ABSTRACT
Benthic faunal communities are important components in the intertidal zones. The diversity and abundance of the benthic communities are subjected to different natural and anthropogenic disturbances. The study was conducted as one off sampling on 6th November 2013 (1) to investigate the abundance and distribution of soft sediment communities in relation to environmental variables and (2) investigate the changes of population structure and diversity using spatial scales of 1 m, 10 m, and 100 m. Results indicated a total of 110 individuals of macrobenthos consisting of 7 different groups (Annelida, Bivalvia, Crustacea, Gastropoda, Nematoda, Nemertea, Polychaeta) and 4 different groups of meiobenthos (Copepoda, Nematoda, Ostracoda, Polychaeta) consisting 920 individuals were recorded. Dissolved oxygen played the most significant role in affecting the distribution of soft sediment communities while ammonia concentrations only affected marcobenthic organisms. However, sediment grain size did not show significant correlation (p>0.05) on soft sediment communities. Hence, understanding how different properties of benthos respond to changes in environmental variables is crucial in determining how the impacts on the sediment are tolerated by the benthic organisms.
ABSTRACT
Coral reefs in the northern region of the Straits of Malacca have a diverse group of octocorals growing on its bed. The octocorals identified in this study are from islands along the Straits. In this study, 23 specimens were identified, belonging to 4 sub-orders, which have been subdivided into 8 families. From these 8 families, 15 different genera have been identified. The identification process for this research was conducted based on five important keys; the external form and colouration, polyps or colonial and fundamental structure of colonies, monomorphic or dimorphic, the arrangement of polyps, and the arrangement of sclerites.
