Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences Vol. 44(8), August 2015, pp. 1235-1238 Status, distribution and diversity of some marine macro Algae along the Visakhapatnam coast of Andhra Pradesh in India Vishnupriya Sowjanya, I* & P.S. Raja Sekhar Department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530 003, India. *[E.Mail: vishnupriya.indukuri@gmail.com] Received 17 February 2014; revised 19 May 2014 Present study consists the stydu of status of some marine algal flora in relation to their occurrence, distribution status and diversity. Sampling was done along six stations between May, 2013 and December, 2013. A total of 34 marine macro-algae species were recorded, of which 12 species belong to Chlorophyta, 6 species to Phaeophyta and 16 species to Rhodophyta. The Species Ulva fasciata Delile, Chaetomorpha antennina (Bory) Kutzing, Amphiroa fragilissima Camouroux and Gracilaria corticata J.Agardh were found to be dominant in all the stations and are found to be widely distributed along rocky areas of the coast of Visakhapatnam. [Keywords: Seaweeds, marine algae, diversity, Visakhapatnam] Introduction Rich seaweed beds have been recorded along the east coast of Visakhapatnam, Mahabalipuram, Gulf of Mannar, Southern coast of Thiruchendur and Tuticorin in Kerala 1 . In recent years, sea weeds are under threat in many countries, due to over-exploitation and anthropogenic activities resulted in destruction of seaweed resources and alterations in the diversity of other marine life forms who are directly or indirectly dependent on the macro algae 2 . Although, systematic studies on marine algae and their distribution were known from different coastal parts of India, seaweed resources of Visakhapatnam coast in terms of spatio-temporal distribution are not adequately known and intensively with reference to marine pollution are not studied in details. Hence, the present study was conducted to assess the distribution status, seasonal occurrence and site wise composition of species in order to assess the marine pollution of Visakhapatnam coast with marine macro-algae as key ecological indicator species. Materials and Methods The Visakhapatnam coast is situated on the east coast of India (Lat. 17°42'12" - 17°53'26"N; Long. 83°18'30" & 83°27'24"E). The coastal stretch of Visakhapatnam is ~32 km from outer harbour of Visakhapatnam in the south to Bhimunipatnam in the north consist outcrops of rocky boulders of various sizes protruding through the sands (Figure 1). For surveying the intertidal marine algae, six sampling stations were selected along the coastline of Visakhapatnam. The geographical locations and habitats of these six sampling stations of Visakhapatnam are as follows. S.No Sampling Station Location Coordinates Habitat Type Latitude Longitude 1 Outer Harbour 17°42'12"N and 83°18'30"E Rocky 2 Ramakrishna Beach 17°42'40"N and 83°19'09"E Rocky 3 Tenneti Park 17°44'53"N and 83°21'01"E Rocky 4 Rushikonda Beach 17°47'25"N and 83°23'22"E Rocky 5 Thotlakonda 17°49'43"N and 83°24'59"E Rocky 6 Bhimunipatnam 17°53'26"N and 83°27'24"E Rocky & Sandy A total of 40 quadrants (0.5 X 0.5 m 2 ) were laid between May and December 2013 at each field station to enumerate the marine macro algae. Macroflora specimens viz. seaweeds were Figure. 1: Map showing of sampling stations in the study area