Impact of benthic disturbance on megafauna in Central Indian Basin

Deep-sea photographs and video data were studied to evaluate the effects of benthic disturbance on megafaunal distribution in the Central Indian Basin. Xenophyophores (41%) and holothurians (30%) are the most abundant taxa, followed by other groups in the area before the disturbance. An overall reduction (32%) in the total megafaunal population after disturbance is direct evidence of the impact on benthic environment. Different groups such as xenophyophores, sea anemones, shrimps, starfish, brittle stars, holothurians and fish show different degrees of reduction (21–48%) in their numbers, depending upon their ability to withstand increased turbidity and sedimentation rates due to disturbance. groups such as protobranch molluscs, polychaete worms, seafans and squids, observed before the disturbance, were not seen after disturbance, whereas populations of some taxa increased after the disturbance. Increased numbers of mobile taxa could be due to increased levels of organic carbon due to resedimentation, whereas increase in sessile taxa may partly reflect the difficulty in distinguishing live from dead specimens. The impact on faunal assemblages is more severe in the disturbed area than the undisturbed area. sults indicate that monitoring of megafauna can be used effectively to evaluate the potential impacts of large-scale mining or other disturbance on the seafloor, and may therefore help in developing measures for conservation of the benthic environment.