UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA

M.Sc. 1ST SEMESTER FIELD WORK

(16TH JANUARY-24TH JANUARY, 2020)

ROLL NUMBER:
REGISTRATION NUMBER:
CONTENTS

TOPICS:
1.Acknowledgement
2.Objective of the Field Work

3.General Information about the area:

- Location of the area

- Accessibility
- Climate
- Physiology and Drainage
- Vegetation

4.Sedimentological Study:

- Sedimentary facies
- Sedimentary Structures
- Ripple marks
- Rill marks
- Cross bedding
- Current Crescent

5.Tidal Flat

6.Sand Bar

7.Swamp

8.Lithofacies in Chandipur Beach

9.Lithofacies in Sand Bar

10.Paleontological Information

- The invertebrate molluscan fauna of Chandipur

- Introduction
- Bivalvian Community in Chandipur
- Photographs of Bivalves
- Gastropod Community in Chandipur
- Photographs of Gastropod

11.Facies wise distribution of the faunal assemblage

• Faunal assemblage
of the tidal flat area
• Faunal assemblage
of the beach area
• Faunal assemblage
of the Sand Bar
• Faunal assemblage of
the swamp area

- Live Interactions
- Dead Intercations
- Some field photos

12.Ichnology
- Crab burrows
- Predation
Methodology of boring
Common predators
Preferred site of drilling

13.Statistical Data Analysis of Mollusca

- Excercise 1: Ontogenic analysis of Bivalve

- Excercise 2: Size-sorting of Mollusc

- Excercise 3: Analysis of frequency of burrows in foreshore and
backshore

- Excercise 4: Burrow Waxing

14.Visit to Sitakund

15.Visit to Dagara Beach

16.Anthropologenic Impacts

17.Case Study
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I express my gratitude to the professors of Department of Geology,
University of Calcutta, Prof. Bithika Das and Prof. Ishita Das. Their
dedication, keen interest and guidance helped us complete our work.
I would also like to thank my batchmates, seniors and well-wishers
for their support, suggestions and help.
 OBJECTIVE OF THE FIELD WORK

To study the sedimentary facies and sedimentary structures in and

around Chandipur Beach
To understand the wave and current directions.
The interplay of fluvial, fluvio-marine, marine and Aeolian
processes has produced a variety of geomorphic features like beach,
tidal flat, coastal dunes and bars. This provides an intermixing of
various environments which we get to study here.
To study the facies wise distribution of molluscan community.
To analyse size sorting of the shells across the beach.
We get to study both the Aeolian action and water action on
sediments at the same time.
We get to interpret that present is the key to the past here.
 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE
AREA

LOCATION OF THE AREA

Chandipur is situated in the Balasore district of Orissa in the Eastern

coast of India. It is located in the North eastern extremity of the state
of Orissa.
Chandipur is bounded by latitude 21°25’35.05”N and 21°28’25.75”N
and longitude 87°00’13.9”E and 87° 04’39.69”E. It has an average
elevation of 3m ( 9.8ft). The town is 51.330 acres (0.20773 sq. km) in
size.

FIG. - MAP SHOWING CHANDIPUR, ORISSA

ACCESSIBILITY

Chandipur by Air:

Nearest airport is Bhubaneshwar (213km) and Kolkata (314km).

Chandipur by Rail:

Nearest station from Chandipur is Balasore which is 16km away on

South-East railway. It is served by a number of superfast trains
situated about 232kmfrom Kolkata. New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,
Puri, Tirupati and Bhubaneshwaretc bounding trains are also
available. Some trains from Kolkata to Balasore are listed below

Chandipur by Road:

The cities that are connected to Balasore by the district highways are
Cuttack, Bhubaneshwar and Puri. NH-5230 which is 16km from
Chandipur connects Kolkata and Bhubaneshwar. Bus services are
feasible.
Since, the first part of the field work was in and around the areas of
Angul district, so we hired cabs from Angul to reach the destination.
CLIMATE

The state of Orissa has three distinct seasons namely winter, summer
and Monsoon. The state has a subtropical environment.
Monsoon lasts from June to October with the winter season extending
from November to February and summer from March to June. The
annual average temperature of Balasore district is 22-30degand the
annual rainfall is 120-250mm. The field work was in the second week
of January. Warm days and cold nights were experienced.

Summer in Chandipur

Summers are hot, and begin in April and extend till May. Mercury
point may rise upto 450°C.

Monsoon in Chandipur

Monsoon begins in May and last still June. Chandipur receives heavy
rainfall accompanied by extreme humidity during this time.

Winter in Chandipur

Winter begins in the month of December and persists till February.

VEGETATION

The Aeolian dune fields behind the backshore are filled with coconut
trees, firs and screw pines.
PHYSIOGRAPHY AND DRAINAGE

The Chandipur coast near the confluence of the river Buribalam with
the Bay of Bengal is characterised by an exposed natural levee
covered in marsh. Chandipur tidal flat zone merges during low tide
and submerges during high tide. It is named as intertidal zone.
Supratidal zone is the area which is situated above the high water line
and the area below the water line is subtidal zone. Recent alluviam
cover is found towards landward side. The sediment in the beach is
commonly of fine to very sand grade while that in the tidal flat is silt
or silty fine sand except where the river Buribalam debouches onto
the tidal flat. Silty mud interlayers deposited from flood plumes are,
however, common both in the beach and the tidal flat. The coastline is
presently undergoing a phase of severe destruction on account of slow
transgression of the sea.. The crest line of the wavecut berm and the
slope break on the beach are aligned NE-SW. The foreshore is
characterised by a plane surface showing current lineations covered
by shore-parallel zones of current crescents and straight crested wave
ripples of long wavelength and very low amplitude. The lateral
contact between the beach and the tidal flat is sharp and stepped,
effecting another abrupt change in gradient. This contact is at a very
low angle with the berm crest line, tending to merge with the latter
towards the river where it enters into the tidal fiat. In the studied
stretch a third break-in-slope thus occurs across the foot of the bar
flank.
The Chandipur coast is a past of coastal plain that
extends from Subarnarekha in the North to differ Rushikulya in
forming an extensive alluvial tract. It has a relief with a general
altitude of 1.5m above mean sea level. The area is drained by the
Buribalamriver whose total drainage area 4874sqkm with an annual
flow of 637cubic mm. The river forms an estuary in the region. Here
the groundwater is generally saline and the freshwater occurs in the
discontinuation patches.
SEDIMENTOLOGICAL STUDY

Sedimentology encompasses the study of modern sediments such as

sand, silt and clay, and the processes that result in their formation
(erosion and weathering),transport, deposition and diagenesis.

SEDIMENTARY FACIES:
A facies is a body or packet of sedimentary rock with features that
distinguish it from other facies. A facies is the product of deposition,
and it may be characteristic of a particular depositional environment,
or a particular depositional process. Features used to separate facies
are sediment composition (lithology), grain size, texture, sedimentary
structures, fossil content and colour. Lithofacies are defined on the
basis of sedimentary characteristics, whereas biofacies rely on
palaeontological differences. With detailed work, subfacies can be
recognized, and microfacies if microscope studies are used to
distinguish between rocks that in the field appear similar (often the
case with limestones). Facies can be described in terms of (a) the
sediment itself (e.g. crossbedded sandstone facies), (b) the
depositional process (e.g. stream-flood facies) and (c) the depositional
environment (e.g. tidal-flat facies). Only (a) is objective and,
hopefully, unequivocal; (b) and (c) are both interpretative. Different
facies commonly occur together and so form facies associations or
facies assemblages. Repetitions of facies sequences are common and
give rise to small-scale cycles a few metres thick. Some cycles
develop naturally within the sedimentary environment without any
changes in external factors. There are many factors that control and
affect the sediments deposited and determine the sedimentary rock
type and facies produced. On a gross scale, overriding controls are (a)
the depositional processes, (b) the depositional environment, (c) the
tectonic context and (d) the climate.
Four different types of sedimentary facies which is observed in
Chandipur is-
• Sand Berm- In coastal systems, a berm is a raised ridge of
pebbles or sand found at high tide or storm tide marks on a
beach. It is a sedimentary facies with steeper slope having
vegetation and dry land on it.
• Backshore- The part of the beach lying between the foreshore
and coastline. It extends from the limit of high water foam lines
to dunes and sand berms.The backshore is generally dry under
normal conditions but it exposed to waves only under extreme
events with high tide and storm surge.
• Foreshore-The part of the shore lies between the limits for high
and low tides.
• Tidal Flat- The coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas
where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers.
SEDIMENTARY STRUCTURES:

