ABSTRACT
The Indian subcontinent is surrounded by three seas and one ocean viz., Arabian Sea in the west, Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in the east and Indian Ocean in the south. The coastal area is assuming greater importance in recent years, owing to increasing human population, urbanization and accelerated developmental activities. The continental regions and the offshore islands and a very wide range of coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, backwaters, salt marshes, rocky coasts, sandy stretches and coral reefs, are characterized by unique biotic and abiotic properties and processes. The inventory of marine fauna and flora through published literatures on coastal and marine biodiversity of India indicates that a total of 21,663 species of faunal and floral communities have been reported from seas around India. The impacts of climate change will alter coastal marine ecosystems affecting the range of species and their ecology at a rate faster than it is recorded.
