Impact of Anthropogenic Stressors on Marine Benthos

The study investigates new measurements of hydro-geochemical variables and a baseline survey of macrobenthic faunal distribution along the coast of Kerala Southwest coast of India. The study confirms a significant level of organic inorganic industrial and natural disturbances along this coast. Significant load of heavy metals and PAHs found at the study sites pose a serious threat to human health via trophic dynamics. The effects of pollution and degradation in habitat quality cause a decrease in the number of species and a change in the number of individuals of benthic macrofaunal assemblages at all the study sites. The importance of macrobenthic invertebrates as bioindicators in pollution monitoring surveys is also highlighted.