Harpacticoid Copepods in Sarawak Coastal Waters: Ecology, Taxonomy and Its Captive Culture Trials
| dc.contributor.author | Fatimah A’tirah Binti Mohamad | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-22T04:39:57Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
| dc.description | Study on zonation of harpacticoids in intertidal flat are being neglected since several decades because recent studies are more focused and interest in culture, experimental and bioassay of copepods. This study was conducted to investigate the zonation of harpacticoids in Buntal Beach by established two horizontal line transects. Different zonation distribution of harpacticoids were found on those two transects. Multidimensional scaling (nMDS) together with dendogram analysis showed moderate similarity of stations at Transect 1 while low similarity at Transect 2. BIOENV results demonstrated a highest rank correlation (ρ=0.631) between harpacticoids abundance and environmental variables (DO, temperature, TOM, chlorophyll a, skewness coefficient and sand (%)) at Transect 1 whereas harpacticoids density at Transect 2 primarily dependent on temperature. From April 2014 to March 2015, harpacticoids were sampled monthly together with in-situ interstitial water parameter and sediments samples for biological analyses. The study was conducted to determine the seasonal variations of harpacticoid copepods in Buntal Beach. The samplings were conducted in two random stations (Station A and Station B). Results showed unclear seasonal pattern of harpacticoids distribution in both stations. Cluster analysis along with nMDS showed low similarity of harpacticoids abundances during sampling months for both stations. In Station A, several variables such as pH, salinity, total organic matter, silt and clay, fine sand, and skewness are combination parameters that could influence the occurrence of harpacticoids during the sampling period following the results from BIOENV analysis. Meanwhile, harpacticoids in Station B tend to be affected by combination of temperature, chlorophyll a, medium and very fine sand. Present study was the first taxonomy work v conducted along Sarawak coastal waters. A total of 23 species represented 20 genus and six families of harpacticoids were described and drawn taxonomically. Specifically, 21 species from this study were considered first record in Sarawak waters and 18 species were new records in Malaysia waters. Longipedia genus in this study contributed most diverse species in present study (8 species). Some recorded species were showed minor remarks which differed them slightly from the original description. Setal formulae and key descriptions of all species obtained are given to aid identification for references in future. The present study also determine optimal diet for harpacticoid species growth in laboratory scale culture. An experiment was designed for 15 days to observe the effects of different diets on population growth of harpacticoid copepod species, Stenhelia (Delavalia) stephensoni. The diets tested were processed into juice form and are composed of single type diets and combination diets. Harpacticoid copepods which were fed with combination diet of goat dung and Catappa leaf recorded significantly (p<0.05) higher population growth and survival (90%) compared to the rest of the treatments tested. The present study suggested that Stenhelia (Delavalia) stephensoni could be a potential copepod for being commercially cultivated as it has potential demand as food item for marine fish larvae in aquaculture industry. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://scholarhub.unimas.my/handle/123456789/3241 | |
| dc.language.iso | English | |
| dc.publisher | UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SARAWAK | |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | Faculty of Resource Science and Technology | |
| dc.subject | harpacticoids, zonation, seasonal variations, taxonomy, culture | |
| dc.title | Harpacticoid Copepods in Sarawak Coastal Waters: Ecology, Taxonomy and Its Captive Culture Trials | |
| dc.type | PhD |