Marine Biodiversity in India

Marine environments encompass an impressive diversity of ecosystem and habitats. Coral reefs among the planets largest and older structures created by living organisms are home to dense concentrations of species and complex webs of interspecies interactions. Though the species diversity in these ecosystems is relatively less they are important in terms of fisheries and other ecosystem services. They provide shoreline stability in the case of mangroves and sustenance of endangered species like the dugongs in the case of sea grass beds.