodiversityinSouthAsiaNo.1:181pp. Binder, E. (1968). Repartition des Mollusques dans lalaguna Ebrie (Cote d Ivoire).Cah.ORSTOM,Ser.Hydrobiol,2:224. Bouchet,P.(1977).DistributiondesmollusquesdanslesmangrovesduSenegal. Malacologia,16:6774. Brown, D. A. (1983). Gonad development and spawning in Anadara granosa (L.) (Bivalvia:Arcidae).Aquaculture,30:211219. Coomans, H.E. (1969). Biological aspects of mangrove molluscs in the West Indies.Malacologia,9:7984. Kasinathan,R.andShanmugam,A.(1988).Overexploitationofmolluscanfauna intheVellarestuaryandPitchavarammangroves.Galaxea,7:303306. Lent, C.M. (1969). Adaptation of the ribbed mussel, Modiolus demissa (Dillwyn), totheintertidalhabitat.Am.Zool.,9:283292. Morton, J.E. (1960). The functional morphology of the British Ellobiidae (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) with special reference to the digestive and reproductivesystems.Phil.Trans.R.Soc.(B),239:89160. Murty, A.S. and Balaparameswara Rao, M. (1977). Studies on the ecology of mollusks in a South Indian Mangrove Swamp. J. Moll. Stud., 43 : 223 229. Robertson, R. (1960). The mollusk fauna of Bahamian mangroves. Bull. Am. Malacol.Union,Inc.,Annu.Rep.,26:2223. Sasekumar, A. (1974). Distribution of the macro fauna on a Malayan mangrove shore.J.Anim.Ecol.,43:5169. Vermeij, G.J. (1980). Drilling predation in a population of the edible bivalve Anadaragranosa(Arcidae).Nautilus,94:123125. Warner, G.F. (1969). The occurrence and distribution of crabs in a Jamaican mangroveswamp.J.Anim.Ecol.,38:379389.

A. Shanmugam and S. Vairamani 381

Animalsinthefield Melampuscrawlingonthemud
C.obtusafoundonthestemof Avicenniasp. Pythiaplicatafoundonthe mangroveleafofSonneratiasp.

Littorinamelanostoma found onthemangroveLeafof Rhizophorasp.

Onchidiumcrawlingonthemud

Pythiaplicatacrawlingonthe mangroverootsystem

382 Molluscs in Mangroves : A Case Study

Animalsinthefield
Assimineacrawlingonthe muddysubstratum C.cingulatacrawlingonthemud alongwithAssiminia N.articulatafoundattachedtothe dykes Ellobiumfoundonwoodencrevices FaecalmatterofEllobiumfound insidethedamagedstem

Quantitativeassessmentof T.telescopiumusingquadrate