Marine macroalgal diversity along the Maharashtra coast: Past and present status

A comparative study on distribution and abundance of marine macroalgae was carried out at six sites along the Maharashtra coast with the available dat a from 1935 onwards. The analyses and interpretation of this data revealed very interesting trends in marine macroalgal diversity. A typical cyclic ch ange in their distribution, abundance and the reproductive features were ob served in these algal forms. Although, northern part of Maharashtra is subj ected to increasing industrial pollution and habitat destruction, there are some pockets wherein high macroalgal diversity occurs. This may be because of the increased tolerance to the environmental changes.