ENVIS Centre, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India
Printed Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024
Araniar estuary
Araniar estuary
|
Name of the River
|
Araniar
|
|
Place
|
Near Pulicat
|
|
District
|
Tiruvellore
|
|
State
|
Tamil Nadu
|
|
Latitude
|
13° 25’N
|
|
Longitude
|
80° 15’E
|
|
Important land marks
|
Pulicat
|
|
Average depth
|
0.3 m
|
|
Type of the Estuary
|
Bar-built
|
|
Water temperature
|
31° C
|
|
Nature of the Substratum
|
Hard-Muddy
|
|
Salinity
|
34.00 ppt
|
|
Dissolved oxygen
|
4.30 mg/l
|
|
Predominant Benthic fauna
|
Foraminiferal
|
|
Commercially important Shellfishes
|
Oysters
|
|
Sewage discharges
|
Yes
|
Image
Map
River Basin Map
Physico-chemical entities
Size of foraminiferal assemblages along with some physic-chemical parameters of the Araniar river estuary
Biological entities
Average assemblage density distribution of total (Living + Dead) Foraminifera in Araniar river estuary [Occurrence: R = rare (5%), F = frequent (5-10%), C = common (10-15%), A = abundant (15%)]
|
Sl.No.
|
Species
|
Stations
|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
| 1 |
Ammobaculites sp.
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
A
|
| 2 |
Ammobaculites agglutinans
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
C
|
F
|
C
|
A
|
| 3 |
Ammobaculites diverses
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
R
|
F
|
|
|
| 4 |
Ammobaculites exiguus
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
A
|
A
|
| 5 |
Ammomarginulina foliaceus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
C
|
F
|
| 6 |
Ammonia beccarii
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
F
|
F
|
| 7 |
Ammonia tepida
|
F
|
A
|
A
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
|
| 8 |
Ammotium cassis
|
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 9 |
Amphistegina lessonii
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 10 |
Asterorotalia dentata
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
|
F
|
|
| 11 |
Asterorotalia trispinosa
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
C
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
Bolivina nobilis
|
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
| 13 |
Bolivina striatula
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 14 |
Cibicides labatulus
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
| 15 |
Elphidium adrenum
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
R
|
F
|
|
| 16 |
Elphidium crispum
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
|
|
| 17 |
Elphidium excavatum
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
| 18 |
Elphidium hispidulum
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
| 19 |
Florilus grateloupi
|
A
|
F
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
F
|
C
|
F
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
|
| 20 |
Florilus labrodoricum
|
R
|
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
| 21 |
Globulina gibba var globosa
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 22 |
Haplophragmoides sp.
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
A
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
| 23 |
Miliammina fusca
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
|
|
| 24 |
Miliolinella australis
|
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 25 |
Poroeponides lateralis
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 26 |
Pyrgo sp.
|
A
|
|
R
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 27 |
Quinqueloculina sp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 28 |
Quinqueloculina agglutinans
|
F
|
F
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
| 29 |
Quinqueloculina akneriana
|
|
F
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 30 |
Quinqueloculina bicostata
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 31 |
Quinqueloculina lamarkiana
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 32 |
Quinqueloculina parkeri
|
R
|
A
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 33 |
Quinqueloculina seminulum
|
F
|
C
|
F
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
| 34 |
Sigmavirgulina tartuosa
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 35 |
Siphogenerina glabra
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 36 |
Siphogenerina raphanus
|
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
| 37 |
Siphogenerina virgula
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 38 |
Spiroloculina nitida
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 39 |
Spiroloculina orbis
|
|
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 40 |
Textularia polustris
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
A
|
C
|
C
|
A
|
| 41 |
Triloculina terqueminana
|
|
F
|
|
|
|
|
R
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 42 |
Triloculina tricarinata
|
R
|
C
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 43 |
Triloculina trigonula
|
|
C
|
R
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 44 |
Trochammina sp.
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
F
|
F
|
C
|
A
|
Foraminifera
Ammobaculites agglutinana
Ammonia beccarii var. tepida
Globigerina bulloides
Globigerinoides trilobus
Quinqueloculina agglutinata
Quinqueloculina seminula
Rectobolivina raphana
steroratalia dentata
Inference
Ø The lower estuarine region is characterized by low range of variability and high abundance of foraminiferal counts, while the upper estuary by low range of variability and low faunal abundance.
Ø The living assemblages have limited number of species with Ammonia beccarii being dominant in all seasons.
Ø Of the various ecological parameters studied salinity, pH and calcium have a close bearing on the distribution and abundance of foraminifera in the estuary.
References
Reddy and K.R. Reddy, 1982. Recent benthonic foraminifera from the Araniar river estuary, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Marine Science, 11: 249–250.
Reddy, A.N. and K.R. Reddi, 1994. Seasonal distribution of Foraminifera in the Araniar river estuary of Pulicat, southeast coast of India. Indian Journal of Marine Science, 23: 39–42.