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The Distribution and Abundance of Macrobenthos in Estuaries of Merang
Jetty and Kuala Ibai
Hafizura binti Mat Jaiz
Supervisor: Dr Wan Mohd Rauhan bin Wan Hussin
Bachelor of Applied Science (Fisheries)
School of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences
A study on the distribution and abundance of the macrobenthos was conducted at
estuaries of Merang Jetty and Kuala Ibai. The samples were collected by using 0.1 m²
Ponar grab and sieved through 0.5 mm mesh sieve. The collected organisms were
fixed in 10% formalin before been brought to the laboratory. Specimens were
identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. The total abundance of the
macrobenthos collected was 111 at Merang Jetty and 97 at Kuala Ibai from 7 family
group. The highest abundance of the macrobenthos was from the class gastropoda
while the lowest abundance was from the class polychaeta at both locations. Family
Potamididae of Gastropoda was most dominant of macrobenthos in both Merang and
Kuala Ibai. The average of highest total organic matter was from S1 in both of
locations. This highlight that, distribution and abundance of macrobenthos was
influenced by the factors of depth, sediment texture and organic contents.
585 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018