Clam (Polymesoda Sp.) Density at Various Habitats of Mangrove Forest in Kendari Bay Southeast Sulawesi
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Clam (Polymesoda sp.) Density at Various Habitats of Mangrove Forest in Kendari bay Southeast Sulawesi Bahtiar Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences University of Halu Oleo *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract Clams are bivalves that have been associated with mangrove forest in Kendari Bay for decades. These clams have experienced ecological pressures as their exploitation is increasingand degradation of mangrove forest occurred extensively. This research was conducted from November 2013 to October 2014 in mangrove area of Kendari Bay to determine its density in various habitat conditions of the mangrove forest. Three sampling stations were chosen based upon the mangrove density, namely station I was a thick density of mangrove, station II was located in areas with low density of mangrove, and station III was a medium density of mangrove with intensive clam exploitation. The clam and substrate sampling as well as measurement of mangrove density were done using quadratic transects that were taken perpendicular to the sea during low tide. The clam density was analyzed using standard formula, whereas the suitability of clam habitat was analyzed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis on multivariate statistical packages program. The result showed that the clam density was found higher at station I (13.65±3.74 ind.m-2) than station II and III that was 6.62 ± 2.46 ind.m-2and 5.72±1.53ind.m-2, respectively. The high density of clam at station I is characterized by the high mangrove density of each category of seedlings (3,200 ind.ha-1), saplings (2,960 ind.ha-1) and trees (180 ind.ha-1).At station I, there was higher silt fraction (3.454) and soil organic matter content compared to other sampling stations, suggesting that those factors contributed to the high density of clams. Key words: Clam, density, mangrove, Kendari Bay Introduction Mangrove is a source of nutrients in coastal areas and provide a convenient place for the growth and development of various macrobenthos biota (Nagelkerken et al., 2008; Nordhaus et al., 2009) including clams (Polymesoda erosa) (Ingole et al., 2002). Like other bivalves, clams are filter feeder organism whose play an important role in the ecosystem including deposit the organic material into dissolved inorganic in the water column and the bottom waters directly (Allen and Vaughn, 2011) and be used as bioindicators in heavy metals polluted water (Dsikowitzky et al., 2011). The clams are capable to decompose organic matter that strongly associated with mangrove habitat.Therefore, if the mangrove degradation as habitat of clams occurred, it will be followed by the decline and even loss of this organism. In general, bivalves extinction may be caused by two condition: habitat degradation and exploitation of bivalves itself (Lydeard et al., 2004). Based on data of mangrove forest in Kendari Bay, there has been significant loss that was estimated around 300 ha in the 1990s to 10 ha in 2012 (Alwi, 2012). Rapid conversion of the forest into land function to public facilities was suggested to contribute to the loss of decent living habitat for these bivalves. On the other hand, uncontrolled activities such as illegal logging, littering and other public activities in the upper land and around Kendari Bay are expected to accelerate decrease of clams population in mangrove habitat. Clams from the genus Polymesoda are known for their delicious meat that drawn a high consumer demand. Some species of Polymesoda have been massively exploited due to their high economic value (Clemente & Ingole, 2011) such as: P. solida and P. arctata (Severeyn et al., 1994). The increasing demand from the regional and local marketis other factor contributing to the decrease of clam’s population in Kendari Bay (unpublished data, 2014). Based upon the ecologically and economically important roles of clams in mangrove area, research on clam density in various conditions of the mangrove habitat of Kendari Bay becomes critical. This aim of research was to determine the density of clams in various habitat conditions of the mangrove forest. The results of this study are expected to provide basic information for the management of clam resources in Kendari Bay and in other mangrove areas in Indonesia with similar condition. Materials and Method Sampling and data collection This study was conducted for one year from November 2013 to October 2014 at the mangrove forest of Kendari Bay, Southeast Sulawesi. The stations were determined by purposive random sampling which were based on mangrove density: station I was an area with considerably thick density of mangrove, station II was located in areas with low density of