Abstract The seas of Mauritius encompasses an exclusive economic zone of 1.9 M km2 with an additi... more Abstract The seas of Mauritius encompasses an exclusive economic zone of 1.9 M km2 with an additional sea territory of 396,000 km2 jointly managed with Seychelles. The Republic of Mauritius includes several tropical islands, the three inhabited ones being Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Agalega. Mauritius is of volcanic origin and dates back to about 8 mya (million years ago). Being the fourth and sixth most densely populated tropical country and globally, respectively, Mauritius has undergone extensive terrestrial and coastal development, including rapid vegetation clearance. Rapid changes in land-use patterns have led to reduction of native forest cover to almost
Marine molluscs are among the largest assemblages of the animal kingdom and inhabit the marine en... more Marine molluscs are among the largest assemblages of the animal kingdom and inhabit the marine environment from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. This study reports the diversity of marine molluscs (Gastropoda and Bivalvia) collected from sediments at 19 stations (SS) at the Saya de Malha and Nazareth Banks during the EAFNansen expedition in May 2018. Sampling was carried out using the five hydraulic Van Veen grabs mounted on a Video-Assisted Multi-Sampler (VAMS). The mollusc shells were morphologically identified using established procedures and published guides. Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) and Pielou’s evenness (J) indices were used to assess the diversity of the molluscs at each station. A total of 56 genera of marine gastropods belonging to 34 families, and 40 genera of bivalves from 16 families were recorded. The SS8 station at the Saya de Malha Bank had the highest diversity at a depth of 79 m for Gastropoda and Bivalvia, while SS1 harbored the highest overall molluscan d...
A first characterization of the distribution and composition of benthic and demersal macro- and m... more A first characterization of the distribution and composition of benthic and demersal macro- and megafauna was derived based on video records sampled along five pre-determined transects up the slope on the western, northern and eastern sides of the Saya de Malha Bank on the Mascarene Plateau, starting at a maximum depth of 1000 m. Abundance was highest in the upper parts of eastern slope locations, primarily reflecting a relatively higher abundance of black corals (Antipatharia) than in other locations. A consistent feature of several transects, but most prominent in eastern and northern slopes, was the occurrence of patchy coral and sponge aggregations along the margin where the substrate was mostly hard. In some cases, these aggregations might be considered ‘gardens’ but reefs were not observed. Higher-level taxonomical composition of the fauna is presented. Demersal fish were widespread but not abundant, and within the depth range studied, there was a transition from a marginal sh...
The present study validated the use of AquaMODIS sea surface chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations ... more The present study validated the use of AquaMODIS sea surface chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations and investigated the spatial variation in density and diversity of micro-phytoplankton around two islands and two fishing banks of the Mascarene region. The study included areas around Mauritius (MRU) and Rodrigues (ROD) Islands, at Nazareth (NZ) Bank, and in the Joint Management Area (JMA) between the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles, more specifically at the Saya de Malha (SM) Bank. The AquaMODIS data were based on 67 match-up data points of in-situ against satellite Chla concentrations. The micro-phytoplankton community structure was investigated by determining the density variation and using the Shannon Wiener (H’) and Evenness (Evar) diversity indices. The satellite and in-situ Chla data were significantly and positively correlated when pooled for the four sites studied (R2 = 0.441; r = 0.642, P < 0.01), and when analysed separately for islands (R2 = 0.480; r ...
Abstract The seas of Mauritius encompasses an exclusive economic zone of 1.9 M km2 with an additi... more Abstract The seas of Mauritius encompasses an exclusive economic zone of 1.9 M km2 with an additional sea territory of 396,000 km2 jointly managed with Seychelles. The Republic of Mauritius includes several tropical islands, the three inhabited ones being Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Agalega. Mauritius is of volcanic origin and dates back to about 8 mya (million years ago). Being the fourth and sixth most densely populated tropical country and globally, respectively, Mauritius has undergone extensive terrestrial and coastal development, including rapid vegetation clearance. Rapid changes in land-use patterns have led to reduction of native forest cover to almost
Marine molluscs are among the largest assemblages of the animal kingdom and inhabit the marine en... more Marine molluscs are among the largest assemblages of the animal kingdom and inhabit the marine environment from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. This study reports the diversity of marine molluscs (Gastropoda and Bivalvia) collected from sediments at 19 stations (SS) at the Saya de Malha and Nazareth Banks during the EAFNansen expedition in May 2018. Sampling was carried out using the five hydraulic Van Veen grabs mounted on a Video-Assisted Multi-Sampler (VAMS). The mollusc shells were morphologically identified using established procedures and published guides. Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) and Pielou’s evenness (J) indices were used to assess the diversity of the molluscs at each station. A total of 56 genera of marine gastropods belonging to 34 families, and 40 genera of bivalves from 16 families were recorded. The SS8 station at the Saya de Malha Bank had the highest diversity at a depth of 79 m for Gastropoda and Bivalvia, while SS1 harbored the highest overall molluscan d...
A first characterization of the distribution and composition of benthic and demersal macro- and m... more A first characterization of the distribution and composition of benthic and demersal macro- and megafauna was derived based on video records sampled along five pre-determined transects up the slope on the western, northern and eastern sides of the Saya de Malha Bank on the Mascarene Plateau, starting at a maximum depth of 1000 m. Abundance was highest in the upper parts of eastern slope locations, primarily reflecting a relatively higher abundance of black corals (Antipatharia) than in other locations. A consistent feature of several transects, but most prominent in eastern and northern slopes, was the occurrence of patchy coral and sponge aggregations along the margin where the substrate was mostly hard. In some cases, these aggregations might be considered ‘gardens’ but reefs were not observed. Higher-level taxonomical composition of the fauna is presented. Demersal fish were widespread but not abundant, and within the depth range studied, there was a transition from a marginal sh...
The present study validated the use of AquaMODIS sea surface chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations ... more The present study validated the use of AquaMODIS sea surface chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations and investigated the spatial variation in density and diversity of micro-phytoplankton around two islands and two fishing banks of the Mascarene region. The study included areas around Mauritius (MRU) and Rodrigues (ROD) Islands, at Nazareth (NZ) Bank, and in the Joint Management Area (JMA) between the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Seychelles, more specifically at the Saya de Malha (SM) Bank. The AquaMODIS data were based on 67 match-up data points of in-situ against satellite Chla concentrations. The micro-phytoplankton community structure was investigated by determining the density variation and using the Shannon Wiener (H’) and Evenness (Evar) diversity indices. The satellite and in-situ Chla data were significantly and positively correlated when pooled for the four sites studied (R2 = 0.441; r = 0.642, P < 0.01), and when analysed separately for islands (R2 = 0.480; r ...
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Papers by Ranjeet Bhagooli