Sains Malaysiana 43(4)(2014): 503–511

Spatial and Temporal Variations in Strombus canarium (Gastropoda: Strombidae)

Abundance at Merambong Seagrass Bed, Malaysia

(Variasi Reruang dan Temporal bagi Kelimpahan Strombus canarium (Gastropoda: Strombidae)

di Hamparan Rumput Laut Merambong, Malaysia)

ZAIDI CHE COB¹*, AZIZ ARSHAD², JAPAR SIDIK BUJANG³

& MAZLAN ABD GHAFFAR¹

¹School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences,

Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

²Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

³Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia

43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Received: 7 September 2012/Accepted: 15 July 2013

ABSTRACT

The abundance of marine benthic organisms often exhibits distinct distributional patterns, which is generally governed by many physical and biological factors specific to the habitat. In this study, the spatial and temporal variations in abundance of the dog conch, Strombus canarium Linnaeus 1758, a commercially important marine gastropod, was investigated. Assessment of conch abundance at Merambong seagrass bed, Malaysia, was conducted using a transect belt method. Sampling stations were randomly selected and environmental parameters associated with the habitat were recorded. The species showed distinct spatial distributional pattern. Conch densities were significantly higher in sheltered areas, mainly in mixed seagrass bed dominated by Halophila spp. and with high sediment organic content. The densities were relatively very low in areas dominated by the tape seagrass, Enhalus acoroides. The species studied also showed distinct temporal variation in abundance. The abundance value was seasonally varied with highest density recorded during the wet monsoon season (p<0.05). The densities were otherwise very low during the dry season, except for a slight peak in July. Since the conch is a very important fishery species within the Johor Straits and regulations on their harvesting is still lacking, this information would be very important for their sustainable management.

Keywords: Abundance; conch; density; population dynamics; seagrass; Strombidae

ABSTRAK

Kelimpahan organisma bentik marin selalunya menunjukkan corak taburan tertentu, yang umumnya dipengaruhi oleh faktor fizikal dan biologi khusus kepada sesuatu habitat. Dalam kajian ini, variasi reruang dan temporal bagi kelimpahan siput gonggong, Strombus canarium Linnaeus 1758, spesies gastropod marin yang penting secara komersil, telah dikaji. Penilaian ke atas kelimpahan siput di hamparan rumput laut Merambong, Malaysia, telah dijalankan melalui kaedah jalur transek. Stesen kajian telah dipilih secara rawak dan parameter persekitaran habitat direkodkan. Spesies yang dikaji menunjukkan pola taburan reruang yang jelas. Kelimpahan siput secara signifikannya lebih tinggi di kawasan yang terlindung, terutamanya di hamparan rumput laut yang didominasi oleh Halophila spp. dan dengan kandungan organik sedimen yang tinggi. Kepadatan siput secara relatifnya lebih rendah di kawasan yang didominasi oleh rumput laut jenis pita, Enhalus acoroides. Spesies yang dikaji juga menunjukkan variasi temporal yang jelas dalam kelimpahannya. Nilai kelimpahan didapati berbeza mengikut musim dengan nilai kepadatan tertinggi direkodkan semasa musim hujan (p<0.05). Kepadatan siput sebaliknya adalah lebih rendah semasa musim panas, kecuali sedikit peningkatan pada bulan Julai. Memandangkan siput gonggong adalah spesies perikanan yang penting di selat Johor dan setakat ini tiada peraturan khusus dalam penangkapannya, maklumat daripada kajian ini adalah sangat penting bagi pengurusan mapan siput tersebut.

Kata kunci: Dinamik populasi; kelimpahan; kepadatan; rumput laut; Strombidae; siput

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*Corresponding author; email: zdcc@ukm.my