SURFICIAL EMERGENCE OF BOLEOPHTHALMUS DUSSUMIERI (VAL., 1837) SYNCHRONIZED WITH TIDAL OSCILLATION ON THE SILTED INTERTIDAL MUDFLATS OF ULHAS RIVER ESTUARY

Boleophthalmus dussumieri (Val., 1837) is a mudskipper species inhabiting, in abundance on the intertidal mudflats occurred on either banks of Ulhas River estuary. The present study scan and focal sampling method implied to record the lagged immergence of B. dussumieri on the surface during ebb-tide. The study revealed direct correlation with the declining water level and rate of exposure of the mudflat during the ebb-tide occurred at Kolshet creek along the west bank of the Ulhas River estuary. PCO obtained with Euclidean distance matrix represented 100% ordination of the samples depicting that the level of water defined the rate of surficial emergence of individuals.Publish in international Journal of Advance and Innovative Research, Volume 6, Issue 2 (III) : April - June, 2019, ISSN: 2394-778