Ecology of Interstitial Faunal Assemblage from the Beaches along the Coast of Kerala, India

Table 4

Pearson correlation matrix of interstitial taxa and hydrographic and sediment parameters of the study area.

	Meio	Temp	pH	Sal	DO	CS	MS	FS	Part. S	C	H	N	Nem	Poly	Oligo	Turb	Hrpc	Gastr	Kinor	Isop	Cnid	Others
Meio	1
Temp	0.025	1
pH	0.301	0.126	1
Sal	0.177	0.132	−0.372*	1
DO	0.001	0.246	−0.31	−0.012	1
CS	0.024	−0.348	−0.023	0.458*	−0.303	1
MS	0.376*	0.172	−0.081	0.168	0.266	−0.415*	1
FS	−0.410*	0.081	0.102	−0.518**	−0.05	−0.315	−0.733**	1
Part. S	0.265	−0.196	−0.058	0.549**	−0.007	0.769**	0.159	−0.742**	1
C	−0.194	−0.534**	0.038	0.132	−0.308	0.651**	−0.613**	0.152	0.266	1
H	−0.184	0.492**	0.017	0.249	−0.062	−0.04	0.23	−0.21	0.161	−0.328	1
N	0.241	0.482**	−0.163	0.607**	0.225	0.059	−0.062	0.02	0.098	0.041	0.233	1
Nem	0.780**	−0.336	0.121	0.07	−0.068	0.263	0.114	−0.315	0.353	0.076	−0.433*	0.037	1
Poly	0.304	0.006	0.378*	0.067	−0.297	−0.018	0.168	−0.162	−0.002	−0.07	−0.085	0.009	0.12	1
Oligo	0.17	−0.171	0.061	−0.034	−0.13	−0.077	0.216	−0.168	−0.09	−0.233	−0.072	−0.234	0.093	0.327	1
Turb	0.525**	−0.277	0.101	−0.122	−0.054	−0.125	0.396*	−0.32	0.127	−0.148	−0.18	−0.107	0.652**	−0.074	0.119	1
Hrpc	0.794**	0.292	0.359	0.237	−0.039	−0.163	0.441*	−0.338	0.117	−0.265	0.109	0.31	0.327	0.386*	0.016	0.116	1
Gastr	0.677**	0.226	0.291	0.087	−0.099	−0.014	0.217	−0.216	0.177	−0.2	−0.025	0.231	0.555**	0.236	−0.021	0.433*	0.480**	1
Kinor	0.633**	0.079	0.085	0.153	0.291	−0.026	0.244	−0.235	0.141	−0.196	−0.074	0.286	0.396*	−0.101	0.2	0.430*	0.414*	0.117	1
Isop	0.648**	0.078	0.078	0.161	0.262	−0.013	0.262	−0.264	0.137	−0.177	−0.079	0.22	0.288	−0.091	0.16	0.113	0.643**	0.049	0.781**	1
Cnid	0.513**	0.071	−0.008	0.071	0.217	0.176	0.031	−0.164	0.251	−0.157	−0.211	0.197	0.626**	−0.08	0.088	0.521**	0.003	0.639**	0.422*	0.169	1
Others	0.331	−0.238	−0.356	0.261	0.285	0.004	0.322	−0.339	0.159	−0.172	−0.084	0.13	0.431*	−0.151	0.148	0.527**	−0.008	0.333	0.254	0.124	0.531**	1

∗Correlation is significant at 0.05 level.
∗∗Correlation is significant at 0.01 level.
CS: coarse sand; MS: medium sand; FS: fine sand; Part. S: particle size; C: carbon; H: hydrogen; N: nitrogen.
Cnid: cnidaria; Kinor: kinorhyncha; Isop: isopoda; Olygo: oligochaeta; Gastro: gastrotricha.
Poly: polychaeta; Hrpc: harpacticoida; Nem: nematoda; Turb: turbellaria.