The majority of sedimentary structures form by physical processes,

before, during and after sedimentation, whereas others result from
organic and chemical processes. Sedimentary structures,
particularly those formed during sedimentation, have a variety of
uses:
1)for interpreting the depositional environment in terms of
processes, water depth, wind strength, etc.;
2)for determining the way-up of a rock succession in an area of
complex folding;
3)for deducing the palaeocurrent pattern and palaeogeography
Many of the structures are on the scale of tenths to tens of metres
and so are studied, recorded and measured in the field. In recent
years, much experimental and theoretical work has been
undertaken on the development of sedimentary structures,
particularly those formed by the interaction of water and sediment.
Although there is no generally accepted classification of
sedimentary structures, the four main groups are (a) erosional, (b)
depositional, (c) postdepositional/diagenetic and (d) biogenic
structures.
Ripple marks-
Ripples and dunes are asymmetric bedforms that gradually move
downstream as sediment is transported through erosion of the
upstream-facing (stoss) side and its deposition over the bedform crest
on the downstream-facing (lee) side.By way of contrast, the
antidunebedform gradually moves upstream; sand is still going down-
current of course, very rapidly, but by being eroded from the
downstreamfacing side of the bedform and being deposited on the
upstream-facing side of the next one. Flow conditions under which
ripples and dunes are formed are referred to as lower flow regime;
upper plane bed and antidunes form in the upper flow regime. In
addition to flow velocity and grain size, depth is another control on
sandy bedforms. At very shallow depths, dunes do not form. Upper
flow regime bedforms require higher velocities at greater depths, and
they form more easily in the finer grain sizes. The features of these
bedforms and the internal sedimentary structures they produce are
discussed in the following sections.

Current ripples, dunes and cross-stratification -

Current ripples and dunes are downstream-migrating bedforms
produced by unidirectional aqueous flows. Their formation depends
on the flow velocity, flow depth and the sediment grain size. They are
common in rivers, estuaries, tidal flats, delta channels, along
shorelines andon shallow-marine shelves; ripples also occur on the
deep-sea floor. In the geological record, current ripples are commonly
preserved intact, but the actual dune bedforms rarely so; however, the
cross-stratification produced by the migration of these larger-scale
bedforms is one of the most common depositional structures in sand-
grade rocks. Current ripples are small-scale bedforms with
wavelengths of less than a few tens of centimetres and heights of less
than several centimetres. In profile they are asymmetric with a
steeper, downstream-facing lee side and a gentle upstream-facing
stoss side. Ripples can be described by the wavelength to height ratio,
referred to as the ripple index. For current ripples this ranges between
8 and 20. Subaqueous dunes have wavelengths of a metre or more and
heights of several tens of centimetres. Dunes have a similar triangular
profile and index to that of ripples. The shape of ripples and dunes is
described as two-dimensional if the crests are straight, or three-
dimensional, if the crests are sinuous, catenary, lunate or linguoid
.The shape of ripples and dunes is related to flow strength; with
increasing flow velocity, ripples show the sequence: straight-crested,
sinuous, linguoid; for dunes the sequence is: straight-crested, sinuous,
catenary, lunateIn addition to ‘subaqueous dune’, other terms that
have been used for these larger-scale bedforms are megaripple,
sandwave and bar. However, it is now clear that they are all part of
the same bedform spectrum, so that it is recommended that dune be
used for them all.The term sandwave, however, is well entrenched in
the shallow-marine clastics (and carbonates) literature and so will
doubtless continue to be used. It refers to large-scale, usually
asymmetric structures, which have smaller-scale dunes and ripples
upon them. Ripples and dunes migrate downstream through sediment
being eroded from the stoss side and carried to the crest, from which
it avalanches down the lee slope.As a consequence of the stream flow
over the bedform, flow separation takes place at the crest and an eddy
develops within the trough. The backflow of the eddy may cause
reworking of sediment at the toe of the lee slope, and in the case of
large dunes, upstream-directed ripples (backflow ripples) may
develop there. Also with large dunes, downstream directed ripples
may develop in the troughs downstream of the point of flow
reattachment. Some fine sediment is carried over the crest in the
separated flow and deposited out of suspension on to the lee surface.
The downstream migration of ripples and dunes under conditions of
net sedimentation gives rise to cross-stratification, a structure in the
past loosely called current bedding or false bedding (terms to avoid).
The cross-strata, referred to as foresets, represent the former position
of the ripple or dune lee face. Two basic types of cross-stratification
are (a) planar cross-strata, produced by two dimensional bedforms
(those with straight crests) and (b) trough cross-strata produced by
three-dimensional bedforms (those with curved crests). An individual
bed of cross-strata is termed a set; a group of similar sets is a coset.
Symmetric and Asymmetric ripples-
Symmetric ripples also called bidirectional ripples have a
symmetrical, almost sinusoidal profile, they indicate an environment
with weak currents where water motion is dominated by wave
oscillations, they forms stoss and lee sides which are equal in lengths.
Asymmetric ripples are formed from Uni-Directional forces,
sediments are eroded from stoss side of the ripple and gets deposited
on the lee side of the ripple thus the length of stoss and lee sides differ
from each other.

Ripple index and Symmetry index-

Ripple index(RI) is the ratio wavelength and height of the ripple,
formed by wave or current action.
If RI<4 then ripples are formed by wave action and if RI>15 then
ripples are formed by current action.
Symmetry index(SI) is the ratio of length of stoss and lee side of
ripples. If SI =1 then symmetric ripples are
formed and if SI<1 then asymmetric ripples
are formed.

Rhombic ripples-
An aqueous current ripple mark characterized
by a reticular arrangement of diamond shaped
tongues of sand with each tongue having two
acute angles, one pointing upcurrent and the other pointing
downcurrent.
 Swash ripples- The oscillatory motion
of swash and backwash produces high-
index ripple
marks which are
essentially
symmetrical.
They differ from
water-current and
water-wave ripple marks in that they have high
indices (30 to 100). They differ from eolian
ripple marks in that they have relatively highsymmetry. The swash
zone features appear to be the product of bed shear, without eddy-type
augmentation.
Ladder back ripples- is a type of
interference ripple of two ripples which
are different in direction.
Rill marks- Rill
marks are
erosional
channels found
only on the lower foreshore that are formed
by the escape of ground water when the tide
falls below the watertable.
Cross bedding- Cross-bedding is produced in a tidal regime through
migration of large dunes (sandwaves), but there are usually additional
features reflecting the ebb and flood currents. If one tidal-current
direction is dominant, then unidirectional cross-bedding can form, but
there may be back-flow ripples and reactivation surfaces from current
reversals and
storm effects. If
there are
bipolar tidal
currents, then
herringbone
cross-
bedding can
form. Mud
drapes on cross-bed surfaces occur during slack-water deposition. In
some tidal sandwave deposits, there are regular variations in grain
size, cross-bed thickness and mud-drape occurrence and these ‘tidal
bundles’ reflect spring–neap lunar cycles.

Current crescent- Current crescent is a sedimentary structures

mainly forms in beach environment when an obstacle is present on the
way through which water moves and carries sand particles.
TIDAL FLAT:
These occur where the tidal range is high and the reversing ebb-and-
flood tidal currents are the principal mechanism of sediment dispersal
at the delta front. Linear and digitate ridges are developed parallel to
the direction of tidal currents, which may be normal or parallel to the
delta front. The lower delta plain will have extensive tidal flats where
mud is deposited. Tide-dominated deltas may be difficult to recognize
in the geological record because their deposits will resemble tidal
sand seas and tidal flats not associated with any major fluvial
sediment input. The succession produced by progradation of a tide
dominated delta should be a thick coarsening-upwards package, muds
passing up into sands showing tidal structures, cut through by major
channels filled with sands, again with tidal bedding, and overlain by
delta plain facies, which may include tidal mud-flat facies. Slope of
the tidal flat is less than 1 degree and it consists of silt and clay
minerals. Mostly asymmetric and some symmetric ripples are present
in tidal flat.
Table for Rose diagram presenting variation of ripple index in tidal
flat:

