Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Trophic level of fishes occurring along the Indian coast

Volume 51 Issue 1

E. Vivekanandan, S. Gomathy, P. Thirumilu, M. M. Meiyappan and S. K. Balakumar

Abstract

Data on the trophic level (TrL) of 707 species of exploited finfishes, crustaceans and cephalopods along the Indian coast were collected from different sources. The TrL ranges from 2.0 to 4.7 and
the mean TrL is 3.5. The mean TrL of pelagic finfishes is 3.68, and the TrL decreased towards demersal habitat (3.44). A strong positive correlation exists between maximum body length of finfishes and TrL. The mean TrL of exploitation was 3.25. The complexities of assigning TrL values are discussed.

Keywords

Trophic level, fisheries, body size, habitat, Indian seas

Date : 01-09-2009