Seagrass ecosystem adjacent to mangroves store higher amount of organic carbon of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andaman Sea.

This study quantified the organic carbon (C) stocks in Thalassia hemprichii meadows that are (i) adjacent to mangroves (MG), and (ii) without mangroves (WMG), in tropical Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) of India. In the top 10 cm of the sediment, C content was 1.8-fold higher at the MG sites than the WMG sites.

Further addition to the Indian fauna of Euryleptidae (Polycladida: Cotylea) with description of a new Cycloporus Lang, 1884 and Eurylepta Ehrenberg, 1831.

A study of polyclad fauna in Maharashtra along the west coast of India and the Andaman group of Islands was carried out in the period 20182020. The paper describes Cycloporus decoratus sp. nov.

A multi-species occupancy modeling approach to access the impacts of land use and land cover on terrestrial vertebrates in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Western Ghats, India.

Urbanization is one of the main drivers in the conversion of natural habitats into different land use and land cover types (LULC) which threaten the local as well as global biodiversity. This impact is particularly alarming in tropical countries like India, where ~18% of the world's population live, and its ever-growing economy (i.e.

Systematic revision of the genus Fleming, 1822 (Gastropoda, Euthyneura, Pulmonata, Onchidiidae).

The genus Fleming, 1822 includes all the onchidiid slugs with dorsal gills. Its taxonomy is revised for the first time based on a large collection of fresh material from the entire Indo-West Pacific, from South Africa to Hawaii. Nine species are supported by mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and nuclear (ITS2 and 28S) sequences as well as comparative anatomy.

Integrative description of two new Cratena species (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) from western India.

Among the Facelinidae, the genus Cratena comprises nine valid species, four of them presenting a similar colour pattern with white body, reddish diverticula in the cerata and a pair of orange spots laterally on the head. Based on an integrative molecular phylogenetic and morphological approach two new species from western India are described, Cratena poshitraensis sp. nov.

A new species and new records of slugs (Gastropoda, Euthyneura, Pulmonata, Onchidiidae) in South-East Asia.

A new species, Dayrat & Goulding, , is described, bringing the total to four known species in the genus Buchannan, 1800. is a rare species with only nine individuals found at three mangrove sites in the Andaman Islands and the Strait of Malacca (western Peninsular Malaysia and eastern Sumatra). The new species is delineated based on mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and nuclear (ITS2 and 28S) DNA sequences as well as comparative anatomy.

Intertidal Euryleptid polyclads and description of a new Stylostomum Lang, 1884 from Maharashtra, India.

The family Euryleptidae, consisting of 19 genera, is as colourful and distinct as the family Pseudocerotidae. Five species of Euryleptidae encountered during surveys in the intertidal rocky shores of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra are presented in the current study. Cycloporus variegatus is new records to India.

Integrative taxonomy of the genus Buchannan, 1800 (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Onchidiidae).

In an effort to clarify the species diversity of onchidiid slugs, the taxonomy of the genus Buchannan, 1800 is revised using an integrative approach. New, fresh specimens were collected in a large number of places, including type localities. The genus is redefined here as a clade including only three species which are strongly supported by both morphological and molecular data.

Insights into Diversity and Imputed Metabolic Potential of Bacterial Communities in the Continental Shelf of Agatti Island.

Marine microbes play a key role and contribute largely to the global biogeochemical cycles. This study aims to explore microbial diversity from one such ecological hotspot, the continental shelf of Agatti Island. Sediment samples from various depths of the continental shelf were analyzed for bacterial diversity using deep sequencing technology along with the culturable approach.

Speciation and dispersal along continental coastlines and island arcs in the Indo-West Pacific turbinid gastropod genus Lunella.

Species trees were produced for the Indo-West Pacific (IWP) gastropod genus Lunella using MrBayes, BEAST, and *BEAST with sequence data from four genes. Three fossil records were used to calibrate a molecular clock. Eight cryptic species were recognized using statistical methods for species delimitation in combination with morphological differences.