The Lakshadweep Islands of India being oceanic in nature, harbour important marine flora
and fauna in the seas around it. An overview of some of the marine flora/fauna, their status,
distribution, and conservation need in Lakshadweep archipelago are discussed here.
The Lakshadweep like all islands are coral atolls with live corals and reef surrounding it. The
soil is formed by weathering the dead corals. It is estimated to have 95% calcium carbonate.
Floral Wealth of Lakshadweep
Seaweeds and sea grasses:
Marine algal distribution is generally sparse and heterogeneous. Altogether, 62 genera and
114 species of seaweeds have been recorded from Lakshadweep. Among them the most
abundant species are the Gracilaria edulis, Sargassum duplicatum and Turbinaria ornata
which grow luxuriantly on the lagoon beds of many islands. The shallow water lagoons of
these atolls support rich beds of seagrass adjacent to the beach. The grasses help considerably
in preventing erosion of beaches. A total of 6 species of sea grasses are identified from this
area. The most common of these are the Cymodocea rotundata and Thalassia hemprichii,
which the green turtles predominantly forage upon in the lagoon (Jagtap, 1987).
Corals:
The diversity studies of corals are limited only to Minicoy. Pillai (1983) recorded 70 species
of hermatypic corals representing 26 genera from the shallow waters of Minicoy reef and
lagoon. Few widespread but less common Indo-Pacific genera such as Coscinarea,
Siderastrea, Pachyseris, Oulophyllia, Trachyphyllia, Mycedium, Oxypora, Plerogyra and
Seriatopora still await detection from the reef of Lakshadweep. Fungia and Favia are also
widespread in many island lagoons.
Marine fishes: The fishes that occur in the coralline niches of the lagoon exhibit the
characteristic variety of colours and mainly consist of perches, gar-fishes, half-beaks, scarids,
goat-fishes, carangids, grey mullets, antherinids, spyraenids, polynemids, balistids, blennids
and globe-fishes. 603 species of fish from the Laccadive archipelago were recorded. The
offshore fishery is constituted by fishes viz. seer fish, sharks, sail fish, tunnies, flying fish,
carangids, and ribbon fish. Moreover, rays and skates are also common in the Lakshadweep
water. Fishes such as Crenimugil crenilabis, Polynemus sexfilis, Naso tuberosus, Naso
unicornis, Gomphousus varius, Novacutichthys taeniurus and Anampses diadematus are
common in the offshore waters of Lakshadweep (James et. al., 1989).
Benthos: In all, 41 species of crabs and two species of lobsters are recorded from this region.
The brachyuran crab Grapsus albolineatus and panulirid lobster Panulirus homarus are among
the most common crustaceans in the lagoon and reef flats of this archipelago.
Mollusca: The giant clam Tridacna maxima is found on the reef flat of many islands while
octopus are common in the lagoon bottom. In addition to this, 48 species of gastropods and
12 bivalves have also been documented. Among the gastropods, Cone shells (Conus
leopardus and C. litteratus), and Cowries (Cyprea caputserpentis and C. tigris) are the
commonly found molluscs in the island reef bottom.
Sponges: 41 species of sponges are identified from the Lakshadweep group. Only the class
Demospongean is documented from this area. The common Indian sponge Spongia
officianalis is for the first time recorded from Minicoy island of Lakshadweep (Thomas,
1989).
Economically and ecologically important fauna
Tuna: Oceanic species of tuna such as Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis) and Yellowfin tuna
(Thunnus albacares) constitute the major tuna resources from Lakshadweep Islands
(Alagaraja, 1987; Jones, 1986; Kumaran and Gopakumar, 1986; James et.al., 1989). The
main economy of the islanders is dependent on the tuna catch and fishing is done for nearly
six months of the year from October to April.
Sharks: The most common species of sharks that occur in Lakshadweep are the Spade-nose
shark/Yellow dog shark, Scoliodon laticaudus and the Milk shark, Rhizopriodon acutus
(Devdoss et.al., 1985). The Blacktip Shark, Carcharhinus limbatus and Hammerhead shark,
Sphyrna mokarran are also commonly found in the waters around Lakshadweep (Hanfee,
1997; Basudev Tripathy, Pers. Obs.).
Marine turtles: There are four species of marine turtles that occur and nest in the islands of
Lakshadweep (Bhaskar, 1978). The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is the common species that
nests in inhabited islands whereas hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherbacks nest
more frequently in the uninhabited islands. The olive September 2002 Kachhapa # 7 16 ridley
(Lepidochelys olivacea) nests from January to March whereas the former two species nest in
the monsoon (Tripathy et. al., 2002 unpublished Report) (see Article, pp 3-7, this issue).
Dolphins and whales: In the seas around India, there are 24 species of cetaceans frequenting
the coastal waters, mostly for feeding and breeding (James & Mohan 1987, De Silva 1987).
However, no detailed scientific investigation has been carried out so far on the species
diversity of dolphins in different coastal regions of India. Pillai (1981) reported the
occurrence of Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) from Minicoy island of
Lakshadweep. There is a skeleton of false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) kept for
display in the museum at Kavaratti island. The common species of dolphin that are caught as
bycatch are the Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), Indo-pacific humpback dolphin
(Sousa chinensis), Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus aduncus) and Cape dolphin
(Delphinus delphis) (Lal Mohan, 1989). Dolphins are frequently sighted close to the island
coast between October and April (Basudev Tripathy, Pers. Obs.). To the fishermen, this
animal serves as an indicator of tuna shoals in the offshore waters of Lakshadweep. There are
unconfirmed reports of the collection of ambergris by islanders, when washed ashore. This
indicates that sperm whales may also occur in the offshore waters of Lakshadweep.
Dugongs: Dugongs, reported to be historically present in Lakshadweep, are probably extinct
from this area now. However, there are some unconfirmed reports that islanders have sighted
dugongs while fishing in offshore areas.
Birds: The Pitti island of Lakshadweep is inhabited by three species of terns namely the
Noddy Tern (Anous stolidus pileatus) Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata nubilosa) and the Brown
winged Tern (Sterna anaethetus)(see Article, pp 19, this issue). Besides, there are Gray
Plovers, Golden Plovers, Crab Plovers, Whimbrels, Curlews and common Sandpipers around
the islands (Betts, 1938; Daniel, 1999; Mathew & Ambedkar, 1964).