RANGE(IN TOTAL VALUE PERCENTAGE

DEGREE)
0-20 1 0.5
301-320 17 8.9
321-340 125 65.7
341-360 47 24.7

SAND BAR:
Sandbar, also called Offshore Bar, submerged or partly exposed
ridge of sand or coarse sediment that is built by waves offshore from
a beach. The swirling turbulence of waves breaking off a beach
excavates a trough in the sandy bottom. Some of this sand is carried
forward onto the beach and the rest is deposited on the
offshore flank of the trough. Sand suspended in the
backwash and in rip currents adds to the bar, as does
some sand moving shoreward from deeper water. The
bar’s top is kept below still-water (half-wave height)
level by the plunge of the waves breaking over it. Bars
and troughs are most pronounced in the heavy surf of
the stormy season; they also migrate shoreward in
gentle seas and seaward in high seas. Thus, although
sandbars have greatest relief in the stormy season, they
are more submerged. Mud balls found in sand bar
which might have due to the scooping of sediments, the
direction of mud balls indicates current direction.
The sedimentary structures which are shown in sand bar are as
follows:

Setulf structures-
Setulf is a sedimentary structure mainly forms due to Aeolian process,
when an obstacle is present on the way through whichwind blows
and carries sand particles, it is diametrically opposite in configuration
to flutes, they are spatulate, with one end point and steep with flaring
at the other end. They are similar to current crescent of beach
environment.
Adhesion ripples- (anti-ripplets, aeolianmicroridges, climbing
ripples)-These ripples are
formed by dry sand blowing
across wet surface where
grains are trapped by surface
tension. Adhesion ripples are
<1 cm wavelength subparallel
ripples oriented perpendicular
to wind direction exhibiting
ripple crests slightly convex in upwind direction and slopes steeper in
upwind than downwind direction. “With unidirectional winds
individual adhesion ripples climb upwind over each other, producing
a set of pseudo-cross-lamination with foresets dipping downwind”
(Kocurek and Fielder 1982). On Earth they are found on marine
beaches, desert interdune flats, and playas.

Impact Ripples-
the ripples which have coarse material in the crest and fine material
along the trough. These are formed in Aeolian environment.
Grain Flow and Fall Process-
occurs in aeolian environment where finer sand grains were seen and
coarser grains were at the bottom, whereas in grain fall reverse grain
size was seen.
Mud Balls-
found in the sandbar. Mud balls are formed as a result of collection of
water. If the water has sufficient energy such that it exceeds the
cohesive force between clay particles. It scoops out the clay and roll
it along the minimum diameter to form mud balls.
SWAMP:-
A swamp is an area of land permanently
saturated, or filled, with water. Many swamps
are even covered by water. There are two
main types of swamps: freshwater swamps
and saltwater swamps. Swamps are
dominated by trees. They are often named for
the type of trees that grow in them, such
as cypress swamps or hardwood swamps.
Freshwater swamps are commonly found inland, while saltwater
swamps are usually found along coastal areas. Swamps are transition
areas. They are neither totally land nor totally water. Ophiomorpha
burrow and mud cracks are found in the swamp area.
Ophiomorpha burrow:
Ophiomorpha is a curvilinear to
straight, vertical to inclined burrow
with fecal pellets lining the burrow
walls to reinforce them and prevent
the walls from collapsing in high
energy,shifting sand environments.
Although usually straight and
unbranched, Y-branched forms are
not uncommon.
Mud cracks:
Mudcracks form in very fine clay material that has dried out. As the
moisture is removed, the surface will split into cracks that extend a
short way down into the mud. These cracks form polygons on the
surface of the mud. The top of the bed has the widest distance
between the polygons and the cracks taper downwards into the bed. If
later sediments come and fill in the cracks and are preserved, the
relationship of the bed to the tapered feature will be saved. The tip of
the cracks are always oriented downwards, pointing to the bed base or
older part of the formation.

LITHOFACIES IN CHANDIPUR BEACH:

LITHOFACIES IN SAND BAR:
 PALAEONTOLOGICAL STUDY

A. THE INVERTEBRATE MOLLUSCAN FAUNA

OF CHANDIPUR

Introduction
Sea water regularly traverses nearly 4 kilometres and this makes an
expanded scope for studying the bio-diversity of organisms of both
the beach and tidal flat environment in Chandipur. Specimens
collected and observed in backshore, midshore, foreshore, dune and
tidal flat are:-

a) Bivalves
b) Gastropods
c) Crabs
d) Echinoids

Molluscs are predominant among the diverse marine life in the

Chandipur coast area. Both gastropods and bivalves are equally
abundant. Within a small lateral span of 4 km an extensive tidal flat
with a narrow beach, some barrier bars, marshy areas behind bars and
a palaeo-swamp is present. Each area has its own set of characteristic
features that determine the kind of organisms that can survive in
them. Thus the entire coastal province of Chandipur, exhibits an
outstanding plethora of invertebrate fauna, controlled by the existing
climate, temperature, salinity, nutrient supply and intensity of wave
action of the area. The diurnal onset of tidal action, submerge the tidal
flat and beach every 12 hours or so, making the environment here
extremely stressful. The organisms inhabiting here have to get
exposed to sun during periods of ebb- tide and again gets submerged
in water alternately. So the diversity of organism is less. The vast
array of morphologic types of this area is a biological storehouse
providing insight about the different life mode of molluscs. It shows a
 great variety of sedimentary aspects along with the presence of rich
biodiversity. However our study in field was restricted to benthic
fauna only but even within this restricted study the diversity is clearly
visible which we document in the ensuing pages. We found more or
less 11 bivalve species and 10 gastropod species in our total sample
collection. The area has a moderate predation intensity. Disarticulated
bivalveshells are found throughout the beach which signifies the high
energy condition. Palaeomud is present extensively towards the
Buribalamriver.
The bivalves and gastropods also differ in their life mode and habitat.
The following table given below shows the bivalve diversity based on
the collected bivalve species in Chandipur.

A. 1 BIVALVIAN COMMUNITY IN CHANDIPUR

SL TAXONOMY MORPHOLOGICAL LIFE ABUNDANC FOUND
NO CLASS CHARACTERS MODE E IN
. BIVALVIA
1. GENUS- Equivalved shells, Rapid Abundant Beach
Donux inequilateral, deep deep
SPECIES- pallial sinus, burrower
scortam strongly (Infaunal
anisomyarian, small )
siphonal gape and
elongated pedal
gape
present,lunule&esca
uthion present.

2. GENUS – Equivalved shell, Shallow Abundant Beach

Mactra nearly isomyarian, Burrowe
SPECIES – anterior -posterior r
luzonica line parallel to
hinge line, shallow
pallial sinus.
3. GENUS- Triangular,inequilat Shallow Abundant Beach
Mactra eral, umbo elevated, burrower
SPECIES- chondrophore
mera present, shallow
pallial sinus,
shining light
yellowish with
violet umbonal
region, sculptured
with fine concentric
striae.

4. GENUS- Shell large, strong Shallow Abundant Beach

Mactra ,ovately triangulate, burrower
SPECIES- umbo elevated,
turgid sculpture with fine
concentric striation,
more prominent in
umbonal region.

5. GENUS- Sub triangular, Deep Moderate Beach

Donux sharply angular Burrowe
SPECIES- while anterior part r
incarnates rounded, deep
pallial sinus, heart
shaped escutcheon
present, concentric
ridges and weak
radial lines, spines
and posterior and
external ligament
groove, white in
colour.
6. GENUS- Triangular,inequilat Swimme Rare Bar
Chlamys eral, r
SPIECES- Orthogyralbeak,mo
nomyarian, isodont
dentition, ears
present, strong
radially
costateormentation.
7. GENUS- Shell thick, strongly Epifauna Rare Bar
Arca convex, rhomboidal l
SPECIES- sides, angulated at
dorsal margin,
posterior extended,
hinge and muscle
line parallel, umbo
elevated,ventral
almost flat, radially
ribbed, taxodont
dentition.

7. GENUS- Equilateral, Epifauna Moderate Bar

Anadara anisomyarian, l
SPECIES- elevated
Granosa umbo,shallowpallial
sinus,prosogyralbea
k,taxodontdentition,
strong radially
costate
ornamentation.
8. GENUS- Elongated Infaunal Abundant Bar
Sanguinolari transversely,
a inequilateral,
SPECIES- eroded umbo,
Sanguinolari prosogyral beak,
a desmodontdenstitio
n, large pallial
sinus,
 anisomyarian,
bluish purple
colour, fine
concentric
ornamentation.
9. GENUS- Shell globuse, Infaunal Abundant Beach
Cardium almost equilateral,
SPECIES- lateral teeth and
asiatiicum cardinal teeth
present, flattened
posterior, anterior is
rounded, ventral
margin broadly
rounded, pallial line
is uninterrupted,
deep pallial sinus.

