Distribution, diversity and abundance of molluscs in the intertidal profile of the Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem

The objective of this study was to determine the structure and composition of the molluscan community in two different intertidal profiles of the Bhitarkanika mangrove ecosystem of Odisha. Investigations on four study stations revealed the occurrence of 37 molluscan species represented by 25 gastropods and 12 bivalves. The comparative assessment demonstrated that molluscan species assemblage and diversity varied in the two different intertidal profiles with significantly higher abundance (P-value = 2.912e-11) at the mid-intertidal zone than the high intertidal zone. The species accumulation curve also indicates higher species accumulation in the mid intertidal zone as compared to the high intertidal zone. The two different zones were also found to differ significantly in physico-chemical parameters. Taken together, the observations demonstrated that hydrological and soil environmental conditions such as salinity, temperature, pH, electron conductivity and soil biomass carbon may influence the dispersion and distribution of benthic molluscan faunal assemblages among different mangrove habitats. The results highlighted the need for long-term studies and perspective when evaluating conservation practices in mangrove ecosystems.