Identification and Biodiversity of Leptomedusae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Leptomedusae) in the coastal waters of Bandar Abbas (Persian Gulf)

Abstract

Medusae play an important role in energy transfer in marine ecosystems. In the research, the community structure features of the order Leptomedusae from Cnidaria was studied in coastal waters of Bandar Abbas (Persian Gulf). Sampling was conducted at six stations in the spring and autumn of 2016. Sampling was conducted with a 300μm mesh size plankton net. The hydromyoses density was the highest in spring (3.1 ±12.3 ind.m-3) and the lowest was recorded in autumn (1.0±0.42 ind.m-3) .In this study, 8 species of Octorchis gegenbauri, Helgicirrha schulzei, Eutima gegenbauri, E. levuka, E. sp1, E. sp2, and E. sp3 were identified. The highest frequency was observed for E. gegenbauri species (18%). O. gegenbauri was reported for the first time from the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf. The maximum and minimum species diversity index (H') was recorded in summer (1.97) and autumn (1.76), respectively. Environmental factors such as temperature and salinity were studied. The result of the correlation test showed that temperature has a higher relationship with the density of Leptomedusae (P<0.05).

Keywords

• biodiversity
• leptomedusae
• nutrition
• persian gulf
• temperature