Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 62

Macrofauna Community Structure on Seagrass Meadows of Sampadi

Island, Lundu, Sarawak

Shabdin Mohd Long*, Zakirah Mohamad Taufek and Norzamratul Maisarah Mohd Salleh

Department of Aquatic Science

Faculty of Resource Science and Technology

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak

*Corresponding author: lshabdin@frst.unimas.my

Abstract

Seagrasses serve as habitats to many marine organisms including macrofauna.

The study on macrofauna community structure in seagrass meadows at Sampadi

Island, Sarawak was conducted in October 2012. The objectives were to determine

the macrofauna community structure and its relation with physico-chemical

parameters of the water in Sampadi Island. A transect line was laid down from

high to low tide marks on the intertidal area of the island. A 0.25 m-2

quadrat was

used to sample the sediment and sieved using the 500 µm sieve. The macrofauna

retained on 500 µm sieve were identified in the laboratory using various keys in

the literature with the aid of stereo- and compound microscope. Five macrofauna

phyla were recorded in the seagrass meadows, namely Mollusca (Cardiidae &

Veneridae), Annelida (Dorvillea sp., Eulalia sp., Eteone sp., Cirriformia sp. &

Tubificoides sp.), Sipuncula (Sipunculidae), Arthropoda (Alpheus sp., Harpacticus

sp. & Colomastix sp.) and Chordata (Branchiostoma sp.). The community

structure of macrofauna in seagrass meadows of Sampadi Island was influenced

by the dissolved oxygen, sediment grain size, salinity and temperature.

Keywords: macrofauna, physico-chemical parameters, seagrass

Introduction

Macrofauna is defined as invertebrates living in the sediments or above the surface

of the sediments where they can be retained in a 500 µm sieve (Henninger and

Froneman, 2011). The biomass of macrofauna taxa such as polychaetes, molluscs,

crustaceans and many others are reportedly high in marine sediments (Snelgrove,

1998).

Seagrasses are known as marine flowering plants that occur near to the

shore areas around the world. Seagrass play an important role in ecosystem

functions, such as primary production, habitat, nursery and breeding grounds as

well as a food sources for most of the organisms within the area (Yamada and

Kumagai, 2012; Gustafsson and Salo, 2012). Seagrass is also capable of increasing

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 63

sedimentation, stabilizing water flow, influencing structural habitats, enhancing

biodiversity and involve in carbon and nutrient cycling (Yamada et al., 2007;

Marba et al., 2013).

In most ecosystems, community structure emerges as a result of the

complex interaction between biotic and environmental variable. Environmental

factors such as nutrients and food availability are also important in structuring the

macrofaunal community and not depending on physico-chemical factors only

(Sivadas et al., 2012). Various macrobenthic organisms such as polychaetes,

molluscs and small crustaceans play an important role in food web, nutrient

cycling and decomposition processes. Macrofauna is of high value in the

ecosystems as it acts as a link between detritus and higher levels organisms (fish,

crab, prawn) in the trophic web and supply high secondary production in benthic

systems (Armenteros et al., 2007). Various disturbances, either natural or human-

induced affect the seagrasses and the diversity of associated macrofaunal

communities. Studies on macrofaunal associated with seagrass in Sampadi Island

are still lacking. The Sampadi Island is close to Satang National Park. Previous

survey done by Sarawak Forestry Corporation found a large area of seagrass

meadows in the west coast of Sampadi Island water. The seagrass meadows are

postulated to be used by the turtles as their feeding ground. Macrofauna

community is associated with the seagrass community and become one of the

important groups in the ecosystem. Hence, the study of these communities in the

Sampadi water will contribute data to the authority for considering the area as part

of the Satang National Park. The objectives of this study were to determine the

community structure of macrofauna and its relationship with the water parameters

in the study area.

Materials and Methods

Study area

Sampadi Island is located at 1° 43' 60" N and 110° 4' 59" E (Figure 1). It is located

in South China Sea and near to Satang Kecil and Satang Besar Islands. The

intertidal habitats around the island are dominated by rocky and sandy beaches. A

large area of seagrass mat is found on the sandy intertidal down to 3 meters depth

(during ebb tide) in subtidal areas of the west coast of the island. Sampadi Island is

said to be an island that has high marine conservation value with a seagrass bed of

approximately 15 ha (New Straits Times, 2012).

