Table 1.
List of variables finalized for modelling dugong distribution in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI), Palk Bay & Gulf of Mannar (PB-GoM) of Tamil Nadu, and Gulf of Kutch (GoK) of Gujarat along with their contribution percentages.
| Layers | ANI | PB-GoM | GoK | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre Monsoon | Monsoon | Post Monsoon | Pre Monsoon | Monsoon | Post Monsoon | ||
| Seagrass presence$ | 76.2 | 58.3 | 73.6 | 33.5 | 66 | 70.8 | 70.5 |
| Depth (m)* | 14.8 | 18.9 | 18.2 | 8.8 | 2.2 | 5.7 | 20.3 |
| Slope (°)* | 2.1 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 51.4 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Distance from the shore (km)* | 5.3 | 12.5 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Monthly diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd)# | 0.2 | 7.2 | 0 | 5 | 3.3 | 11 | 2.4 |
| Monthly sea surface temperature-mean (°C)# | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 23 | 5.6 | 0.8 |
| Monthly sea surface temperature-max (°C)# | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.4 |
| Monthly sea surface temperature-min (°C)# | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2.2 |
‘–’ not used; Sources: *Global Marine Environmental Datasets (GMED)37; #NASA Ocean Colour; $Modelled data (MaxEnt).