Meiofaunal communities in coral reefs and an underwater pinnacle in Trat and Rayong Provinces, the Eastern Gulf of Thailand
Keywords:
Coral reef, diversity, Gulf of Thailand, meiofauna, underwater pinnacleAbstract
Coral reef ecosystems are complex ecosystems that bear the high biological diversity of the oceans. Soft bottom habitats in coral reef ecosystems, such as sand and rubble, are important components. Meiofauna studies in coral reef ecosystems in Thailand are relatively limited, although coral reefs are important ecosystems in coastal zones of tropical countries and their ecosystem services are very significant. The present study examined the composition and density of meiofauna from coral reef and underwater pinnacle ecosystems in Trat and Rayong Provinces, the Eastern Gulf of Thailand. The meiofauna was sampled using a PVC meiocores of 3.5 cm diameter. This study identifiedtwenty-one major taxa. The highest densities of meiofauna on coral communities in Rayong Province (4,384.47 ± 32.96 individuals/10 cm2) were significantly higher than those in Trat Province (344.29 ± 20.10 individuals/10 cm2). The composition and abundance of meiofauna significantly varied among the study sites. The dominant groups were Foraminifera, Nematoda, Polychaeta, Harpacticoida, Ostracoda, and Bivalvia. The cluster analysis showed that the meiofauna in coral communities could be divided into three groups i.e., Group 1: Trat Province, in the areas of Ko Raet, Ko Rayang Nok and Ao Salad; Group 2: Ko Man Nok and Hin Phoeng in Rayong Province and Group 3: Ko Man Nai in Rayong Province. This study provides the important knowledge of composition and density of meiofauna in coral reef and underwater pinnacle sediments from the Eastern Gulf of Thailand. This is the first study on meiofauna community from an underwater pinnacle in Thai waters and reiterates the importance of underwater pinnacles which have ecosystem services as same as coral reefs.
References
A’ziz ANA, Minhat FI, Pan HJ, et al (2021) Reef foraminifera as bioindicators of coral reef health in southern South China Sea. Sci Rep 11: 8890
Costanza R, de Groot R, Sutton P, van Der Ploeg S, Anderson SJ, Kubiszewski I, et al. (2014) Changes in the global value of ecosystem services. Glob Environ Change 26:152–158.
Danovaro R, Scopa M, Gambi C, & Fraschetti S (2007) Trophic importance of subtidal metazoan meiofauna: evidence from in situ exclusion experiments on soft and rocky substrates. Marine Biology 152: 339-350.
Donnici S, & Barbero RS (2002) The benthic foraminiferal communities of the northern Adriatic continental shelf. Marine Micropaleontology 44(3-4): 93-123.
Dyshlovoy, SA., Honecker, F. 2020. Marine compounds and cancer: The first two decades of XXI century. Mar Drugs 18:20.
English S, Wilkinson C, Baker V (1997) Survey manual for tropical marine resources. Australian Institute of Marine Science 390 pp.
Fabricius K, De’ath G (2001) Environmental factors associated with the spatial distribution of crustose coralline algae on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 19:303–309.
Fisher R, O’Leary RA, Low-Choy S, Mengersen K, Knowlton N, Brainard RE, et al. (2015) Species richness on coral reefs and the pursuit of convergent global estimates. Curr Biol 25: 500-505.
Guzmán HM, Obando VL, & Cortés J (1987) Meiofauna associated with a Pacific coral reef in Costa Rica. Coral Reefs 6: 107-112.
Hoegh-Guldberg O, Pendleton L, Kaup A (2019) People and the changing nature of coral reefs. Reg Stud Mar Sci 30:100699.
Hoey AS, Bellwood DR (2010) Cross-shelf variation in browsing intensity on the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 29:499–508.
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 2019. Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. [H-O Pörtner, DC Roberts, V Masson-Delmotte, P Zhai, M Tignor, E Poloczanska, K Mintenbeck, A Alegría, M Nicolai, A Okem, J Petzold, B Rama, NM Weyer (eds.)].
Jaiharn S, Sutthacheep M, Yeemin T, Donsomjit W, Thummasan M, Niemsiri R (2015) Spatial variation of meiofauna community in coral reefs at Ko Kut and Ko Mak, Trat Province. Proceedings of the 41st Congress on Science and Technology of Thailand (STT41) 542-547.
Kim D, Lee JH (2000) Impacts of contaminated water outflow from the Lake Sihwa on the Meiobenthic Animals Living in the Coastal Zones of the Kyonggi Bay. Korean J Environ Biol 18(2): 205-216.
Kim D, Lee JH (2004) Variation of Meiobenthic Community in the Sediment of Coastal Area in Bangameori Daebudo, Korea. Korean J Environ Biol 22(2): 308-320.
Kim JW, Kim HG, Kim H, Hawkins SJ, Seo IS, & Oh CW (2023) Spatial distribution of meiofaunal and macrofaunal assemblages in the tidal flats of the southern Korean coast in relation to natural and anthropogenic impacts. Marine Pollution Bulletin 194: 115377.
Kittinger JN, Finkbeiner EM, Glazier EW, Crowder LB (2012). Human dimensions of coral reef social-ecological systems. Ecol Soc17:17.
Knowlton N (2001) The future of coral reefs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 98: 5419-5425.
