Synopsis for Ph.D. Thesis entitled
“Ecobiology and Remote Sensing based study of
Coringa mangroves in the Godavari delta, East coast of India”

By
Behara Satyanarayana,
Marine Biological Laboratory,
Department of Zoology,
Andhra University,
Waltair – 530 003.

Coringa sanctuary, second largest mangrove formation (235.07 km2) on the east coast of India next to Sunderbans (1434.4 km2), subjected to considerable human impingement recently owing to agriculture (paddy), industrial development (fertilizer factory & paper mill), mechanized fishing, oil and natural gas drilling and port expansion episodes etc. Furthermore, the human impact through mangrove denudation for coastal aquaculture has now become a serious problem in Coringa. Most of the people from neighboring villages are also depend on this fragile ecosystem for their daily needs like fuel wood, timber and fodder. Considering the changes in floral and environmental conditions of Godavari delta, the qualitative and quantitative degradations are therefore need comparison with available historical data and between sites differentially affected by man, formed main objectives for the present study.
This thesis is structured in three parts. After a brief Introduction and description of the Study Area (Chapters I&II), Part 1 (Environmental Conditions) follows. The results (Chapter III) are supported by measurements of water quality (secchi disc transparency, salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended matter), oceanographic features (tidal elevation and current speed), sediment characteristics (sand, silt, clay, organic matter, redox potential Eh, pH and interstitial salinity) and canal/creek bank elevations. Part 2 focuses on the Biology of Mangroves namely study of floral composition and distribution, tree structural variables (density, basal area, relative density, relative dominance, absolute frequency and species individual ranking), zonation, species assemblages, soil-vegetaion relationship and mangrove associated fauna (Chapter IV). Part 3 deals with Application of Remote Sensing and GIS to assess the present status of the mangroves and their evolution during last two decades (Chapter V). Chapter VI contains a few Concluding Remarks and final perspectives.