CORRESPONDENCE CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 89, NO. 8, 25 OCTOBER 2005 1310 (IUCN) lists two algal species, viz. Caulerpa taxifolia and Undaria pinnatifida among the list of 100 most invasive species’ 2 . Of late, an exotic marine algal species is on the verge of becoming invasive in Southern India. Kappaphycus alvarezii, a fast-growing alga known to absorb high amount of nutri- ents from sea water is under rampant cul- tivation at the Gulf of Mannar biosphere reserve. This genus, reportedly indigenous to Indonesia and Philippines, was introduced to India in 1995 for cultivation purpose. The commercial significance of Kappaphycus lies in its role in production of an industrially lucrative polymer called Carrageenan. The entrepreneural venture of seaweed cultivation undertaken by Pepsi Foods Limited (PFL) along with CSMCRI (Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Insti- tute) spans over 100 hectares area for Car- rageenan production, with an estimated annual yield of 100 tons (wet weight) per hectare. After the initial venture of PFL into the mariculture of Kappaphycus, the local organizations in Mandapam region are giving impetus to the fisherfolk to undertake cultivation of this commer- cially viable species. Though this propo- sition is undoubtedly a lucrative option for the farmers, it does raise some doubts about the status of other marine flora members. Of late, some of the scientist divers, who have visited the area for collection of biological samples, have observed that K. alvarezii was found occupying quite a large subtidal area indicating that this species has started spreading in the re- gion. As a precautionary measure, it is necessary to control this species, in order to prevent massive invasion, as in the case of a green alga Caulerpa taxifolia. Indige- nous to the tropics, a sprig of this alga was dumped into the sea from Monaco’s oceanographic museum and today it has spread over a substantial area of the Mediter- ranean Sea. This has resulted in the loss of local and endemic seaweed species of the region. Reports are available 3 on ‘the free-living populations of Kappaphycus’ and its delete- rious effects on the endemic corals in Ha- waii. Though vegetative propagation is supposedly safe, it can be speculated that in case of environmental changes, propa- gation through spores may not be impos- sible. Hence, impact assessment survey comprising a detailed investigation is re- quired to assess the growth and abun- dance of K. alvarezii and its rate of encroachment over the native flora. 1. Sharma, G. P., Singh, J. S. and Raghuban- shi, A. S., Curr. Sci., 2005, 88, 726–734. 2. Susan McGrath, Natl. Geogr. Mag., 2005, 93–117. 3. http://www.surialink.com/abc_eucheuma/1/ 3.htm NEELAM PEREIRA* X. N. VERLECAR National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 403 004, India *e-mail: neelam@darya.nio.org Teira batfish, Platax teira (Forsskal, 1775) in Pudhumadam coastal waters, drifted due to the tsunami of 26 December 2004 The tsunami of 26 December 2004 has wrecked havoc along the coast of Tamil Nadu in the southeast part of India. Al- though the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay coasts of Tamil Nadu were saved by the barrier-like protection given by the island nation of Sri Lanka, the tsunami had flu- shed enormous quantities of water mass into the Gulf of Mannar that many of the islands have their shores eroded and a large number of coral colonies around the islands got either uprooted or broken 1 . The surging flood of the tsunami also caused substantial siltation on the corals closer to the island shores in the Gulf of Mannar. The Gulf of Mannar has a chain of 21 islands stretching along a distance of 140 km from Rameswaram island in the north to Vaan island in the south (Figure 1). All the islands have rich coral grounds around them. They form either fringing- type reefs or they are in large patches forming coral gardens in shallow waters. All the islands are located 5 to 10 km away from the mainland coast of the Gulf of Mannar. The tsunami that devastated the coast of Tamil Nadu had also brought with it new varieties of fishes, as reported by a number of fishermen. An underwater bio- fouling panel (UWBFP) system which was erected near Pudhumadam coast (N 09°16.246′ and E 078°59.847′) in the year 2002 was being monitored regularly at fortnightly intervals. After the tsunami, underwater observations made on 5 January 2005 showed the presence of a pair of adult teira batfish, Platax teira 2 (Figure 2) at a depth of 3 m, which had possibly drifted from the islands towards the coast due to the tsunami. Although this species is not common on the Indian side of the Gulf of Mannar, it is known to be present in the Sri Lankan waters. Therefore, it is possible that these fishes were drifted and carried by the tsunami. These drifted fishes might have taken shelter in the UWBFP system near the Pudhumadam coast of the mainland. Morphometric measurements (Table 1) of the fish were based on underwater pho- tographs in relation to those of the stan- dard size panels (20 × 20 × 2.5 cm), when the fish were swimming close to them. The fishes belong to the family Ephipidi- dae. They are hardy and peaceful animals. The dorsal fin is lengthier than the pelvic fin. Young ones prefer plant thickets for camouflage. The food preference 3 of this fish is algae, crustaceans, molluscs and other invertebrates. The underwater bio- fouling panels at Pudhumadam had large number of invertebrates such as crusta- ceans (crabs and shrimps), molluscs (oysters), worms 4 and algae 5 . Therefore, these fishes might have taken shelter in the UWBFP system because of the avail- ability of food. These fishes normally prefer bright light but no direct sunlight and hence were found at 3 m depth. The distinct morphological character- istics include yellowish silvery body with a black bar running across the eye. An- other dark bar from the origin of dorsal