Sampling and data analyses

Sampling was carried out in October 2012. One transect was laid on the intertidal

of the seagrass area (Table 1). Five sampling stations with 50 meters distance each

were performed along the transect, running from high to low tide marks. The

locations of sampling stations were recorded along the transect using Global

Positioning Systems (GPS). The physico-chemical parameters of pore water such

as temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH were measured in situ using

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 64

relevant water quality instruments. Macrofauna was sampled using a 0.25 m² area

quadrat.

Figure 1: Location of sampling stations (stations 1 to 5) in Sampadi Island.

(Source: Google map - not to scale).

A quadrat was placed at every station on the right and left hand side of the transect

line. A 15 cm depth of sediments in the quadrat were collected using scoop.

Sediments were sieved using 500 µm sieve and the retained materials were placed

in labelled plastic bags and fixed with 10 percent buffered formalin. Triplicate of

sediments were also taken at each station for particle size, chlorophyll a and total

organic matter (TOM) analyses. All the samples were brought back to laboratory

for further analysis. In the laboratory, the macrofauna samples were stained with

Rose Bengal and left overnight before further analyses were carried out.

Macrofauna was identified up to genera level using various keys in the literature

(Day, 1967; Pechenik, 2010; Shabdin and Rosniza, 2010) with the aid of stereo-

and compound microscopes. Particle size, chlorophyll a and TOM analyses

followed those methods proposed by Buchanan (1984), Wasmund (1984) and

Greiser & Faubel (1988), respectively.

Table 1: Location of sampling stations in Sampadi Island.

Station Transect 1

Station 1 N 01 º 43.850 ’

E 110 º 05.315 ’

Station 2 N 01 ° 43.883 ’

E 110 ° 05.295 ’

Station 3 N 01 ° 43.812 ’

E 110 ° 05.288 ’

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 65

Station 4 N 01 ° 43.797 ’

E 110 ° 05.261 ’

Station 5 N 01 ° 43.780 ’

E 110 ° 05.245 ’

Results

Water and sediment parameters The water temperature recorded ranged from 26.5 °C to 32.4 °C (Table 2). The

highest pH was recorded at Station 2 and Station 3 (8.7) and the lowest was

recorded at Station 1 (8.3). The salinity taken for these five stations ranged from

29 PSU to 31 PSU. The data for dissolved oxygen varied from 2.3 mg/L to 7.5

mg/L. The intertidal area of Sampadi Island showed more than 98 % sand (Table

2).

TOM ranged from 9.1 to 17.4 g/g sediment while chlorophyll a

concentration in sediment was ranged from 0.8 to 1.2 mg/m3 (Table 2).

Macrofauna community structure

A total of five phyla was recorded in the seagrass meadow of Sampadi Island,

namely Mollusca, Annelida, Sipuncula, Arthropoda and Chordata (Table 3). Nine

species and three families (one species for each family), namely Dorvillea sp.,

Eulalia sp., Eteone sp., Cirriformia sp., Tubificoides sp., Alpheus sp., Harpacticus

sp., Colomastix sp., Branchiostoma sp. and Cardiidae (unidentified sp.), Veneridae

(unidentified sp.) and Sipunculidae (unidentified sp.) were found in seagrass

sampling areas respectively.

The total species density of macrofauna in seagrass area ranged from 148 to

2712 ind./m² (Table 3). Crustacea Amphipoda (Colomastix sp.) was dominant in

all stations at the seagrass area. Amphipod density ranged from 76 to 2,664

ind./m². The other macrofauna species such as bivalves, polychaetes, oligochates,

Sipuncula, harpacticoid and chordate were present in low density ranging from 4

to 36 ind./m².

The value of species diversity and evenness ranged from 0.14 to 2.05 and

0.05 to 0.78, respectively (Table 3). The highest species diversity was recorded

from station 4, and this was due to the high number of species (10 species) found

at that station. The lowest species diversity value was recorded from station 3.

Four groups of macrofauna in the seagrass area were zoned from high to

low tide levels on the intertidal area of Sampadi Island (Figure 2). The first group

comprising Colomastix sp., Veneridae and Tubificoides sp. were distributed from

high to low tide marks (0-200 m). The second group which represents three taxa,

namely Alpheus sp., Cardiidae and Dorvillea sp. were distributed from high to

mid-tide level (0-150 m). The third group which belongs to Harpacticus sp.,

Eteone sp. and Sipunculidae were zoned on the mid-tide level only (50-150 m).