10. GENUS- Strongly Cemente Moderate Bar

Ostrea inequivalved, d
SPECIES- irregular shell
surface,
inequilateral,
monomyarian, thick
shell.
11. GENUS- Inequilateral, Deep Rare Beach
Solen eroded umbo, deep burrower
SPECIES- pallial sinus,
kempi prosogyral beak,
anisomyarian,
desmodont
dentition, brown
colour banding, fine
concentric lines of
ornamentation.
12 GENUS- Inequilateralanisom Shallow Abundant Beach
Meretrix yarian, elevated infaunal
SPECIES- umbo, shallow
meretrix pallial sinus,
prosogyral beak,
heterodont
dentition,
concentric smooth
ornamentation.
13. GENUS- Shell large, not Borer Moderate Bar
Barnea elevated umbo,
SPECIES- ophistogyral beak,
candida anisomyarian, deep
pallial sinus,
nodular radial ribs
crossed by
comcentric ridge
from anterior to
middle region but
almost smooth
posterior part.
14. GENUS- Sub triangular, Deep Moderate Beach
Donux sharply angular Burrowe
SPECIES- while anterior part r
incarnates rounded, deep
pallial sinus, heart
shaped escutcheon
present, concentric
ridges and weak
radial lines, spines
and posterior and
external ligament
groove, white in
colour.
15. GENUS- Epifauna Beach
Mactra l
SPECIES-
Violacia

16. GENUS- Swimme Beach

Placuna r
SPECIES-
placenta
17. GENUS- Epifauna Bar
Anadara l
SPECIES-
indica
18. GENUS- Borer Beach
Pholas
SPECIES-
19. GENUS- Beach
Macoma
SPECIES-
Barmanica
20. GENUS- Epifauna
Mactra l
SPECIES-
Turgida
21. GENUS-
Mactra
SPECIES-
Plicataria
22. GENUS- Infaunal
Siliqua
SPECIES-
Radiata
23. GENUS-
Meretrix
SPECIES-
casta
24. GENUS-
Pelecyora
SPECIES-
trigona
25. GENUS-
Oyster
SPECIES-

26. GENUS-
Barbatia
SPECIES-

27. GENUS-

SPECIES-
 A.1.1- PHOTOGRAPHS OF BIVALVES ARE FOLLOWING:-

A. External View B. Internal View

Placuna placentra

A. External View B. Internal View

Solen kempi
 A.External View B. Internal View
Pholas sp.

A.External View B. Internal View

Sunetta scripta

Chlamys Sp
A. External View B. Internal View
 A.External View B. Internal View
Donux scortum

A.External View B. Internal View

Mactra turgida

Siliqua radiata

B. External View B. Internal View

 Anadara granosa

A.External View B. Internal View

Macoma barmanica

A.External View B. Internal View

Oyester sp.

A.External View B.Internal View

A.External View B. Internal View
Sanguinolaria sp.

A.External View B. Internal View

Ostrea sp.
 Anadara sp.

A.External View B. Internal View

Arca sp.

A.External View B. Internal View

Barnea candida

A.External View B. Internal View

 Pelecyora trigona

A.External View B. Internal View

A.External view B. Internal View

Cardium asiatiicum
 A.External view B.Internal View
Barbatia sp.

A.External view B. Internal View

Meretrix casta
A.2 GASTROPODA COMMUNITY IN CHANDIPUR
These gastropods also differ in life mode and habitat. The following table given
below shows the gastropod diversity based on the collected gastropod species
in Chandipur.

SL GASTROPOD MORPHOLOGICAL LIFE ABUNDANCE FOUND

CHARACTERS MODE IN
NO.
1. GENUS- Conical shell, dextral Epifaun Abundant Tidal
Cerithium coiling -al flat
 SPECIES-
cerithium
2. GENUS- Conical shell strongly Epifaun Abundant Swamp
Telescopium reminiscent of an ice -al
SPECIES- cream cone, the largest
telescopium of horn snails, dextral
coiling, operculum
small and circular
3. GENUS- Shell large, elongated, Epifaun Moderate Beach
Turritela dextral coiling -al
SPECIES-
attenuate
4. GENUS- Thick shell, polished, Epifaun Abundant Beach
Oliva bullet shell, spire very -al
SPECIES- short, sutural groove
oliva narrow and deep,
dextral coiling,
ornamented with dark
spots.
5. GENUS- Thick shell, polished, Epifaun Abundant Beach
Amalda bullet shell, spire very -al
SPECIES- short, sutural groove
ampla narrow and deep,
dextral coiling.
6. GENUS- Shell relatively thick, Epifaun Moderate Beach
Natica deep umbilicus partly -al
SPECIES- covered by callus,
trigina surface with mottled
with closed set of
purplish brown dots,
body whorl larger than
spire.
7. GENUS- Shell relatively thick, Epifaun Moderate Beach
Polynesis deep umbilicus totally -al
SPECIES- covered by callus,
didyma body whorl larger than
spire.
8. GENUS- Thin shell, globular Epifaun Abundant Beach
Tona form, spire -al
SPECIES- turbiniform, well
dolium developed long band
like basal fasciole.
9. GENUS- Small shell, brown Epifaun Abundant Beach
Turricula coloured, dextral -al
SPECIES- coiling, strong ridges
javana and costae.
10. GENUS- Dextrally coiled, Epifaun Moderate Tidal
Nassarius involute, conical, -al flat
SPECIES- anomphalus, elliptical
stolatus aperture, holostomatus,
outer lip slightly thick,
black colour with
nodes and ridges as
ornamentation.
11. GENUS- Dextrally coiled, Epifaun Rare Beach
Thais involute, fusiform, -al
SPECIES- phaneromphalus,
Lacera elliptical aperture,
siphonostomatus,
inductura present,
nodes and concentric
ridges present as
ornamentation.
12. GENUS- Dextrally coiled, Burrow Moderate Bar
Murex fusiform, anomphalus, er
SPECIES- lense shaped aperture,
tribulus parietal shield present,
siphonostomatus,
concentric lines and
spines.
13. GENUS-
Conus
SPECIES-

14. GENUS-
Natica
SPECIES-
Polynesis
A.2.1- PHOTOGRAPHS OF GASTROPODS ARE
FOLLOWING:

Turritela attenuate

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

Amalda ampla

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

 Murex tribulus

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

Oliva oliva

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

Natica polynesis

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

 a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View
Telescopium sp.

Natica trigina

a) Adapertural View b) Abapertural View

Nassarius Sp.

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

 a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

Tona dolium

a)Adapertural View B. Abapertural View

Thais sp.

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

 Turricula javana

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

Conus sp.

a) Adapertural View b)Abapertural View

D.2 Facies wise distribution of the faunal

assemblage:-

Faunal assemblage is a group of associated animal fossils found together in a

given stratum. Faunal assemblage of any environment is determined by type of
‘nutrient’ & ‘substratum’ present at that particular environment. The following
factors affecting the faunal assemblage of an area are--
• Type of the substratum
• Types of organisms living in the area.
• Energy of the environment
 • Availability of food
Feeding mechanism is an important factor in the relationship between
substratum and distribution of benthic organisms. As the fine organic matters
settles at the bottom in that low energy environment, so in muddy sediments,
deposit feeders are more abundant than the suspension feeders . In sandy
environment, the suspension feeders dominate because, deposition of coarse-
grained sand occursin relatively high energy condition and this greater agitation
keeps the food particles in suspension mode.
D.2.1 Faunal assemblages of tidal flat area :-
The biotic activity in the tidal flat is noticeable due to presence of an
appreciable amount of nutrients. A thin layer of green-coloured algal-mat is
found to be precipitated from the sea water just after the tide. A lot of organisms
are living on the tidal flat bivalve like Natica sp., Cardiam sp., Cerethium sp.
etc., Polychaete burrow, and hermit-crab occupying dead shells of gastropods.
A remarkable concentration of Cardium sp. is mainly confined within a thick
mud dominated bed in the subtidal zone which is devoid of ripples. In the zone
of paleo-mud the huge abundance of Cerethium sp. is seen. Tracks of different
organism are also observed in this area where the tracks of Natica sp.& the
hermit-crab are observed which are broader and deeper but the tracks of
Cerethium sp. are narrow.

D.2.2 Faunal assemblage of beach area :-

On the beach area, numerous dead shells of bivalves and gastropods of various
species were observed. The shells of Cardium sp. were most dominant all along
the beach. The bivalve shells were mostly disarticulated. The gastropods shells
were Natica, Cerethidae, Turricula, Turritella, etc. Crabs are present
abundantly in the burrows on the backshore regions. On the foreshore areas,
crab burrows are present which are mostly smaller in size.

