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Authors
Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati-517502, IN
Source
Journal of Geological Society of India (Online archive from Vol 1 to Vol 78), Vol 46, No 5 (1995), Pagination: 565-573
Abstract
A total of 180 bottom water and sediment samples each were collected both in monsoon (1990) and premonsoon (1991) periods from coastal and estuarine environments of Kovalam-Kanyakumari Tuticorin, South India. Fifty four benthic foraminiferal taxa were reported belonging to three suborders - Rotalina, Miliolina and Textularina. The fauna was thus related to ecological ingredients viz., salinity, organic matter, calcium and phosphate. Salinity showed an erratic relation whereas other parameters exhibited slight positive bearing with living crop in both the seasons. The living fauna have limited number of taxa with Ammonia beccarii and Asterorotalia dentata being dominant in both the seasons. Faunal density, diversity and distribution increases gradually towards Tuticorin. Inter play of ecological parameters coupled with substrate character could be the reason in faunal abundance and diversity along the east coast. The results lead to the conclusion that the type and size of the substrate is more important in regulating the foraminiferal density and diversity in the study area than mineralogy of the sediment. Investigations reveal that the monsoonal season is more congenial than premonsoonal season to the foraminifera. The provenance of the sediment is a metamorphic terrain dominated by Precambrian gneisses, schists and ferruginous quartzites belonging to Peninsular shield.
Keywords
Foraminifera, Environments, South India.