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 66

Table 2: Water and sediment parameters of seagrass area in Sampadi Island.

St. Temp. pH Sal. DO Sand Mdø TOM Chl.a

1 26.5+0.1 8.3+0.0 29.0+0.0 2.3+0.1 99.9+0.0 3.6+0.0 9.1+4.0 1.2+1.1

2 30.5+0.1 8.7+0.0 30.0+0.0 3.7+0.1 99.8+0.0 3.2+0.5 17.4+3.2 0.8+0.1

3 31.5+0.0 8.6+0.1 31.0+0.0 6.4+0.0 98.4+0.0 3.2+0.0 15.3+5.1 1.3+0.5

4 31.7+0.0 8.7+0.0 31.0+1.0 7.5+0.1 99.7+0.0 3.2+0.2 13.5+0.9 0.2+0.1

5 32.4+0.0 8.7+0.0 30.6+0.1 7.1+0.1 99.9+0.1 3.2+0.3 16.8+2.5 1.2+1.6

Note: St. – station; Temp. – temperature (oC); Sal. – salinity (PSU); DO – dissolved oxygen (mg/l); Sand (%); Mdø – median grain size (ø), TOM –total organic matter

(g/g sed.) and Chl.a (mg./m3).

Taxa/Tide level HTL MTL LTL

Colomastix sp.

Veneridae

Tubificoides sp.

Alpheus sp.

Cardiidae

Dorvillea sp.

Harpacticus sp.

Eteone sp.

Sipunculidae

Eulalia sp.

Cirriformia sp.

Branchiostoma sp.

0 50 100 150 200

Distance (m)

Figure 2: Zonation of the macrofauna taxa found in seagrass area of Sampadi Island. HTL - high tide level, MTL – mid-tide level, LTL –

low tide level.

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 67

Table 3: Community structures of macrofauna in seagrass area of Sampadi Island.

Taxa/Station St. 1 St. 2 St. 3 St. 4 St. 5

Mollusca

Bivalvia Cardiidae - unidentified sp. 24 8 4 0 0

Veneridae – unidentified sp. 8 8 0 4 8

Annelida

Polychaeta Dorvillea sp. 8 0 0 8 0

Eulalia sp. 0 8 4 0 4

Eteone sp. 0 0 0 4 0 Cirriformia sp. 0 4 28 20 8

Oligochaeta Tubificoides sp. 24 8 0 4 4

Sipuncula

Sipunculidae – unidentified sp. 0 0 0 8 0

Arthropoda

Crustacea Alpheus s. 8 4 4 36 0

Harpacticus sp. 0 8 0 4 0 Colomastix sp. 76 2,664 1,808 156 160

Chordata

Branchiostoma sp. 0 0 8 16 12

Total density (no. of ind./m²), 148 2712 1856 260 196

Species number 6 8 6 10 6 Species diversity (bits individual

-1) 2.03 0.17 0.14 2.05 1.09

Species evenness 0.78 0.06 0.05 0.62 0.42

The last group of macrofauna was zoned from mid-tide level to lowest tide level

(50-200 m) viz. Eulalia sp., Cirriformia sp. and Branchiostoma sp.

Macrofauna and water parameters

Physico-chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen, median grain size, salinity

and temperature showed significance correlations with macrofaunal densities in

Sampadi Island (Table 4). Dissolved oxygen and median grain size showed

positive correlations with density. On the other hand salinity and temperature

showed negative correlation with density.

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 68

Table 4: Relationships between macrofaunal density and physico-chemical

parameters of water and sediment in Sampadi Island.

Parameter Taxa density

Temperature r=-0.987

pH r=0.380

Salinity r=-0.782

Dissolved oxygen r=0.651

Median grain size r=0.713

Correlation strength (Bartz, 1999).

r value Description

0.80 or higher Very high

0.60-0.80 Strong

0.40-0.60 Moderate

0.20-0.40 Low

0.20 or lower Very low

Discussion

A total of 12 macrofauna species are recorded in the seagrass area of Sampadi

Island. Marine and estuarine macrofauna studies in Sarawak recorded different

number of taxa in different localities. A study done in Buntal/Bako, Batang Lupar

estuary, Tanjung Bajong and along the Sarawak coast (Lawas to Kuching)

recorded 18 species (Besri, 2007), 14 species (Mohd Asri, 2012), 4 species

(Sanapi, 2012) and 93 species (Mohamad Taufek, 2010), respectively. The taxa

found in Sampadi Island are similar with other studies in Sarawak coastal waters.

