Larger Symbiont-bearing Benthic Foraminiferal Assemblages in Shelf Sediments of Andaman-Nicobar Archipelago

The endosymbionts bearing larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) is among the important faunal group of coral reef ecosystems. They are extensively studied globally to understand coral reefs' health prospects. This paper aimed to document the number of species belongs LBF that existed in the shelf sediments of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI). To know the species composition between shallow (~10 m) to deeper transect (~50 m). In addition, the distribution and diversity of LBF from present study compared with earlier reported data from other geographical locations of the Indian Ocean. A total of 26 LBF species were identified in 26 sediment samples from 13 locations, which was the highest richness of LBF among the studies reported earlier from 35° E to 93° E (west to east) of Indian Ocean. However, other than ANI the Gulf of Mannar and Red Sea showed more species richness (16 species from each) and lowest richness was found at Chagos Archipelago and Arabian Gulf (4 species each). Two assemblages found in the study corresponded with the two targeted- sample transects of ~10 and ~50 m those are the assemblage I Calcarina spenglerii group and the assemblage II Calcrarina mayori group from the depth transect respectively.