Meiobenthos of mangrove mudflats from shallow region of Thane creek, central west coast of India

137-141Studies on the meiobenthos of intertidal zone of mangrove mudflats revealed dominance of nematodes (78.35%) with insignificant seasonal variations. The other constituents were tube polychaetes and oligochaetes, the latter contributing a major share to meiobenthos only at the station in the proximity of sewage outlet. Generally the meiobenthic abundance was higher at low level water mark (44.30% of density and 56.40% of biomass) and low during monsoon (20.90%). The meiobenthic productivity ranged between 4650 to 9835 g/m(2) and was mainly governed by macrobenthic population density