Annual shifts in inter-tidal foraminiferal diversity in the west coast of India

Environmental conditions are known to influence foraminiferal assemblages and their diversity. Seasonal fluctuations however, are not well studied in tropical intertidal habitats. The southern West Coast of India has narrow coastal plains bordered on the east by the Western Ghats, which rise to an average height of 900m above sea level. This generates monsoon precipitation from southwesterly winds that last for about four months beginning in the first week of June. Due to a steep gradient of the Western Ghats numerous swift-flowing rivers course through a highly productive region that includes the coastal plains and they traverse a distance of about 60 km before reaching the sea. They provide large inputs of various micro- and macro-nutrients. The monsoons thus considerably alter the hydrobiologic profile of the Arabian Sea. Thus the West Coast of India provides an interesting region for study of correlation of monsoon and foraminiferal diversity. It is all the more significant as paleomonsoon data are often interpreted from proxy foraminifera.