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Palk Bay
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Name of the area
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Palk Bay
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Place :
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Near Rameswaram
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State :
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Tamilnadu
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Latitude :
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9°55’ – 10°45’N
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Longitude :
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78°58’ – 79°55’E
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Key Physical Characters
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Estimated reef area
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Reef starts from Munakad (1-2m Broad) and runs east up to
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Tonithurai.(5.5km) width of the reefs attains 300m
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East to the Pamban pass , the reef again starts near
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Thangachimadam and end near Angitheertham(Rameswaram)
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Depth
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9 meter (Never Exclude 15 mts)
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Tidal amplitude (in meter) :
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1m (generally calm) except in North-East Monsoon
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Water temperature:
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24.60c and 29.10c
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Chemical Characters
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pH :
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7.5 to 8.4
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Salinity :
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22.5 to 35 ppt
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Dissolved Oxygen :
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3.29 to 5.44 mg/l
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Bidiversity
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Biodiversity status
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Foraminifera 51
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Tintinnids 12
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Flora 143
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Sponges 275
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Coelentrates (other than corals) 123
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Stony corals 128
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Polyzoa 100
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Polychaeta 75
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Insecta 1
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Crustacea 651
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Mollusca 733
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Echinodermata 274
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Prochordata 66
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Fishes 580
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Turtles 5
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Birds 61
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Mammals 11
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Major flora Fauna
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Phytoplankton
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List of phytoplankton species recorded from Kattumavadi, Palk Bay.
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(Sridhar et al 2006)
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Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms)
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Achnanthes brevipes - Not available
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Asterionella glacialis - Not available
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Bacteriastrum delicatulum - Threatened
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Cerataulina bergonii - Not evaluated
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C. indicus sp. - Not available
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C. orientalis - Not available
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Climacosphenia elongata - Not available
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Coscinodiscus jonesianus (Greville) - Not available
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C. lineatus Ehrenberg - Not available
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C. marginatus - Not available
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C. sub-lineatus - Not available
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Fragilaria brevistriata - Not available
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G. sphaerophorum - Least concern
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Grammatophora undulata - Not available
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Gyrosigma balticum - Not available
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G. disortum - Not available
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Navicula cincta - Not available
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N. cuspidata Kutz. - Not available
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Nitzschia closterium - Not evaluated
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N. longissima - Not evaluated
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N. sigma - Not evaluated
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Odontella heteroceros - Not available
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O. mobiliensis - Not evaluated
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O. pulchella - Not available
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Pinnularia acrosphaeria - Not available
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Planktoniella sol - Least concern
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P. aestuarii - Not available
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P. angulatum - Not available
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P. elongatum. - Not evaluated
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P. normanii - Not available
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Pyxidicula minuta - Not available
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Rhizosolenia alata - Not available
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R. crassispina - Not available
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R. cylindrus Cleve - Not available
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Synedra ulna - Not available
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Tabellaria fenestrate - Not available
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Thallassionema nitzschioides - Not available
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T. lineatum - Not available
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Thallassiothrix frauenfeldii - Not available
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T. longissima - Not available
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T. favus - Not available
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T. reticulatum - Not available
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T. robertsianum - Not available
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Cyanophyceae (Blue-green)
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Aphanocapsa conferta - Not avaiable
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Chroococcus indicus - Not available
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Phytoplankton bloom : Generally 2 to 3 blooms occur in a year particularly
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Commercially Important Shell Fishes
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Lobster, crabs, cephalopods (foreign exchange earner), cuttle fish, pearl oyster etc.,
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Fin Fishes
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Fishes 580
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Flora
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61 species of marine macroalgae
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Green algae (14 genera and 28 species)
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Ulva lactuca - Not evaluated
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U. reticulate - Endangered
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Cladophora sp. - Near threatened
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Chaetomorpha sp. - Not available
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Neomeris annulata - Not evaluated
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Acetabularia moebii - Not available
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Halicystis boergesenii - Not available
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Valonia aegagropila - Not evaluated
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Boergesenia forbesii - Not evaluated
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Microdictyon agardianum - Not evaluated
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Struvea delicatula - Not available
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Caulerpa cupressoides - Not evaluated
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C. fergusonii - Not threatened
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C. Mexicana - Not evaluated
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C. micropysa - Not available
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C. peltata - Not evaluated
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C. racemosa. V. clavifera - Least concern
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C. racemosa V. coryneflora - Least concern
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C. scalpelliformis - Not available
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C. serrulata v. typical, formalata - Not evaluated
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C. sertularioides forma brevipes - Not evaluated
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C. sertularioides forma longiseta- Not evaluated
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C. taxifolia - Not evaluated
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C. verticillata - Not evaluated
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Udotea javensis - Not available
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Halimeda opunita - Not avialable
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H. tuna - Not available
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Codium sp. - Not evaluated
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Brown algae (8 genera and 13 species)
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Dictyota spp. - Not evaluated
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Padina commersonii - Not available
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P. gymnospora - Not available
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P. pavonia - Not available
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P. tetrastromatica - Not available
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Pocockiella variegate - Not available
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Pocockiella sp. - Not available
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Hydroclathrus clathratus - Not available
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Chnoospora implexa - Not available
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Hormophysa triquetra - Not available
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Sargassum sp. - Endangered
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Turbinaria conoides - Not evaluated
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T. ornate - Not available
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Red algae (17 genera and 20 species)
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Gelidiella acerosa - Not evaluated
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Gelidium pusillum - Not evaluated
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Amphiroa fragilissima - Not evaluated
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Chondrococcus harnemanni - Not available
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Gracilaria crassa - Not available
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G. foliifera - Not evaluated
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Glichenoides - Not available
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Hypnea spp. - Not evaluated
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Champia globulifera - Not available
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Wranglia argus - Not available
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Ceramium spp. - Data deficient
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Centroceras clavulatum - Not evaluated
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Spyridia filamentosa - Not evaluated
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Martensia fragilis - Not evaluated
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Roschera glomerulata - Not available
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Leveillea jungermannioides - Not evaluated
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Cohondrai dasyphylla - Not evaluated
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Acanthophora spicifera - Not threatened
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Laurencia obtuse - Not available
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L. papillosa - Not available
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Seagrasses
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Cumodocea sp. - Least concern
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Diplanthera wrightii - Not available
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Syringodium filiforme - Least concern
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Halophila ovalis - Least concern
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Endangered species
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Turtules, seahorses, dolphins, dugongs etc.,
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Archeologically/Ecologically Important Places
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Palk Bay
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The reefs has been classified into 5 Zones Shore
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Lagoon
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Shoreward slope
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Reef crest
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Seaward slope
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Coral
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The Scleractinian fauna of Palk Bay (82 species and 27 genera)
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Environmental status
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Associated ecosystem
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Mangroves, seaweeds, seagrass etc.,
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Gross average productivity in benthic floor
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142 to 472 mg C.m3d-1
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Major threats
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Cyclonic winds, strong monsoon winds (cause mechanical damage), dumping untreated domestic and industrial waste into the oceans, unscrupulous fishing, using trawl nets in shallow depths 2 to 3 fathoms (or) by use of shore seine fishing nets around coral reef areas, coral minning, coral bleaching etc.,
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