However, the Branchiostoma sp. (lancelets) (Chordata: Subphylum

Cephalochordata) has never been reported in the previous studies along the

Sarawak coastal waters. This species is first reported as new species from Borneo

(Amphioxus belcheri) by Gray (1847) and then renamed as Branchiostoma

belcheri. Seagrass meadows support a lot of microhabitat for macrofauna to live.

The availability of food produced by the seagrass is suitable for herbivores and

deposit feeders macrofauna such as bivalve, amphipod and annelids to inhabit

such habitat. The sandy intertidal area of Sampadi Island is considered clean due

to the presence of crustacean groups such as decapod (Alpheus sp.), Harpacticoid

copepod (Harpacticus sp.) and amphipod (Colomastix sp.) which were known to

be sensitive to direct human disturbances (Moore, 1979). The total species density of macrofauna in sandy seagrass meadow of

Sampadi Island ranged from 148 to 2712 ind./m². The density found is higher than

other areas in Sarawak coastal waters (108-198 ind./m² -Mohamad Taufek, (2010);

9-188 ind./m² - Mohd Asri, (2012); 33-40 ind./m² - Sanapi, (2012)). Colomastix

sp. (Amphipoda) was the dominant species in the study area (76 to 2,664 ind./m²).

Seagrasses are the primary producers to convert sunlight into oxygen and released

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 69

into the waters as dissolved oxygen, which then is available for diverse marine and

estuarine animals (Ogawa et al., 2011). Microalgae, macroalgae and small animals

were attached to seagrass leaves and function as food for many grazing animals

(Ogawa et al., 2011). Seagrasses also produce dense intertwining mats of rhizomes

and roots in soft sediments, thus providing a hideout for organisms to escape from

predation (Muta Harah, 2001). The presence of high density of macrofauna and

dominated by amphipods in Sampadi Island seagrass meadows reflects the

availability of dissolved oxygen, food and shelter for those escaping from

predator.

A species diversity index reflects both the number of species in the sample

and how evenly individuals are distributed among species (Moore, 1983). The

reports on species diversity values of macrofauna along Sarawak coastal waters

are low and varied in different places (Besri, 2007; Mohamad Taufek, 2010; Mohd

Asri, 2012; Sanapi, 2012). The species diversity and evenness values in Sampadi

Island were low (H’ = 0.14-2.05 and J’ = 0.05-0.78). However, taking into account

all the factors mentioned by Moore (1983); the species diversity in Sampadi Island

was considered moderate by the presence of 12 species in the seagrass area. This is

possibly due to seagrass beds that serve as sheltered place for macrofauna from

predation of fishes in the area.

The horizontal zonation of macrofauna on the intertidal sandy beaches was

a well-known phenomenon globally (McLachlan and Jaramillo, 1995).

Macrofauna species occur at specific tide levels (elevation level) of the beach.

Four groups of macrofauna in seagrass meadows of Sampadi Island were zoned

from high tide to low tide levels. Factors that influence the formation of

macrofauna zone include morphodynamic of the beach and temporal variations of

the macrofauna (McLachlan and Jaramillo, 1995; Haynes and Quinn, 1995). The

biological factors such as food for herbivores and detritivores also play important

roles in their zonation and these are reflects from the concentration of chlorophyll

a and total organic matter in the sediments of the study area. Detritus (from

seagrass) is primarily decomposed to particulate organic matter (Armenteros et al.,

2007) and provides food for detritivores macrofauna such as Tubificoides sp.

(oligochaete), Sipunculidae (Sipuncula) and Colomastix sp. (amphipod). All the

macrofauna groups which form a zone on seagrass meadow are possibly adapted

to physical characterization of the beach such as wave and wind action, grain size

and tidal amplitude. Since the physical characterization and morphodynamic of the

beach and temporal variations of the macrofauna are not measured in this study, it

is hard to draw a conclusive statement on the zonation of macrofauna in seagrass

meadow of Sampadi Island.

