A Study of Mangroves and Prawn Diversity in Kavanattinkara

Mangroves are known as the lungs of nature. Kerala once had over 70, 000 hectares of mangroves, fringing its unique estuarine systems. It is considered as the breeding ground of prawns species. There are many factors which facilitate the diversification and abundance of prawn in mangrove area. The detritus content, hiding area, mineral availability, temperature, pH etc. are some of those influential characters. Many prawn species are available in mangrove areas. They are either cultured or naturally occurring. Some of them were studied such as Fenneropenaeus indicus, Metapenaeus dobsoni, Metapenaeus affinis, Macrobranchium rosenbergi, Metapenaeus monoceros. The interview or enquiry method was used for the study.