Knowlton N, Grottoli AG, Kleypas J, Obura D, Corcoran E, de Goeij JM, et al. (2021) Rebuilding Coral Reefs: A Decadal Grand Challenge. International Coral Reef Society and Future Earth Coasts 56 pp.
Kramer M, Bellwood O, & Bellwood DR (2013) The trophic importance of algal turfs for coral reef fishes: the crustacean link. Coral reefs 32: 575-583.
Maida M, Ferreira BP (1997) Coral reefs of Brazil: an overview. Proc 8th Int Coral Reef Symp 1:263–274.
McCauley DJ, Pinsky ML, Palumbi SR, Estes JA, Joyce FH, Warner RR (2015) Marine defaunation: Animal loss in the global ocean. Science 347:1255641.
Mello C, Burone L, Ortega L, Franco-Fraguas P, Lahuerta N, Mahiques M, & Marin Y (2014) Benthic foraminiferal distributions on the Uruguayan continental margin (South-western Atlantic) and controlling environmental factors. Continental Shelf Research 91: 120-133.
Mendes I, Rosa F, Dias JA, Schönfeld J, Ferreira Ó, & Pinheiro J (2010) Inner shelf paleoenvironmental evolution as a function of land–ocean interactions in the vicinity of the Guadiana River, SW Iberia. Quaternary International 221(1-2):58-67.
Morrison TH, Hughes TP, Adger WN, Brown K, Barnett J, Lemos MC et al. (2019) Save reefs to rescue all ecosystems. Nature 573:333-336.
Natsir SM, & Subkhan M (2012) The distribution of benthic foraminifera in coral reefs community and seagrass bad of Belitung Islands based on FORAM Index. J. Coast. Dev. 15(1): 51–58.
Neira C, Ingels J, Mendoza G, Hernandez-Lopez E, & Levin LA (2018) Distribution of meiofauna in bathyal sediments influenced by the oxygen minimum zone off Costa Rica. Frontiers in Marine Science 5: 448.
Oh J, Kang H, Kim T, Shin D, Jung A, & Lee W (2023) Characteristics of meiofaunal community in the subtidal zone near Hupo, anticipating ocean acidification in the East Sea of Korea.
Pandolfi JM, Bradbry RH, Sala E, Hughes TP, Bjorndal KA, Cooke RG, et al (2003) Global trajectories of the long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems. Science 301: 955-958.
Sangmanee N, Sutthacheep M, Jungrak L, Rongprakhon S, Jaihan S, Plangngan P, Yeemin T, (2022) Composition and abundance of meiofauna on the coral reefs at Mu Ko Surin National Park, the Andaman Sea. Ramkhamhaeng International Journal of Science and Technology 5(1):1-9.
Sarmento VC, Santos PJP (2012) Trampling on coral reefs: tourism effects on harpacticoid copepods. Coral Reefs 31:135–146.
Sarmento VC, Souza TP, Esteves AM, & Santos PJP (2015) Effects of seawater acidification on a coral reef meiofauna community. Coral Reefs 34: 955-966.
Schueth JD, & Frank TD (2008) Reef foraminifera as bioindicators of coral reef health: Low Isles Reef, northern Great Barrier Reef Australia. J. Foram. Res. 38(1): 11–22.
Semprucci F, Colantoni P, Baldelli G, Sbrocca C, Rocchi M, Balsamo M (2013) Meiofauna associated with coral sediments in the Maldivian subtidal habitats (Indian Ocean). Marine Biodiversity. 43:189-198.
Spalding M, Burke L, Wood SA, Ashpole J, Hutchison J, zu Ermgassen P (2017) Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism. Mar Policy 82:104-113.
Sutthacheep M, Yeemin T, Aliño PM (2022) Reef ecology in the Western Pacific for adaptation to global change. In Coral Reefs of the Western Pacific Ocean in a Changing Anthropocene 55-98 pp.
Toefy R, & Gibbons MJ (2014) Regional generalisations about the relationships between the environment and foraminifera along the SW Cape coast, South Africa. Marine pollution bulletin 80(1-2): 330-337.
UN Environment Programme, ISU, ICRI, Trucost (2018) The Coral Reef Economy: The Business Case for Investment in the Protection, Preservation, and Enhancement of Coral Reef Health. 36 pp.
Uthicke S, Thompson A, & Schaffelke B (2010) Effectiveness of benthic foraminiferal and coral assemblages as water quality indicators on inshore reefs of the Great Barrier Reef Australia. Coral Reefs 29(1): 209–225.
van Hooidonk R, Maynard JA, Manzello D, Planes S (2014) Opposite latitudinal gradients in projected ocean acidification and bleaching impacts on coral reefs. Glob Chang Biol 20:103–112.
Wismer S, Hoey AS, Bellwood DR (2009) Cross-shelf benthic community structure on the Great Barrier Reef: relationships between macroalgal cover and herbivore biomass. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 376:45–54.
Zeppilli D, Sarrazin J, Leduc D, Arbizu PM, Fontaneto D, Fontanier C, ... & Fernandes D (2015) Is the meiofauna a good indicator for climate change and anthropogenic impacts?. Marine Biodiversity 45: 505-535.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Ramkhamhaeng International Journal of Science and Technology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice: a copyright on any article in the published journal is retained by the Ramkhamhaeng International Journal of Science and Technology. Readers or Users grant the right to use of the Article contained in the Content in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND license and the Data contained in the Content in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND.
