Distribution and diversity of seaweeds in North and South

Andaman Island
P. KARTHICK, R. MOHANRAJU, CH. RAMESH AND KADA NARAYANA MURTHY
Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University
Brookshabad Campus, Port Blair - 744 112, Andaman

Diversity and distribution of seaweeds were studied from intertidal region in North Andaman
during March 2012 and in South Andaman from October 2011 to August 2012. Sampling
was made at 9 stations covering Ramnagar, Ariel Bay and Khalipur beach of Diglipur in
North Andaman and Chatham, Carbyn's cove, Burmanallah, Kodiyaghat, Chidiyatapu and
Wandoor in South Andaman. Results showed that seaweed distribution was comparatively
more in rocky shores than in sandy shores. Totally 72 species belonging to 35 genera were
recorded of which 6 species were found to be new distribution records and 10 samples were
unidentified. Economically important seaweeds like Sargassum spp, Graci/aria spp,
Caulerpa spp and Turbinaria spp were abundantly growing in South Andaman Islands.

agarophytes in less quantities were reported

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are
situated in the middle of Bay of Bengal
consisting of 572 Islands with a coastline
of 8,249 sq kIn. Seaweeds are macroscopic
algae forming an important renewable
resource in the marine environment
(Chennubhotla et al., 1987). Uses of seaweeds
have been cited 2500 years ago in Chinese
literature (Tseng, 2004). O'Brien (2011)
estimated that 30,000 algal varieties are
available in the world and many are yet to be
identified. A complete check list of the
availabile seaweeds in the Indian Ocean has
been given by Silva et al. (1996). Subba Rao
and Mantri (2006) listed 271 genera and 1153
species of marine algae belonging to four
groups from Indian waters. In North Andaman,
alginophytes in harvestable quantities and
(Gopinathan and Panigrahy, 1978). Red algal
diversity was found to be more than brown
and green seaweeds. But brown seaweeds
were more in number in South Andaman
(Palanisamy, 2012). The seaweed distribution
in South and Little Andaman was reported by
Mohanraju and Pujari Tanusree (2012) and 80
species of seaweeds have been reported from
Nicobar group of islands by Vinoth et al.
(2010). Seaweeds are used as food and
fertilizer in many parts of the world and also
as source for the phycocolloids agar, algin
and carrageenan which have wide industrial
use. Some seaweed are consumed as
vegetable, salad, soup, porridge and pickle
(Chennubhotla et al., 1987). The earlier reports
of distribution and abundance of seaweeds
of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are that of
Thivy (1958), Jagtap (1992), Mantri (2006), Rao
(2002) and Muthuvelan et al. (2001). The
present study was made to understand the
diversity of seaweeds in North and South
Andaman Islands for creating a data base of
seaweeds abundance, species diversity and
their availability in Andaman Islands.
Materials and Methods
In the present investigation,
seaweeds were collected from 9 stations from
~ tl 94
ndllm.n " Nltobar
Islands
Khalipur beach in North Andaman to
Chidiyatapu in South Andaman. The sampling
sites were Khalipur beach, Ariel Bay, Ramnagar
beach, Chatham, Carbyn's Cove, Burmanallah,
Kodiyaghat, Chidiyatapu and Wando or (Fig.
1). Seaweeds in the intertidal zone were
collected during low tide periods by hand
picking. The photographs of all the species
were taken at the sampling site. The complete
plants with holdfast representing different
genera and species were separated carefully
and the samples were preserved in 4%
seawater formalin. Herbariums were also
prepared for further detailed examination in
the laboratory. Identification was made by
referring the publications of Srinivasan
(1969,1973), Umamaheswara Rao (1987),
Chennubhhotla et al. (1987), Bhavanath Jha
et al. (2009) and Silva et al. (1996).
Results
In the present study, Diglipur in North
and Port Blair in South Andaman were
covered. In North Andaman, sampling was
done in the month of March 2012. South
Andaman stations were continuously
monitored every month from October 2011 to
August 2012. The list of algae occurred is
given in Table-I. Seaweeds were collected from
different habitats such as rocky and sandy
environments. Altogether 13 genera and 29
species of green algae, 9 genera and 23 species
of brown algae and 13 genera and 20 species
of red algae were recorded during the study
period (Table-2). Six species namely
Acetabularia acetabulum, Codium sp,