D.2.3 Faunal assemblages of Bar area:-

The Bar is dominated mainly by dead shells of bivalves such as
Mactraluzonica, Arca sp., chlamys sp., sunettascripta, Anadaraindica etc.
Among gastropods Tona sp., Natica sp., Turritella sp., Cerethidae sp. were
common. The palaeomud in front of the bar had mainly colonies of Cerethium
sp. They were found in their live in-situ position. Interbar area was dominated
by the gastropods like Cerethidae sp. Telescopium sp. On the bar top, abundant
red crabs were seen living in their burrows. Dead shells of Turitella sp. were
also present in the interbar area.

D.2.4 Faunal assemblage of Swamp area:-

In the swamp area,we found mostly the brackish assemblage. It was
dominated mainly by living gastropod Telescopium sp. Besides, deadshells of
Cerethidaespand few freshwater gastropods were observed in the swamp. Those
fresh water shells were very thin and nearly translucent. Very few gastropod
shells were hermited.

D.3 Live – Live interactions:

ASSOCIATION DESCRIPTION POSITIVE/NEGETIVE
Cerithid associated with Algal matte protect the POSITIVE
algae Cerithid shell
from the predators
Hermit crab associated Larger crab compete to POSITIVE
with Gastropod shells. get larger shell which
protect them from
predators.
Barnacles growing upon Presenece of barnacles POSITIVE AND
Cerithids and cemented increases the shell NEGETIVE
themselves on living thickness and protect
Cerithids. themselves from
Predators.
Due to presence of
Barnacles Cerithid
moves slowly.
D.4 Live – Dead Interaction:
Association Description Positive /Negetive
Barnacles growing Barnacles randomly POSITIVE
upon dead cemented themselves
Gastropods upon Gastropod shells
and protect themselves
from predators.
Hermit crabs associated Gastropod shell protect POSITIVE
with Gastropod shell. soft body of Hermit crab
from predators.
Polychaete Tube like structure POSITIVE
secretes sticky materials
which attaches dead or
alive bivalve shells
around it which protect
themselves from
external attack.

D.5 Some field photos

Fig: Barnacles growing upon hard substance

 Fig: Polychaete

C. ICHNOLOGY

C.1 Crab Burrows

Crab burrows were mainly observed in the transition zone of the Chandipur
beach. These were interpreted as temporary burrows built by the crabs to be
used as refuge during the high tide periods and also to escape the intense heat
and get a favourable temperature condition during the day time. Ornamentation
around the burrows was observed using pellets that help the crabs to recognize
their individual burrows. The inclination of the burrows was studied and it was
observed that most of them were inclined towards the foreshore or away from
the direction of flow of water. A systematic variation in the diameter of burrows
was observed in the transitional zone with concentration of larger burrows
(longer diameter) towards the backshore and smaller burrows (shorter diameter)
towards the foreshore. The crab burrows are thus indicators of transitional beach
environment and act as ichnofacies indicators.

C.2Predation
Predation is a natural behaviour seen in animal communities. In order to escape
predation organisms perform adaptation, modification and exercise necessary
precaution.
In Chandipur, several evidences of predation on the molluscan communities
were observed. Naticid boring in bivalves and gastropod shells were found in
tidal flats indicating ichnofacies.

C.2.1Methodology of boring
The naticids characteristically travel through clean to slightly muddy sand, both
above and below the sediment water interface. They have slightly large flat foot
which facilitates their movement within the sediment and with which they grip
their prey tightly. The foot is completely extended and if large enough,
completely envelopes their prey.

C.2.2Common predators

The common predators found in Chandipur are MuracidsandNaticids. Mactra,

Cardium and Donax were found to be common preys. Drill holes were also
observed in Naticids indicating cannibalism.

C.2.3 Preferred site of drilling

The preys were mostly found to be drilled in the umbonal region irrespective of
being right valve or left valve. Probable reasons for this may be as follows:
1. The soft part inside the shell is more attached to the umbo region relative
to the periphery.Thus drilling near the umbo paralyses the organism
within.
2. The shell is comparatively thinner in the umbonal region and less energy
is needed for drilling.
3. The shell bears less ornamentation at the umbo than the peripheral parts
and less hindrance is encountered during the drilling.

C.3 Hermit Crabs

The hermit crabs were found abundant in the tidal flat of the Chandipur beach
where the availability of gastropod shells was high. They were mostly observed
to be hidden under dead gastropod shells. Thus it was inferred that these
organisms lack their own exoskeleton and use the shells of other organisms for
protection and to escape predation. The trails of hermit crabs were distinguished
from the gastropod trails by the foot marks of the crabs and relatively shallower
grooves produced by the dragging of the gastropod shell by the crab. Thus a
living-dead interaction was observed between organisms.
Since the hermit crabs are always protected by a hard gastropod shell, their most
suitable predator was interpreted to be larger crabs whose claws act as forceps
while preying. In areas of low shell availability, the hermit crabs were observed
to compete against each other for the occupancy of the shells as it is important
for their survival and protection. These include some living-living interaction
between the organisms.

C.4 TRAILS OF CERITHIDS AND OTHER

GASTROPOD
Dead shells and livngceratids were observed in the tidal flat were mud
concentration was high. The trails of ceratids and other gastropods were
identified by a central linear deep groove with a ridge on either side.The width
of the grooves indicates the apertural diameter of the gastropod and the ridges
are formed on either side of the groove by the sediments displaced from the
centre of the track. The trails were random indicating no preferred direction.
The trails of gastropods were indistinguishable from that of worms where the
live interaction between the organism and the substrate was not observed.
The profile section of the gastropod trails differed on different substrates(mud
dominated and sand dominated) and the organism-substrate interaction was
studied. For the same species, the locomotion trails were observed to be more
prominent and deeper on substrates of higher sand concentration than on
substrates of dominating mud concentration

C.5 Some field photos

Fig: Crab Burrows

Hermit Crab associated with gastropod shell

Trail marks of natica
 Statistical Data Analysis Of
Mollusca
After collecting the Mollusca (mainly gastropods and bivalves) from
different regions of Chandipur beach (foreshore, midshore, backshore,
swamp, sand bar), we have done a statistical data analysis by
measuring different parameters. The exercises are as follows:

Exercise 1: Ontogenic Analysis of Bivalve:-

a) Analysis of Anterior-Posterior Length VsDorso-Ventral
Length of Mactraluzonica:

Anterior-Posterior Dorso-Ventral
Sample No. Length (in cm) Length (in cm)
1 2.1 1.5
2 1.7 1.2
3 1.5 1
4 1.3 0.8
5 1.5 1.1
6 1.4 1
7 1.2 0.9
8 1.2 0.9
9 1.3 0.8
10 1.1 0.6
11 2 1.2
12 2 1.2
13 1.2 0.8
14 1.2 0.7
15 1.2 0.7
16 1.3 1.1
17 2 1.3
18 1.3 0.7
 1.6 Anterior-Posterior Length Vs Dorso-Ventral Length
Dorsal Ventral Length (in cm)
1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Anterior Posterior Length (in cm)

Interpretation:
As the trend line of the graph has passed through the origin,
therefore we can infer that the bivalves have suffered isometric
growth.
b) Analysis of Pallial Sinus Length Vs Total Length of
Mactralozonica

Sample Total Length Pallial Sinus

No (in cm) Length (in cm)
1 1.6 0.4
2 2.1 0.6
3 2.3 0.7
4 1.8 0.7
5 1.6 0.5
6 2 0.4
7 2.1 0.5
8 1.9 0.5
9 1.6 0.3
10 1.7 0.5
11 1.4 0.3
12 1.6 0.3
13 1.4 0.4
14 1.3 0.2
15 1.4 0.3
16 1.8 0.6
17 1.7 0.5
18 1.1 0.3
19 1.2 0.2
20 2 0.6
21 2.1 0.7
22 1.8 0.4
23 1.9 0.6
24 1.6 0.5
25 1.4 0.3
 Total Length Vs Pallial Sinus Length
0.8

Pallial Sinus Length (in cm) 0.7

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
-0.1
Total Length (in cm)

Interpretation:
As the trend line of the graph has not passed through the origin,
so we can infer that the Mactra has suffered anisometric growth.
c) Analysis of Anterior-Posterior Length Vs Pallial Sinus
Length Of Donax sp.

