The tropical estuaries are characterized with high biological production and also impacted by anthropogenic activities. Describing these estuaries in terms of ecological data and trophic dynamics to reveal the ecological impacts is gaining attention recently. In this study, the ecological structure is analyzed for a heavily impacted small macrotidal tropical estuary, Ulhas river estuary (URE), situated near Mumbai megacity in the western coast of India, to delineate the impact of anthropogenic stressors on the ecosystem functioning. The URE is being exploited for sand and fisheries resources, and also faces risks from anthropogenic activities. The ecological data of URE were compiled for 2017-18 together with the most relevant literature estimates to construct an ecosystem model. A trophic organization in 20 functional groups was identified for URE using Ecopath modeling approach. The functional groups identified in the food web ranged from detritus and primary producers (trophic level (TL) = 1) to large pelagics (TL = 4.14). Detritivory: herbivory ratio (1.35) indicated that the detritus chain is dominant over the primary producer’s chain. The total system throughput (TST) was estimated as 16 736.2 t km^-2year^-1. The indices such as net system production (NSP = 1 398.781 t km^-2 year^-1), total primary production/total biomass (TPP/TB = 25.17), biomass/total system throughput (TB/TST = 0.01), recycling index (Finn’s Cycling Index = 13.94%), system omnivory index (0.3), relative ascendency (25.6%), and system overhead (74.4%) classified URE as an immature system. The eco-exergy index (30748.54 gm detritus equivalent m^-2) showed that the ecosystem is a moderately stable and relatively less organized network. The estuarine fish community index (EFCI) yielded a value of 38 indicating the poor health status of the fish community in URE. The study delivers a comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem setting in URE and characterizes the prevailing condition. The ecological indicators analyzed here point towards a medium to a high level of impact in URE due to anthropogenic activities.

热带河口的特点是生物产量高，还受到人为活动的影响。通过生态数据和营养动力学来描述这些河口以揭示生态影响正受到越来越多的关注。在这项研究中，分析了印度西部沿海孟买大城市附近受重灾影响的小型大型潮汐热带河口Ulhas河河口（URE）的生态结构，以描述人为压力源对生态系统功能的影响。URE被用作沙和渔业资源，也面临着人为活动的风险。编制了2017-18年度URE的生态数据以及最相关的文献估计，以构建生态系统模型。使用Ecopath建模方法确定了URE的20个功能组的营养组织。食物网中确定的官能团范围从碎屑和初级生产者（营养水平（TL）= 1）到大型中上层鱼类（TL = 4.14）。破坏性：草食动物比率（1.35）表明，碎屑链在主要生产者链上占主导地位。系统总吞吐量（TST）估计为16 736.2 t km^-2年^-1。诸如系统净产量（NSP = 1 398.781 t km ^-2 year ^-1），总初级产量/总生物量（TPP / TB = 25.17），生物质/总系统吞吐量（TB / TST = 0.01），回收指数等指标（芬恩自行车指数= 13.94％），系统杂物指数（0.3），相对优势（25.6％）和系统开销（74.4％）将URE归类为未成熟系统。生态用能指数（30748.54 gm碎屑当量m ^-2）表明，该生态系统是一个中等稳定且组织程度相对较低的网络。河口鱼类群落指数（EFCI）的值为38，表明URE中鱼类群落的健康状况较差。该研究对URE中的生态系统设置有全面的了解，并描述了当前的状况。此处分析的生态指标指出，由于人为活动，对URE的影响中等至高水平。