Biodiversity of benthic fauna in the seagrass ecosystem of Kung Krabaen Bay, Chantaburi Province, Thailand

Abstract

Biodiversity of benthic fauna was high in the seagrass ecosystem in Kung Krabaen Bay even though the bay’s coasthad many intensive shrimp farms. Halodule pinifolia and Enhalus acoroides were two species of seagrasses distributedwidely in the bay. Their biomass was higher in summer than in the rainy season. 27 families of polychaetes and 10 species ofgastropods were predominantly distributed in the seagrass beds and their biodiversity indices were not different amongtransects (North, East, South). At the same time, 18 species of bivalves were distributed among seagrass beds, but they hada greater diversity index in the north and east than in the south. The abundance of gastropods, bivalves and polychaeteswere significantly correlated with the biomass of H. pinifolia (65%, 39% and 27%, respectively); whereas only bivalvescorrelated significantly with the biomass of E. acoroides (36%). Treated wastewater effluents from shrimp farms did not affectthe seagrass ecosystem. Water quality in the bay was suitable for natural resources preservation.

Keywords

• biodiversity
• seagrass
• benthic fauna
• shrimp farming
• Kung Krabaen Bay