Anterior Posterior Pallial Sinus

Sample No. Length (in cm) Length (in cm)
1 5.3 2.6
2 7.1 4
3 5.6 3.1
4 4.5 2.7
5 5.5 2.9
6 4 2.2
7 4.9 2.5
8 6.9 3.7
9 4.5 2.3
10 4.7 2.6
11 5 2.6
12 5.7 3
13 6 2.6
14 3.6 2
15 6.1 3.4
16 6.1 3.1
17 6.4 3.5
18 6.4 3.6
19 7 4
20 7.6 4
21 6 3.5
22 6.3 3.3
23 6.5 3.5
24 5.1 2.7
25 6.3 3
 Anterior-Posterior Length Vs Pallial Sinus
Length
Pallial Sinus Length (in cm) 4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Anterior Posterior Length (in cm)

Interpretation:

As the trend line of the graph has not passed through the origin,
we can infer that the bivalve has suffered anisometric growth.
 Exercise 2: Size Sorting of Mollusc:-
a) Analysis of Anterior-Posterior Length VsDorso-Vental
Length of Bivalve
6 Length Vs Breadth
5
Breadth (in cm)

4 Donax
Mactra sp
3
Solen
2 Pholas
Cardium
1
Mactra lusonica
0
0 2 4 6 8
Length (in cm)

Donax Mactra Solen Pholas Cardium Mactra lusonica

Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth
7.5 4.5 6.5 5.1 6.5 1.5 6 2 0.9 0.7 2.1 1.5
7.2 4.3 6 4.5 5 1 6 2 1 0.8 1.7 1.2
6.5 3.8 6.5 5 6 1.3 4 1.5 1.1 0.7 1.5 1
7.2 4.3 6.2 5.1 3.5 1 4 1 1 0.8 1.3 1
6 3.3 5 4 5.5 1.8 3 0.5 1 0.8 1.5 1.1
6.5 4 5.5 5 5.8 1.1 4.5 1 1 0.9 1.4 1
6.6 3.9 5.5 4.5 5 0.8 4.5 1.5 0.9 0.7 1.2 0.9
6.6 4.2 6.2 4.9 5.3 0.8 3.5 1 0.9 0.6 1.2 0.9
5.1 3.4 5.5 4.5 4.5 0.8 0.9 0.8 1.3 0.9
5.2 3.2 5 4 3.5 0.5 0.9 0.7 1.1 1
5.7 3.4 5 4 4.1 0.7 0.9 0.8 2 1.2
5.5 3.4 6.5 5 0.8 0.7 2 1.2
5.5 3.5 4.5 3.5 0.9 0.6 1.2 0.9
6.6 4 5.5 4.5 1.3 0.7 1.2 1
4.3 2.8 5 4 0.9 0.6 1.2 0.7
7.5 4.4 6 4.5 0.9 0.7 1.3 1.1
6.8 4.2 5.5 4 1.2 0.8 2 1.3
6.2 4 4 3 0.9 0.5 1.3 0.7
6.1 3.5 4.5 3.5
5 4
b)Analysis of Length Vs Breadth of Gastropods

Tona Sp. Natica tigrina Cerithium Sp. Amalda ampla Natica polynesis
Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth
7 4.5 2 2 2.5 0.2 1.7 0.5 2.2 0.9
6 4.2 2.6 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.2 2
6.5 4.8 2 1.8 2.2 0.7 1.7 1.5
2 1.7 2.1 0.9 2.4 2.1
2.4 1.5 2.2 0.7 2 2
2.9 1.6 2 0.7 2.3 1.9
2 1 1.8 0.6 2 2
1.8 1.5 1.7 0.6 2.3 1.9
2 1.7 1.6 0.6 2 2
2.5 1.8 1.9 1.6
1.5 1.5
2 1.5
2 1.5
2.3 1.7
1.7 1.4
2.2 1.9
1.7 1.5
2.1 1.7
1.3 1.2
 Turricula Sp. Nassarius Sp. Bursa Sp. Telescopium Sp. Turitella Sp. Oliva oliva
Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth Length Breadth
5.5 1.3 2.2 1.1 3 1.5 6 2.5 11 2 3.6 1.6
4.2 1.4 2 1 4.4 2 8.2 1.8 3.8 1.7
4.3 1.3 1.9 0.9 7 1.7 3.8 1.7
3.8 1.4 1.6 0.7 10.2 2.1 3.5 1.5
3.5 1 1.8 1 6.7 1.5 3.4 1.6
4.5 1.5 1.8 1
4.5 1.2 1.9 1.1
3.5 1 1.6 1
4.2 1.3 1.8 0.9
3.5 1 1.5 1
3.5 1.2 1.6 0.9
3.5 1
3.4 1.6
3 1.7
3.6 1.1
3 1
4.4 1.3
1.2 1.7
2.7 1
3 1
1.8 1.8
2.3 1.8
1.8 1.8
2 1.5
1.7 1.7
2 1.5
2 1.9
2.2 1.5
2 1.4

Shell Height Vs Shell Width

6
Tona
5
Shell Breadth (in cm)

Natica
4 Cerithium
3 Amalda ampla

2 Polynesis sp
Turricula sp
1
Nassarius sp
0
Bursa
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Shell Height (in cm) Telescopium sp
Exercise 3: Analysis of frequency of burrows in
foreshore and backshore:-

Foreshore burrows
Diameter Frequency
(in cm) Frequency %
1-1.9 9 5.4
2-2.9 7 4.2
3-3.9 65 39.1
4-4.9 64 38.5
5-5.9 19 11.4
6-6.9 2 1.2

100
Diameter Vs Frequency %
90
80
70
Frequency %

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1-1.9 2-2.9 3-3.9 4-4.9 5-5.9 6-6.9
Diameter (in cm)
Backshore burrows
Diameter (in Frequency
cm) Frequency %
0.1-0.5 124 83
0.6-1.0 20 13
1.1-1.5 2 1
1.6-2.0 0 0
2.1-2.5 1 1
2.6-3.0 2 1
3.1-3.5 0 0
3.6-4.0 1 1

Diameter Vs Frequency %
100

80
Frequency %

60

40

20

0
0.1-0.5 0.6-1.0 1.1-1.5 1.6-2.0 2.1-2.5 2.6-3.0 3.1-3.5 3.6-4.0
Diameter (in cm)

Interpretation :
For the bar diagram, we can interpret that, the frequency of
smaller diameter burrows are higher in amount in case of
foreshore whereas in backshores, the larger diameter burrows
are more frequent.
 Exercise 4 :
Burrow Waxing
Method
Two burrows are selected in foreshore and two burrows are
selected in backshore and marked as 1, 2, 3, and 4. In a bowl,
1kg of wax is taken and heated till it melts. Then this heated
wax is poured into the selected burrows. Then it is left for 20-
30 minutes till the wax solidifies in the burrows. After that
the side of the burrow is dug to take out the solidified wax.

Observation
The solidified wax from burrows of the backshore are mostly
U or Y shaped whereas in foreshore they are I or J shaped.
Therefore we noticed that in case of backshore the burrows
are more branching than in foreshore.

Interpretation
From this we can interpret that the backshore burrowers are
mainly sediment feeders and they use the branches of their
burrows to take food from the sediment.
In foreshore, the burrowers are mainly suspension feeders
and they feed on the suspended food particles from water
during high tide.
Burrow No. 1 Burrow No. 2

Burrow No. 3 Burrow No. 4

Heated wax is being poured Foreshore and Backshore
into the selected burrows burrows(I,J,U-shaped)
 visit to Sitakund
▪ Geographical location and Topography -
Sitakund is located in the state of Mayurbhanj district
of Odisha, with a coordinate between N 21⁰59′ 54″ and E
86⁰30′49″.This place is famous for Sitakund waterfalls.
▪ Geology and Minerology-
The physiogeography of this region is marked by large
boulders which comprises of metasedimentary rocks. The hills are
mainly consist of quartzite and fuchsite , a chromium bearing mica,
due to which the rocks have greenish grey colour at some places .
The main sedimentary structures found here are-
• Planar lamination: Planar laminations (Fig:A,B) are sets of
laminations which have been deposited parallel to the
bounding surface.
• Cross lamination: Cross laminations(Fig:C, Fig:D)are sets of
laminations which have been deposited at an angle to the
bounding surface .
• Herringbone cross lamination: Herringbone cross laminations
(Fig:E,Fig:F) is a type of sedimentary structure mainly forms
in tidal flat area , where current periodically flows in the
opposite direction .
 ▪ Photograps of sedimentary structures :

(Fig : A ) ( Fig : B)

(Fig:C) (Fig:D)

( Fig : E) ( Fig : F)
Presence of herringbone cross lamination predicts that the sandstone
was formed from sand particles deposited under tide dominated
environment.Some rocks preserves prominent transverse sectional
view of trough cross beddings (Fig: F).