mangrove, and station III was an area with medium density of mangrove and intensive utilization of clam by local community (Figure 1). There were three sub-stations at each station, located at the beginning, middle and end of the line transect in a perpendicular position toward the coast. The clam samples were collected using quadratic transect (5x5 m2) with 3 replicates at each sub-station which were done on monthly basis. Sampling of mangrove density was categorized by tree, sapling and seedling (10x10 m2, 5x5 m2 and 1x1m2), respectively, taken in the same area as clams station. The number stands of tree, sapling, and seedlings in each quadratic transect was recorded. The substrate sampling was taken approximately at 15 cm deep and then put them into labeled plastic bag. Subsequently, texture and substrate organic material were analyzed at Texting Laboratory of University of Halu Oleo. Substrate texture was divided into 7 parts i.e.: very coarse sand(PSK), coarse sand (PK), medium sand (PS), fine sand (PH), very fine sand (PSH), clay (Le) and dust (Li) (Sousa et al., 2008). Figure 1. Map of clam sampling at mangrove forest of Kendari Bay. Sampling stations are marked in black dots Data Analysis The density of clams was as a function of the sampling area occupied by the clams (ind.m-2), whereas the mean density was analyzed using Mann-Whitney (U) test (Ocana, 2015). The relationship between environmental quality and clams density in each station was analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) (Musin et al., 2015) and Cluster Analysis (CA) on Multivariate Statistical Package Program (MVSP). Results and Discussion Results The result of Mann-Whitney (U) test showed that mean density of clams in station I was different from station II dan station III. The highest density of clams was found at station 1 with a value of 13.65±3.74 ind.m-2, whereas in stations II and III, the density wasfound to be relatively unequal with values of 6.62±2.46 and 5.72±1.53 ind.m-2 respectively (Figure 2). 20 ) 2 15 10 5 Clam Clam (ind/m density 0 I II III Station Figure 2. Density of clams in mangrove forest of Kendari Bay The highest mangrove density of each category (seedlings, saplings, and trees) were found in station I, respectively by 32,000, 2,960, and 180 ind.ha-1. Furthermore, at station III, it was found that each category of seedlings, saplings, and trees was 14,000, 2,400, and 160 ind.ha-1. Lower mangrove densities were found in station II by 6,000, 1,040, and 40 ind.ha-1. Among all categories, seedlings were the densest that were found in all stations (Figure 3). 35000 30000 25000 Trees Saplings Seedlings 20000 15000 10000 5000 Mangrove density ( ind/ha)density ( Mangrove 0 I II III Station Figure 3. Density of mangroves at each station of Kendari Bay The mangroves species found in Kendari Bay were belongs to 4 species consisting of Soneratia alba, Rhizophora sp., Xylocarpus sp., and Avicennia sp. In general, the 2 most dominant species found were Rhizophora sp. and S. alba. It was found that Rhizophora sp. and S. albain station I had higher density than other stations. Three species was found in station II with dominant speciesbeing S. alba and Xylocarpus sp., whereas low density species wasRhizophora sp. Similarly, in station III 3 species werefound that wasdominated by Rhizophora sp., Avicennia sp. and S. alba (Figure 4). The results of the PCA showed that the Eigenvalue was explained by 99% of the axis I and axis 2, by 83% and 16%, respectively. The large contributing parameters to the axis 1 was dust and clay, with values respectively by 4,197 and 2,294. Subsequently, some variables contributed in small amounts and distributed evenly across the stations namely medium sand (-0.554), fine (-0.454), and coarse sand (-0.098). The large contributing parameters to the axis 2 was dust (3,454), medium sand (1,543) and clay (-1.091), whereas the small contributing parameters was coarse sand (-0.556) and fine sand (-0.299) (Figure 5). Stations I and II contributed to the 2 axis and station III contributed to the 1 axis. 25000 20000 Trees Saplings Seedlings 15000 10000 Density Density (ind/ha) 5000 0 ABABCABD I II III Station Figure 4. Density of mangrove species at each station in Kendari Bay. A = Soneratia alba, B = Rhizophora sp., C = Xylocarpus sp, and D = Avicennia sp. 4.4 De 3.5 2.6 PS1.8 I 0.9 III PH PK Sumbu 2 Sumbu -4.4-3.5 -2.6 -1.8 -0.9 0.9II 1.8 2.6 3.5 4.4 -0.9 Li -1.8 -2.6 -3.5 -4.4 Sumbu 1 Figure 5. Principal component analysis on water texture at each station in Kendari Bay Furthermore, the values of substrate texture variables and stations were grouped by Cluster Analysis which were divided into 3 groups. Group I (station 1) was characterized by a fraction of dust, group 2 (station II) was characterized by clay fraction, andGroup 3 (station III) was characterized by moderate sand (Figure 6).