TY - JOUR AU - Ponyong, ฺีืBunyawat AU - Sivaipram, Itchika PY - 2022/04/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Diversity and Abundance of Zooplankton in Seagrass Beds and Mangrove Canal in Banmodtanoy, Trang Province JF - Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya Research Journal JA - RMUTSV Research Journal VL - 14 IS - 1 SE - Research Article DO - UR - https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/rmutsvrj/article/view/245190 SP - 213-228 AB - <p>Zooplankton is an important link between primary producers and higher trophic levels. Thus, it can be used as a bioindicator of coastal environments. This study used zooplankton data to assess the abundance of Banmodtanoy coastal area. Zooplankton samples were collected by taking horizontal tows with a plankton net (103 µm-mesh) in 3 areas, including bare sand adjacent to sea grass beds, seagrass beds, and mangrove canal at Banmodtanoy, Trang province. The zooplankton were identified into 44 taxa from 12 phyla. Calanoid copepods and bivalve larvae were the dominant groups in this area. The highest average abundance of zooplankton was observed in seagrass beds (1.35×10<sup>6</sup> ind.100 m<sup>-3</sup>) and the lowest was found in mangrove canal (4.71×10<sup>5</sup> ind.100 m<sup>-3</sup>). In contrast, the highest biovolume of zooplankton was found in the bare sand (26.32 mL・m<sup>-3</sup>) and the lowest biovolume was observed in the mangrove canal (0.85 mL・m<sup>-3</sup>). The result of non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed that zooplankton communities were divided into 2 groups based on the area: 1) seagrass beds and bare sand were dominated by bivalve larvae, while scyphozoans, echinopluteus larvae and auricularia larvae were the characteristic group, and 2) mangrove canal was dominated by calanoid copepods and cyclopoid copepods. Dissolved oxygen was the only significant factor for Shannon Wiener index and Evenness index. This study shows high abundance of zooplankton along the coast of Banmodtanoy and emphasizes the important of seagrass beds and mangroves as a nursery and a feeding ground for marine organisms.</p> ER -