( Fig : F )
Visit to Dagara Beach
▪ Location:
Dagara beach is situated in baleswar district of Odisha , in eastern
India.
▪ Topographic features:
Dagara sea beach is mainly wave dominated with narrow
backshore and foreshore.
• Ridge and Runnel system (Fig :A) is present at the
backshore region of dagara sea beach.
• Ridge and Runnel : A series of asymmetrical ridges runs
parallel to the coast or longshore current and separated by
shallow trough called runnel .
• The orientation of longshore current is more or less along
E-W.
• The foreshore area has different sedimentary features like
swash ripple marks,rill marks ,rhombic ripple.
➢ Swash ripple marks : Swash ripple marks (Fig:B)are very thin
arcuate lines or small ridges on beach formed by concentration of
fine sediment and organic debris .They are caused by wave swash
and mark the farthest advance of wave uprush. They have low
preservation potential.
➢ Rill marks: Rill marks(Fig:D) are small dendritic channels or
grooves that forms on beach by the discharge of pore water at low
tide or by small streams debouching onto a sand or mud flat .
They have low preservation potential.
➢ Rhombic ripple: Rhombic ripples (Fig:C) are a type of
sedimentary structures made up of two sets of ripples(one set
formed due to swash wave ande another set formed due to
backwash wave) formed at right angles to each other as result of
their being two dominated palaeocurrent. They are also known as
interference ripple .
 (Fig : A) ( Fig : B)

(Fig : C) (Fig : D)

• Dagara beach mainly enriched in a type of gastropod called

Architectonica (Fig: E,F).
(Fig : E)(abapertural view ) (Fig:F) (adapertural view)

• The backshore area of Dagara beach is consist of stack of

different layers of finer and coarser materials. Most of the layers
indicates grain flow due to which a gradational change from
finer to coarser material took place .

(Fig : G )
(Fig: H)
• The topmost layer is formed due to Aeolian deposit , where
alternate light and dark laminations of sand and heavy minerals
respectively are present . The lower layer have been deposited by
sea water ,where alternate coarse and fine laminations are present.
This type of alteration of layers indicates shifting of
backshore and foreshore boundary.
 ( Fig : I )

(Fig:J)

➢ Comparision between dagara beach and

chandipur beach:-

• Chandipur beach is mainly tide dominated region while dagara

beach is mainly a wave dominated region .
• Dagara beach has high sand content unlike the tidal flat of
chandipurbeach,with high mud content .
• The shore region of dagara beach has low shell content due to low
mud content and anthropogenic interference (Fig:k) , while
chandipur beach enriched in high shell content due to presence of
high mud content from which organism gets nutrients for growth

( Fig : k)
 ▪ Datas for Rill marks :

FREQUENCY RECALCULATED
TO 100 (%)
100-120 2%

120-140 5.7%

140-160 17.3%

160-180 48.07%

180-200 25%

200-220 2%

▪ Datas for Rhombic ripples:-

• For 1st set of ripples
FREQUENCY RECALCULATED TO 100(%)

180 – 200 42%

200-220 52%

220-240 5%
• For 2nd set of ripples:

FREQUENCY RECALCULETED TO 100

(%)
140-160 35%

160-180 60%

180-200 5%
 Anthropogenic Impacts
Human interference has affected marine life , erosion rates
and increased pollution level which eventually affected the natural
environment of the beach .Tourist leave behind trash such as; plastic
packets,cups,plasticbottles,cans,ciggerttes,glassbottles,fibarmateirials,
food packets along with biodegradable products like coconut shells ,
woody materials,clothes etc.
• An important activity was performed to clean a small portion of
beach within a grid of 30m by 20m,in which all the waste
products were removed from the particular grid , and those
products were tallied correspondingly .

➢ Plastic Materials:- Plastic materials which have been collected

from Chandipur beach mainly includes packets of food
products , plastic bags ,plastic cups,tooth brush ,plastic
bottles,broken toys etc.

➢ Glass Materials:- Glass materials mainly includes diifrtstyes

of glass bottles and medicine bottles.

➢ Biodegradable products:- biodegradable products found on

chandipur sea beach mainly includes coconut shells, cloths
,woods,paper etc.
 ➢ List of waste Products:

Total Number of plastic materials 545

Total number of glass items 11

Total number of biodegradable 77

items
Total number of waste products 633

➢ Pie chart represting percentage of waste products:

➢ Photoghraphs of beach cleaning activity :
 CASE STUDY

Aim
To prove anti-predatory properties are higher in specimens whose
drilling frequencies are lower and drilling occurs mostly in umbonal
region.

Introduction
Predator prey interaction leads to adaptation by both ultimately causing
an evolutionary response in their phenotypes. Rate of attack and
weather the attack is successful or not determines the change. These
interaction are hypothesized to exert an important control on prey
phenotypes, abundance, and distribution within ecosystems (Vermeij,
1987; Walker and Brett, 2002; Huntley and Kowalewski, 2007;
Stanley, 2008). When a predator attacks its prey then there are two
possible outcomes : 1) the attack is successful (indicated by complete
drill holes and peeled shells) or 2) the attack is unsuccessful (observed
and identified by the presence of unsuccessful drill holes and repair
scars on the shell) (Vermeij, 1982). Repaired shell breaks or incomplete
drills indicate sub lethal damage which the species could repair over
the time.
Quantification of these successful and unsuccessful attacks through
various methods , in this case through calculation of drilling
frequencies (RF; Alexander and Dietl, 2001, 2003)
Prey predator interaction leads to the development in antipredatory
properties in the prey (properties that are developed to defend
themselves from attacks of the predators) which can be used to identify
species with overall strong or weak antipredatory properties. This data
is then correlated with the repair frequency to find out whether species
that develop strong anti predatory properties are less attacked or more
or whether there is at all any relation or not.
Among the drilled bivalves and gastropods drilling occured mostly
near the umbo and apex region. Irrespective of whether it is the right
valve or left valve or the type of shell the drilled bivalve and
gastropod shells bore hole at the umbo and apex region dominantly.

The reason behind this is-

1. The shell is very thin near the umbo region. And hence less
energy is required for drilling by the naticids.
2. The shell bears less ornamentation at the umbo than the
peripheral part, and hence less hindrance in drilling.
3. The soft part inside the shell is more attached to the umbo
region relative to the periphery. And thus drilling near the
umbo paralyses the organism within, rapidly.
4. The shell is made harder near the periphery for enhancing
boring and burrowing .Thus drilling at the periphery doesn't
serve to be fruitful.

Methodology
In our case study we will study the drilling frequency and anti-
predatory properties in bivalve species- Cardium sp and Donax
scortum and gastropod species- Nassarius sp and Natica tigrina.
To conduct the case study, we selected 3 locations spread across the
length of the beach. The 1st location was chosen 583m away from the
stairs of the beach. The 2nd location was chosen 216m away from the
1st location and the 3rd location was another 216m away from the 2nd.
At each location a 2ftX2ft grid square was constructed on the
backshore, midshore and foreshore.
From a total of 9 such grids we collected samples of Cardium sp,
Donax scortum, Nassarius sp and Natica tigrina and segregated them
as drilled and not drilled specimens.
We are considering the following anti-predatory properties in bivalves
in Donax scortum and Cardium sp: ornamentation, valve curvature,
thickness, crenulated margins, gaping margins, dentition, depth of
living and size.
In gastropod species of Natica Tigrina and Nassarius sp, we are
observing the following anti-predatory properties: Sphire size,
aperture size, ornamentation, shell thickness, teeth, shape, umbilicus,
callus, thickeness of lips, polished shell, disjunct coiling abd shell
size.
After considering these properties they are ranked between 0 and 1
where zero indicates a negetive result and 1 indicating a positive
result
Ranking of bivalves :
ANTI-PREDATORY 0 1
PROPERTY

ORNAMENTATION Smooth surface with no Surface with high ornamentation

ridges or spines like ridges and spines
VALVE CURVATURE Low High
THICKNESS thin Thick
CRENULATED MARGINS Smooth and non Undulatory and crenulated
crenulated
GAPING MARGIN absent Present
DENTITION weak Strong
DEPTH OF LIVING epifaunal Infaunal
SIZE Small (on an average) Large (on an average)
Ranking of gastropods :
ANTI-PREDATORY 0 1
PROPERTIES

