Volume 25, Issue 75, January - June, 2024

Zooplankton from the waters of Sri Buat and Sembilang, Pahang, Malaysia

Nur Elisa Binti Jeffry¹, Azman Abdul Rahim^1,2♦

¹Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
²Marine Ecosystem Research Centre (EKOMAR), Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Marine Ecosystem Research Centre (EKOMAR), Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

This study delved into exploring the diversity and population dynamics of zooplankton inhabiting the waters adjacent to Sri Buat and Sembilang Islands, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Sampling was carried out from seven different stations with three replicates at each of the designated station. Chlorophyll-α concentrations from these waters ranged from 13.3μg/L to 16.0μg/L. This study successfully identified a total of 67 zooplankton taxa with the Class Copepoda has the highest percentage composition (90.60%) with 26 species identified, while echinoderm larvae (14.45%) has the least percentage composition. A total of 26 copepod species were identified, with Euterpina acutifrons (17.23%), Paracalanus aculeatus (17.14%), Acrocalanus gibber (10.1%), Paracalanus parvus (9.49%), Oithona rigida (8.78%), and Canthocalanus pauper (6.06%) dominating the study area. The range for the Shannon- Wiener Diversity Index (H’) and Pielou's Evenness Index (J’) was between H’ = 2.441 and H’ = 2.847, and J’ = 0.3706 and 0.4103, respectively. In general, a significant surge is noticed in the abundance of zooplankton groups, especially beyond the depth of 10 m. Abundances of the different groupings of zooplankton were also positively correlated with Chlorophyll-α concentrations, which is consistent with many studies that have taken place in the coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia.

Keywords: Sri Buat, Zooplankton, Pahang, Copepoda, Malaysia

Species, 2024, 25(75), e26s1673

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v25i75.e26s1673

Published: 25 May 2024