Diatom response in different climatic zones from west coast of India

Abstract

Coastal margins and their ecological setting are one of the magnificent landforms on globe. The complex interaction among the different biotic and abiotic components through ages has addressed that due to climatic changes the coastal regions, one of the pioneer regions, have been getting affected and this may continue in the future also. The role of microfossils through ages has helped in delineating the past climatic manifestations and global changes and amongst them diatoms also provide a valuable tool for inferring past climate and ecological variability in the dynamic coastal system. In the study, a modern set of 77 samples from different climatic zones along the west coast of India has been studied to gain knowledge about the present-day climate status and record environmentally susceptible diatoms to form a modern analogue for coastal settings. The study shows various associations of planktic and benthic diatoms that hitherto provide precious information about the diatoms and their relation to the climatic regions and ecological status. The change in the frequency of planktic and benthic diatoms inculcate the water levels, pH, salinity changes, tidal variability and trophic status. Hence, the study aims to provide a robust database on diatoms for the various climatic zones from the west coast of India and would inevitably fill knowledge gap in terms of primary productivity for broad implications. The study also aims to provide background for transfer-based function for the reconstruction of long-term palaeoclimatic records for the transition zone of terrestrial and oceanic realms.