SPHIRE SIZE small Large

APERTURE SIZE large Small
APERTURE SHAPE circular Stretched and thin
ORNAMENTATION Smooth surface with no Surface with high ornamentation
ridges or spines like ridges and spines
SHELL THICKNESS thin Thick
TEETH absent Present
UMBILICUS present Absent
CALLUS (*to be considered absent present
when umbilicus is present)
THICKNESS OF LIPS thin Thick
POLISHED SHELL polished Unpolished
COILING loose Tight
SHELL SIZE Small (on an average) Large (on an average)

To find out the drilling area the bivalves and gastropods were divided
into the following:
1. Bivalve shells were divided into 4 parts on the outer surface
namely Anterior, Antero-Ventral. Postero-Ventral and posterior.
2. Gastropod shells were seen whether the attacks were near the
apex or the aperture.
Results

Drilling data of the 3 locations :

LOCATION REGION SPECIES TOTAL NUMBER OF NUMBER

NAME SPECIMEN UNDRILLED OF
COLLECTED SPECIMEN DRILLED
SPECIMEN

Donax 2 2 x
scortum
BACKSHORE Cardium 67 65 2
sp
LOCATION Natica - - -
1 tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax - - -
MIDSHORE scortum
Cardium 1178 1092 86
sp
Natica 2 1 1
tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax - - -
scortum
FORESHORE Cardium 503 447 56
sp
Natica 3 1 2
tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax 2 2 x
BACKSHORE scortum
Cardium 821 730 91
sp
Natica 15 8 7
tigrina
LOCATION Nassarius 7 3 4
2 sp
Donax - - -
MIDSHORE scortum
Cardium 55 53 2
sp
Natica - - -
tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax 2 2 x
FORESHORE scortum
Cardium 111 99 12
sp
Natica - - -
tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax 2 2 x
BACKSHORE scortum
Cardium 315 295 20
sp
LOCATION Natica 3 2 1
3 tigrina
Nassarius 1 1 x
sp
Donax - - -
MIDSHORE scortum
Cardium 14 12 2
sp
Natica - - -
tigrina
Nassarius - - -
sp
Donax - - -
FORESHORE scortum
Cardium 48 47 1
sp
Natica 4 3 1
tigrina
Nassarius 3 X 3
sp
 TOTAL SPECIMENS:
BACKSHORE
Donax scortum Cardium sp
Natica tigrina Nassarius
1%
1%
1%

97%

TOTAL SPECIMENS: MIDSHORE

Cardium sp Natica tigrina

2, 0%

1247, 100%

TOTAL SPECIMENS: FORESHORE

Donax scortum Cardium sp Natica tigrina

2,1%
7, 0%

662, 99%
LOCATION 1: BACKSHORE LOCATION 1 : MIDSHORE
Donax scortum Cardium sp Cardium sp Natica tigrina

2, 3% 2, 0%

1178,
67, 97% 100%

LOCATION 1: FORESHORE LOCATION 2: BACKSHORE

Cardium sp Natica tigrina Donax scortum Cardium sp
Natica tigrina Nassarius sp
3, 1%
2,2%
7,
15, 0%
1%

503, 99% 821, 97%

LOCATION 2: MIDSHORE LOCATION 2: FORESHORE

Cardium sp Donax scortum Cardium sp

2, 2%

55, 100% 111, 98%

LOCATION 3: BACKSHORE LOCATION 3: MIDSHORE

Donax scortum Cardium sp Cardium sp
Natica tigrina Nassarius sp
1,
2,1%
3, 0%
1%

315, 98% 100%

 LOCATION 3: FORESHORE
Cardium sp Natica tigrina Nassarius sp

3, 6%
4, 7%

48, 87%

Drilling frequency (species wise and location wise) :

REGION SPECIES DRILLING FREQUENCY AVERAGE
NAME DRILLING
Location Location Location
FREQUENCY
1 2 3
OF 3
LOCATIONS

BACKSHORE Donax 0% 0% 0% 0%
scortum

Cardium 3% 11.08% 6.35% 6.81%

sp

Natica - 46.67% 33% 57.67%

tigrina

Nassarius - 57.14% 0% 19.04%

sp

MIDSHORE Donax - - - -
scortum

Cardium 7.3% 3.64% 14.3% 8.41%

sp

Natica 5% - - 1.67%
tigrina

Nassarius - - - -
sp
FORESHORE Donax - 0% - 0%
scortum

Cardium 11.13% 10.81% 2% 7.98%

sp

Natica 66.67% - 25% 30.56%

tigrina

Nassarius - - 100% 33.33%

sp

BACKSHORE DRILLING MIDSHORE DRILLING

FREQUENCY FREQUENCY

6.81 Cardium sp 1.67

19.04
Cardium sp
Natica
tigrina
Nassarius
57.67 8.41
sp

FORESHORE DRILLING
FREQUENCY
7.98
Cardium sp
33.33
Natica
tigrina
30.56 Nassarius sp
Average Drilling Frequency of the 4 species :
SPECIES AVERAGE
NAME DRILLING
FREQUENCY OF
ALL 9 GRIDS

Donax 0%
scortum

Cardium sp 7.73%

Natica tigrina 19.59%

Nassarius sp 17.46%

DRILLING FREQUENCY

7.73 Cardium sp

17.46
Natica tigrina
19.59
Nassarius sp

Anti-predatory properties of bivalves (grading the species using

binary method i.e. 1 or 0 for a positive or negative result
respectively):
ANTI- SPECIES NAME
PREDATORY
Donax Cardium sp
PROPERTY
scortum

ORNAMENTATION 1 1
 VALVE 1 0
CURVATURE

THICKNESS 1 0

CRENULATED 0 1
MARGINS

GAPING MARGIN 0 0

DENTITION 1 0

DEPTH OF LIVING 1 0

SIZE 1 0

TOTAL: 6 2

Anti-predatory properties of Gastropods (grading the species using

binary method i.e. 1 or 0 for a positive or negative result
respectively):
ANTI- SPECIES
PREDATORY NAME
PROPERTIES
Natica tigrina Nassarius sp

SPHIRE SIZE 0 1

APERTURE SIZE 0 1

APERTURE SHAPE 0 0

ORNAMENTATION 0 1

SHELL 1 1
THICKNESS

TEETH 0 1

UMBILICUS 0 1

CALLUS 0 -

THICKNESS OF 0 1
LIPS

POLISHED SHELL 0 0
DISJUNCT 0 1
COILING

SHELL SIZE 0 0

TOTAL: 1 8

Area of attack on bivalves

Name of Anterior Antero-ventral Postero-ventral Posterior
bivalve
Donax scortum 0 0 0 0
Cardium sp 27 54 123 68

AREA OF ATTACK ON CARDIUM SP

ANTERIOR ANTERO-VENTRAL POSTERO-VENTRAL POSTERIOR

27, 10%
68, 25%

54, 20%

123, 45%
Area of attack on gastropods
Name of Gastropods Near Apex Near Aperture
Natica tigrina 10 2
Nassarius sp 7 0

AREA OF ATTACK ON
AREA OF ATTACK ON
NATICA TIGRINA
NASSARIUS SP
NEAR APEX NEAR APERTURE
NEAR APEX NEAR APERTURE

2, 17% 0%

10, 83%
100%

CONCLUSION: From the result of the data collected, it is observed

that the mollusc (bivalve or gastropod), having a higher degree of
anti-predatory properties shows less amount of drilling frequencies.
This means, the one which has more strong anti-predatory property
resists the attack on them, hence the attacks are not successful, thus
we get to see less or no drilling frequency in them.

INTERPRETATION: From the interpretation we observe that

amongst the bivalves, Donax scortum we see rank 6 anti-predatory
properties, because of its thick shell, large size, high ornamentation,
strong dentition and more valve curvature and depth of living.
In comparision Cardium sp has a rank 2 anti-predatory properties due
to a thin shell, small size, among all the other properties taken into
consideration.

Amongst the two gastropods, Natica tigrina has anti-predatory

property of rank 1, due to its small size, small aperture size and
circular aperture shape. Lack of ornamentation, polished shell, lack of
dentition, loose coiling and small sphire size.
Nassarius sp has a higher anti-predatory rank of 8 in comparison,
because of presence of ornamentation, absence of umbilicus, larger
sphire size, thicker shell, small aperture size and presence of teeth.

In case of drill hole site, it is observed that in Cardium sp, the

postero-ventral region is the most attacked region of the bivalve. And
in gastropods- Natica tigrina and Nassarius sp, the area near the apex
is the most vulnerable site of attack.