merged

Meiobenthos assemblages structure emphasizing on Nematodes
from southern South China Sea
Nur Anith Nadia Binti Mohd Ali
Supervisor: Dr. Maizah Mohd Abdullah
Bachelor of Science (Marine Biology)
School of Marine and Environmental Sciences
Meiobenthos are a discrete group of small-sized organisms and present in a
large number in soft-sediment marine environment. The study was done due
to lack of information on nematode assemblages structure in the deeper waters
of southern South China Sea. The sampling were done in April and July 2017.
The samples were taken using Smith McIntyre Grab and sub-sampling using a
modified syringe (internal diameter of 2.67 cm). Nematodes were dominant at
all sampling stations with mean density of 90 ind./ 10 cm² followed by
polychaetes (38 ind./ 10 cm²), and harpacticoids (31 ind./ 10 cm²), The R value
for meiobenthos and nematodes assemblages between stations was 0.322 and
0.188 respectively. The assemblages of meiobenthos was due to salinity (p =
0144) while assemblages of nematodes were due to depth and oxygen
saturation (p = 0.056) according to Spearmank’s rank correlation. Thus,
environmental variables play crucial role in meiobenthos assemblage.
1805 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018