Community Analysis of Soil Nematodes from five Wildlife Sanctuaries of West Bengal (Ballavpur, Bethuadahari, Bibhutibhushan, Raiganj, Ramnabagan), India

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab.106.13

Abstract:
Soil nematode community analysis was carried out in five Wildlife sanctuaries (WLS) of West Bengal, namely, Ballavpur, Bethuadahari, Bibhutibhushan, Raiganj and Ramnabagan. The study documented a total of 53 nematode genera belonging to 11 orders and 27 families. In terms of taxonomic diversity, the order Tylenchida exhibited the greatest variety at Ballavpur, Bethuadahari and Ramnabagan WLS. In contrast, the order rhabditida was the most diverse at Bibhutibhushan and Raiganj WLS. In terms of trophic composition, bacterivores represented the highest generic diversity at Ballavpur, Bibhutibhushan, Raiganj, and Ramnabagan, except for Bethuadahari, where plant parasites represented the highest generic diversity. In terms of trophic groups, bacterivores were the most abundant at Bethuadahari, Bibhutibhushan and Raiganj WLS, whereas plant parasites were the most abundant at Ballavpur and Ramnabagan WLS. The Shannon-Weaver (H’) diversity and Maturity Index (MI) were highest at Ballavpur WLS with values 1.58 ± 0.01 and 2.62 ± 0.01, respectively. The MI value indicates the study areas are less disturbed. The food web indices, Channel Index (CI), Enrichment Index (EI), and Structural Index (SI), indicate that the study area supports a resource-rich and well-organized soil ecosystem. The present study serves as a preliminary analysis of soil nematodes from these WLS, and this data will be helpful for future long-term ecological monitoring.

Keywords:
Abundance, diversity, enrichment, maturity index, trophic bb

Article Info:
Received: 08 Nov 2025; Received in revised form: 11 Dec 2025; Accepted: 19 Dec 2025; Available online: 28 Dec 2025

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