Ecology of Faunal Communities on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 2012

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, consist of 572 islands with a land area of 8,249 km². Their topography is hilly and undulating, with elevations up to 732 m on the Andaman and up to 568 m on the Nicobar Islands. They are known for their rich biodiversity and a very high degree of endemicity in all taxa, especially in plants, reptiles, fishes and corals. Their habitats include bays, mangroves, moist deciduous forests and evergreen forests. Comprising 20 chapters each written by an expert or professional in his/her particular field this book offers new insights into the fascinating faunal communities of these islands and provides the fundamentals for their conservation and environmental management.

Polychaetes of Andaman and Nicobar.- Status of the benthos and its environment in Jolly Buoy Island, Magathma Gandhi Marine National Park, Andaman, India.- Intertidal distribution of the coral-boring barnacle Lithotrya nicobarica Reinhardt, 1850  in the Great Nicobar Island.- Coral boring fauna of the Great Nicobar Island.- On the recurrence of coral bleaching and recovery in North Bay, Port Blair.- Status and distribution of Trochus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1767) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Ichtyofaunal diversity in Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve.- Diversity and abundance of Chondrichthyan Fishes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Structure of reef fish communities of seven islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.- Seaweed distribution in South and Little Andaman.- Diversity of butterflies in Ritchie’s Archipelago, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Diversity and distribution of corals and their associated fauna of Rani Jhansi Marine National Park, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Diversity and distribution of Odonates of Ritchie’s Archipelago, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Butterflies and birds of Chidiyatapu Biological Park, South Andaman.- Social organisation of the Nicobar Megapode Megapodius nicobariensis (Galliformes, Aves) in the Great Nicobar Island.- Habitat preference of the Nicobar Megapode Megapodius nicobariensis in the Great Nicobar Island, India.- Ecology and conservation of the Narcondam Hornbill Aceros narcondami.-Abundance and species distribution of bird communities in Ritchie’s Archipelago, Andaman and Nicobar islands.- Diversity and conservation of indigenous poultry germplasm of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.- Diversity and conservation of farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.