Oct-Dee Jan-Apr May-Aug

2011 2012 2012

Chlorophyceae
1. Acetabularia acetabulum (Linnaeus) P. Silva
2. A. calyculus Lamouroux
3. Anadyomene stellata (Wulfen) C.Agardh
4. Avrainvil/ea amadelpha (Montagne) A.Gepp & E.Gepp
5. Boergeseniaforbesii (Harvey) J. Feldman
6. Boodlea composita (Harvey) Brand
7. Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) C. Agardh
8. Caulerpa peltata Lamouroux
9. C. racemosa (Forsskal) J. Agardh.
10. C. serrulata (Forsskal) J. Agardh
11. C. taxi/olia (Vahl) C. Agardh
12. C. verticil/ata J.Agardh
13. Chaetomorpha crassa (C. Agardh) Kuetzing
14. C. antennina (Bory de Saint- Vincent) Kuetzing
15. C. spiralis Okamura
16. Chaetomorpha sp
17. Codium dwarkense Boergesen +
18. C.geppiorum O.Schmidt
19. C. tomentosum Stackhouse +
20. Codium sp
21. Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (Forsskal) Boergesen +
22. Enteromorpha intestinalis (Linnaeus) Nees
23. E. ovata Thivy & Visalakshmi ex Joshi & Krishnamurthy
24. Enteromorpha sp
25. Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus) Lamouroux +
26. H. tuna (Ellis & Solander) Lamouroux +
27. H. macroloba Decaisne +
28 H. gracilis Harvey ex J. Agardh +
29 Neomeris annulata Dickie
P. Karthick, R. Mohanraju, CH Ramesh and Kada Narayana Murthy 11

