Occurrence of fine scale to massive green tides in coastal waters of Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar regions, southeast coast of Tamil Nadu, India

Comparison of macro‐molluscan assemblages in a protected and a non‐protected tropical seagrass ecosystem

“…A low abundance of herbivorous fishes was observed in this region (Purvaja et al, 2018), indicating that the grazing molluscan community (mesograzers), as seen in the present study, could enhance the low epiphytic load on seagrasses. Both GoMMNP and PB have been linked to recent algal blooms and green tides, which have been related to nutrient level increases (Raj et al, 2020; Ramesh et al, 2020). Enhancement of nutrient levels in the water column was found to increase algal loads on seagrasses, which had a detrimental impact on them by reducing photosynthesis, reducing CO 2 diffusion over the seagrass blade surface, and increasing leaf loss (Nelson, 2017).…”

“…Both GoMMNP and PB reported the presence of sea cows ( Dugong dugon ) and sea turtles, as well as their use of seagrass meadows for foraging (Balaji & Sekar, 2021; Bhupathy & Saravanan, 2006). In the GoMMNP, strong waves and currents have been documented to produce periodic disruptions to seagrass ecosystems by uprooting seagrass, resulting in enormous green tides and massive amounts of seagrass deposits onshore (Ramesh et al, 2020). All of these factors could explain the low density of seagrass seen in our study, which needs to be investigated further.…”