A Study on Tintinnids (Loricate Ciliates) From the Mangrove Proximal Zone Waters of Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), South Andaman

ABSTRACT We report here the interaction between the environment and tintinnids inhabiting in the mangrove proximal zone waters of South Andaman, in relation to certain physicochemical (temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen) and biological (Phytoplankton biomass) parameters. As the proximal zone of mangrove waters is subjected to regular tidal effect, tintinnids community was studied for one year (September 2012–August 2013) during the Northeast monsoon, Inter‐monsoon, and the Southwest monsoon periods. We recorded a total of 26 species belonging to 18 genera, and the abundance of tintinnids varied seasonally and spatially with higher abundance during the Southwest monsoon (19–59 ind L −1 ) followed by the Inter‐monsoon (18–27 ind L −1 ). Statistical analysis, such as Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and Spearman rank correlation, depicts that the influences of environmental variables varied seasonally, and temperature ( r = 0.76–0.90), salinity ( r = 0.90–0.1), and pH ( r = 0.90–0.1) are the major variables influencing on tintinnids assemblages in the mangrove proximal zone waters of South Andaman.