Table 1. Continued

Phaeophyceae
1. Dichotomaria tenera (Kjellman) Huisman + +
2. Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux + +
3. D. bartayresiana Lamouroux + +
4. Galaxura rugosa (Ellis & Solander) Lamouroux + +
5. Galaxura sp +
6. Lobophora variegata (Lamouroux) Womersley ex Oliveira + + +
7. Padina gymnospora (Kuetzing) Sonder + + +
8. P.pavoniia (Linnaeus) Thivy + + +
9. P. tetrasporomatia Hauck + + +
10. Padina sp + +
11. S. crassifolium J.Agardh + +
12. S. cristaefolium C.Agardh + +
13. S. duplicatum C.Agardh + +
14. S. swartzii C. Agardh +
15. S. tenerrimum J.Agardh + +
16. S. wightii Greville +
17. Sargassum sp +
18. Turbinaria conoides (J. Agardh) Kuetzing + + +
19. T. decurrens Bory de Saint -Vincent + + +
20. T. ornata (Turner) J. Agardh + + +
21. T. turbinata (Linnaeus) Kuntze + +
22. Hormophysa cuneiformis (J. Gmelin) P. Silva + +
23. Hydroclathratus clathratus (C. Agardh) Howe +
Rhodophyceae
1. Acanthopora dendroides Harvey + +
2. A. spicifera {Yahl) Boergesen + +
3. Amphiroa anceps (Lamarck) Decaisne + + +
4. A. fragilissima (Linnaeus) Lamouroux + +
5. Actinotrichiafragilis (Forsskal) Boergesen + + +
6. Bostrychia tene/la (Lamouroux) J. Agardh + +
7. Corallina sp + +
8. Gelidiella acerosa (Forsskal) J. Feldmann & GHamel +
9. Graci/aria crassa Harvey ex J. Agardh + +
10. G corticata (J. Agardh) J.Agardh + +
11. G edulis (S. Gmelin) P. Silva + +
12. G salicornia (C. Agardh) Dawson + +
13. G verrucosa (Hudson) Papenfuss + +
14. Halymenia durvillei Bory de Saint-Vincent +
15. Halymenia sp +
16. Hypnea pannosa J. Agardh +
17. Laurencia papillosa (C. Agardh) Greville + +
18. Liagora ceranoides Lamouroux + +
19. Portieria hornemannii (Lyngbye) P.Silva + +
20. Tricleocarpafragi/is (Linnaeus) Huisman & Townsend + +
+ Present; -Absent
 Table 2. Seaweed distribution at six localities in South Andamanfrom October 2011 to August 2012 0
:,
1:;.
().;
S.No. Seaweed species Chatham Carbyn's cove Bunnanallah Kodiyaghat Chidiyatapu Wandoor I::
g,
:::s
Chlorophyceae l:l
:::s
I. Acetabularia acetabulum (Linnaeus) P. Silva - - - - - - l:l..
E::
2. A. calyculus Lamouroux - - + + + +
~
3. Anadyomene stellata (Wulfen) C. Agardh - + + + + - ;::
4. Avrainvi//ea amadelpha (Montagne) A. Gepp & E.Gepp - + + + - q
5. Boergeseniaforbesii (Harvey) J. Feldman - + + + . + ~
'"'
6. Boodlea compos ita (Harvey) Brand - + + + + + '~"
l:l
7. Bryopsis plumosa (Hudson) C. Agardh - - + - - +
'f}
8. Caulerpa peltata Lamouroux - + + + - + '""
9. C. racemosa (Forsskal) J.Agardh - - + + - + ::i.
10. C. serrulata (Forsskal) J. Agardh - + + - + + ~
II. C. taxi/olia (Vahl) C. Agardh - - + - + + ~
12. C. verticil/ata J.Agardh - - - - - + l:l
:::s
13. Chaetomorpha crassa (C. Agardh) Kuetzing - - + + - + l:l..

14. C. antennina (Bory de Saint-Vincent) Kuetzing - - + - - + ~

I::
15. C. spiralis Okamura - + + - - - ~
:>:..
16. Chaetomorpha sp - + + + - + :::s
17. Codium dwarkense Boergesen - - + - - + ~
~
18. C. geppiorum O. Schmidt + - + + - + l:l
:::s
19. C. tomentosum Stackhouse - - + - - + ~
20. Codium sp + - - - - - ~
:::s
21. Dictyosphaeria cavernosa (F orsskal) Boergesen - + + - +
l:l..

22. Enteromorpha intestinalis (Linnaeus) Nees - - - - + +

23. E.ovata Thivy & Visalakshmi ex Joshi - - - - +
& V. Krishnamurthy
24. Enteromorpha sp - + +
25. Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus) Lamouroux + - + + + +
26. H. tuna (Ellis & Solander)Lamouroux + - + - + +
27. H. macroloba Decaisne + - + - + +
28. H. gracilis (Harvey ex J. Agardh - - - - +
29. Neomeris annulata Dickie - - + + - + •....•
'"
 Table 2. Continued :-tl

~
...•
Phaeophyceae So
1. ;:;.
Dichotomaria tenera (Kjellman) Huisman + + + + + + 1"-
2. Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) Lamouroux - - + + - + ;:tl
3. D. bartayresiana Lamouroux + - + - - +
~
4. Galaxura rugosa (Ellis & Solander) Lamouroux - - + + + + ;:,-
l:l
5. Galaxura sp + - - - + + .~
..e..•
6. Lobophora variegata (Lamouroux) + - - - - + .;:
Womersley ex Oliveira
7. Padina gymnospora (Kuetzing) Sonder - - - - + - g
8. P. pavonicia (Linnaeus) Thivy - - - - + - ::0;,
l:l
9. P. tetrastromatica Hauck - + - - + - ;s
10. Padina sp - - - - - - ''""
;:,-
II. Sargassum crassifolium J .Agardh + + - - + + l:l
~
12. S. cristaefolium C.Agardh - + - - + + ~
13. S. duplicatum C.Agardh - + - - + + ~
14. S. swartzii C. Agardh - - - - + + ~
15. S. tenerrimum J.Agardh - + - - + + ~...•
16. S. wightii Greville + + - - + + ~l:l
17. Sargassum sp - - - - + + ~
18. Turbinaria conoides (1. Agardh) Kuetzing - - - - + +
l:l

