From Protista to sea mammals, fascinating data is introduced on one of essentially the most unexplored ecosystems on the planet.
India is home to 4,371 species of deep-sea fauna, together with 1,032 species underneath the dominion Protista and three,339 species underneath the dominion Animalia, a latest publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has revealed.
The deep-sea ecosystem is taken into account to be beneath a depth of 200 metres, the place photo voltaic vitality can’t help major productiveness by way of photosynthesis. This publication is the primary detailed work on deep-sea organisms of the nation.
Published by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the guide titled ‘Deep Sea Faunal Diversity in India’ is the work of 5 authors and several other different contributors over 41 chapters.
India is surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and the Laccadive Sea (Lakshadweep Sea). Of the 4,371 species, the utmost of 2,766 species has been reported from deep sea areas of the Arabian Sea, adopted by 1,964 species from the Bay of Bengal, 1,396 species from the Andaman Sea, and solely 253 species from the Laccadive Sea.
RIMS ship investigator
The authors behind the guide level out that India is one of the international locations that made a pioneering exploration within the deep Indian Ocean area in 1874 by commissioning a RIMS (Royal Indian Marine Survey) ship investigator, which performed monumental research in seas round India. “This RIMS investigator continued to work till 1926. After that, several other vessels, including vessels of the Indian Navy and scientists from the ZSI and other institutions, conducted deep sea explorations, gathering information about the fauna. This publication is a result of the work put together by several scientists across three centuries,” C. Raghunathan, ZSI Acting Director, one of the authors of the publication, mentioned. The marine biologist mentioned deep sea fauna had an enormous range, ranging from unicellular eukaryotes, sponges, corals, echinoderms and fishes, and in addition mammals.
A Dendrophylliid coral present in Deep Sea of India
Kailash Chandra, former ZSI Director, mentioned that the deep sea ecosystem was essentially the most unexplored ecosystem internationally. It included hydrothermal vents, submarine canyons, deep sea trenches, sea mounts, chilly seeps, and dust volcanoes. “This publication, the first of its kind, provides baseline information on all groups of fauna and biological organisms in the Indian deep seas. Not only will this support our knowledge on conserving and managing deep sea faunal resources, but it will also pave way for their sustainable utilisation,” Dr. Chandra mentioned.
31 species of sea mammals
There are 31 species of sea mammals which are present in deep sea ecosystem of Indian waters, together with the Critically Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin. Two different species, the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise and the Sperm Whale, are recorded as ‘Vulnerable’ within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification.
The checklist of mammals contains Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and Short-beaked Common Dolphin, which dive as deep as 8,000 metres beneath the Earth’s floor.
Marine turtles
Out of the seven species of marine turtles discovered internationally, 5 species have been recorded from Indian waters. India is called one of one of the best and largest breeding grounds for sea turtles, particularly for Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles, internationally.
Indicative map of Deep-Sea fauna of Indian seas
The publication’s chapter-wise description contains particulars of 36 species of sponges, 30 species of laborious corals, 92 species of octocorals, 124 species of hydrozoans, seven species of jellyfish, and 7 species of comb jellies.
The different deep-sea fauna present in Indian waters embody, amongst others, 150 species of molluscs, together with 54 species of cephalopods; 134 species of prawns; 23 species of lobsters; 230 species of echinoderms, 53 species of tunicates, 443 species of fishes and 18 species of sea snakes.
The different authors of the guide are Honey U.Okay. Pillai, P. Jasmine and Tamal Mondal.
The publication comes days after the allocation of ₹4,000 crore was made for the Deep Ocean Mission by the federal government of India within the Union Budget for 2021-22.
Scientists identified that whereas the publication comes up with a baseline determine of 4,371 species, there may be an pressing want for higher exploration of Indian deep seas. Most of the sooner explorations have been carried to most depth of 2,000 metres, whereas components of Indian seas are deeper than 6,000 metres, Dr. Raghunathan mentioned.