Dissolved oxygen is positively correlated with macrofaunal total density in

seagrass meadow of Sampadi Island. Dissolved oxygen is one of the important

factors that influence the macrobenthic communities due to hypoxic stress (Taylor

and Eggleston, 2000). Hypoxia is defined as dissolved oxygen below 2 mg/ L

(Vaquer-Sunyer and Duarte, 2008) and also a form of anthropogenic habitat

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 70

degradation (Zimmerman and Canuel, 2000). At the community level, changes due

to low oxygen effects are influenced by exposure to a combination of factors such

as critical oxygen levels, temporal duration of a given oxygen level, spatial extent

of exposure, species-specific tolerances, intra-specific ontogenetic tolerances and

other environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) (Seitz et al., 2009). The

concentration of dissolved oxygen on intertidal seagrass meadow of Sampadi

Island ranges from 2.30 mg/L to 7.50 mg/L. These values are higher than the value

that is considered as hypoxia and the study area enhance the macrofaunal taxa

especially Colomastix sp. (Amphipoda).

Median grain size is positively correlated with macrofaunal total density in

seagrass area of Sampadi Island. Sediment texture greatly influences macrobenthic

community structure in benthic habitats with high silt–clay content by reducing

density and biomass (Seitz et al., 2006). Moreover, food availability (as reflects by

sediment organic matter) can affect density and biomass too (Rodil et al., 2008).

Sandy sediment (>98% fine sand) in seagrass meadow of Sampadi Island which

contains high organic matter (9.13-17.36 g/g sed.) provides food for detrivores

macrofauna (eg. Colomastix sp.) to increase their densities in the area.

Salinity showed negative correlation with macrofaunal density in seagrass

meadow of Sampadi Island. Salinity is important as physiological tolerances of

estuarine species, and consequently their abundances, vary greatly between species

(Diaz and Schaffner, 1990). Salinity had major influences on regional abundance

patterns of macrobenthos (Holland et al., 1987). Increase in salinity cause the

endemic species of estuarine and euryhaline marine species concurrently

decreased in macrobenthos abundance (Holland et al., 1987). Therefore, the

opportunist species responded to increasing salinity levels by increases their

abundance (Holland et al., 1987). The salinity recorded in seagrass area of

Sampadi Island reflects the seawater environment (29-31 PSU) (Nybakken and

Bertness 2005). The negative correlation was due to low densities of macrofauna

recorded at stations 1, 4 and 5.

Studies have demonstrated that rising seawater temperatures have induced

changes in intertidal marine invertebrates (Hawkins et al., 2008) by influencing

the physiological processes, body form, behavior, the phenology of species

and individuals (Somero, 2010), alter food webs (Philippart et al., 2003) and result

in major shifts in the structure and function of communities (Wernberg et al.,

2011). The rising seawater temperatures have significant impacts on the

occurrence of rarer marine macrofauna species (Goodwin et al., 2013).

Temperature of pore water (26.50 - 32.37oC) in seagrass area of Sampadi Island

showed negative correlation with macrofaunal density. Water temperature in

Sampadi Island fall within the tropical seawater temperature (Nybakken and

Bertness, 2005) and the negative correlation was caused by the low density of

macrofauna at stations 1, 4 and 5. However, a conclusive statement on the

influence of water salinity and temperature on marine macrofauna in seagrass area

of Sampadi Islandis hard to draw just based on one sampling period. A temporal

Monograph Aquatic Science Colloqium 2014 Page 71

variation study on the physico-chemical parameters of the water and macrofauna

community structure in the area is needed in order to draw a definite conclusion.

Summary

Five macrofauna phyla were recorded in the seagrass meadows, namely Mollusca

(Cardiidae & Veneridae), Annelida (Dorvillea sp., Eulalia sp., Eteone sp,

Cirriformia sp. and Tubificoides sp.), Sipuncula (Sipunculidae), Arthropoda

(Alpheus sp., Harpacticus sp. & Colomastix sp.) and Chordata (Branchiostoma

sp.). The community structure of macrofauna in seagrass meadows of Sampadi

Island was influenced by the dissolved oxygen, median grain size, salinity and

temperature.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Forestry Department Sarawak for research permit. We

also wish to thank Sarawak Forestry Corporation and Unimas staff who had been

helpful during the field sampling. Special acknowledgement to Faculty of

Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak for laboratory

facilities and Ministry of Education Malaysia for financial support through

Fundamental Research Grant Scheme no. FRGS/STWN04(01)/1062/2013(08).

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