19. T decurrens Bory de Saint- Vincent - - - - + + ~

::t
20. T ornata (Turner) J. Agardh + + + + - - ~
21. T turbinata (Linnaeus) Kuntze - - . - - +
22. Hormophysa cuneiformis (1. Gmelin) P. Silva - - + - + +
23. Hydroclathratus clathratus (C. Agardh) Howe - - + +
Rhodophyceae
1. Acanthopora dendroides Harvey . - +
2. A. spicifera (Vahl) Boergesen - - + + +
3. Amphiroa anceps (Lamarck) Decaisne + + + +
4. Afragilissima (Linnaeus) Lamouroux + + + + - +
5. Actinotrichiafragilis (Forsskal) Boergesen - + + + - +
6. Bostrychia tenella (Lamouroux) J. Agardh - - - - + +
7. Corallin a sp - - + + - + •....•
...,
Enteromorpha ovata, Sargassum duplicatum,
Dichotomaria tenera and Bostrychia tene//a
were recorded for the first time from Andaman
waters. Totally 6 genera and 9 species were
recorded in Diglipur in North Andaman Islands
(Table-3).

Discussion
During this study, more numbers of
seaweeds were found in South Andaman
Islands compared to North Andaman.
Seaweeds of North Andaman showed low
diversity. Earlier study conducted by
Gopinathan and Panigrahy (1978) showed the
presence of Turbinaria and Sargassum
species in the western side of Dig Iipur jetty in
North Andaman. In the present study
Acetabu/aria, Halimeda and Padina species
were found to be dominant in Diglipur jetty in
Ariel Bay. Mantri (2006) reported that east
coast was affected during the Tsunami, which
is in agreement with the present findings
showing large number of seaweeds in the east
coast of South Andaman Islands and least
number of species in North Andaman.
Species of Padina, Acetabu/aria,
Liagora and Halimeda were observed in North
Andaman but they are not well distributed. In
South Andaman Cau/erpa, Graci/aria and
Turbinaria species dominated in rocky shore
environment. Sargassum and Padina showed
dominance in rocky with sandy areas.
Commercially important seaweeds like
Graci/aria verrucosa, Gcrassa Gedulis and
Cau/erpa racemosa were found on rocky coast
of Burmanallah, Kodiyaghat and Wandoor
coast. Coralline algae like Tricleocarpa
fragilis, Amphiroa anceps and Amphiroa
fragilissima were found in Kodiyaghat and
Wandoor coast. Sargassum wightii, S.
tenerrimum, Padina pavonica, P.
tetrastomatica, Padina sp were found in large
quantities in Wandoor and Chidiyatapu coast
and similarly Turbinaria ornata, T decurrens,
 Khalipur Aerial Ramnagar
beach Bay beach

Chlorophyceae
1. Acetabularia acetabulum (Linnaeus) P. Silva
2. Halimeda opuntia (Linnaeus) Lamouroux
3. H. macroloba Decaisne
Phaeophyceae
4. Padina gymnospora (Kuetzing) Sonder
5. P.pavonica (Linnaeus) Thivy
6. Turbinaria ornata (Turner) J. Agardh
7. T. conoides (1. Agardh) Kuetzing
Rhodophyceae
8. Halymenia sp
9. Liagora ceranoides Lamouroux

T.conoides andSargassum sp in Carbin's Cove S.Kalimuthu 1987. Economically important

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