Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu

Opisthobranchia is a subclass of gastropod molluscs subdivided into five orders Cephalapsidea, Sacoglossa, Anaspidea, Notaspidea, and Nudibranchia. Order Nudibranchia, forming the major part of sea slugs, is further grouped into suborders Doridina, Dendronotina, Arminina, and Aeolidina. Two hypothe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas
Format: Academic Exercise
Language:English
Published: 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17491/1/Local%20air%20quality%20management%20in%20Klang%20Valley.pdf
_version_ 1796909590617522176
author Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas
author_facet Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas
author_sort Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas
collection UMS
description Opisthobranchia is a subclass of gastropod molluscs subdivided into five orders Cephalapsidea, Sacoglossa, Anaspidea, Notaspidea, and Nudibranchia. Order Nudibranchia, forming the major part of sea slugs, is further grouped into suborders Doridina, Dendronotina, Arminina, and Aeolidina. Two hypotheses were tested in this study (1) Opisthobranch abundance and diversity is greater in protected areas than in unprotected reefs off Kota Kinabalu; (2) Opisthobranch dietary preference influences its habitat selection. The study was conducted in the west coast of Sabah, in the South China Sea. The study areas were at Gaya Island, Sapi Island (protected areas), Sepangar Island, and Udar Island (unprotected areas), with four sampling sites at each island. The roving dive technique using scuba gear was used to survey nudibranch species per site. Each site was covered at 2-10 m depth and each dive lasted for about 35-50 min. Once opisthobranchs were spotted, photos were taken in situ. Data was collected over the course of four months, from January to April 2015. Fourteen opisthobranch species were identified, with Cheloclonura amoena as the most dominant species found. Statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney test showed a significant difference (p=0.043) in the diversity of the number of species between protected and unprotected areas at P<0.05. Cheloclonura amoena was the most dominant in Sapi Island (69.81%), Gaya Island (42.86%), and Udar Island (44.44%). Phyllidiella pustulosa accounted for 31.58% of species in Sepangar Island. Sapi and Gaya Island showed Significant differences in the abundance of opisthobranch species using the Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.05). Abundance of species between protected and unprotected areas using Mann-Whitney test resulted in a significant difference (p=0.023). Feeding behaviour were observed in Chelidonura amoena and Pteraeolidia ianthina. C amoena was seen feeding on algae while P. ianthina was observed feeding on hydroids. In conclusion, abundance and diversity is significant in protected areas based on the analyses conducted. However, abundance in unprotected areas is insignificant but a variation of species is still notable.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T02:52:22Z
format Academic Exercise
id ums.eprints-17491
institution Universiti Malaysia Sabah
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-06T02:52:22Z
publishDate 2015
record_format dspace
spelling ums.eprints-174912017-11-20T02:07:45Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17491/ Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas QH Natural history Opisthobranchia is a subclass of gastropod molluscs subdivided into five orders Cephalapsidea, Sacoglossa, Anaspidea, Notaspidea, and Nudibranchia. Order Nudibranchia, forming the major part of sea slugs, is further grouped into suborders Doridina, Dendronotina, Arminina, and Aeolidina. Two hypotheses were tested in this study (1) Opisthobranch abundance and diversity is greater in protected areas than in unprotected reefs off Kota Kinabalu; (2) Opisthobranch dietary preference influences its habitat selection. The study was conducted in the west coast of Sabah, in the South China Sea. The study areas were at Gaya Island, Sapi Island (protected areas), Sepangar Island, and Udar Island (unprotected areas), with four sampling sites at each island. The roving dive technique using scuba gear was used to survey nudibranch species per site. Each site was covered at 2-10 m depth and each dive lasted for about 35-50 min. Once opisthobranchs were spotted, photos were taken in situ. Data was collected over the course of four months, from January to April 2015. Fourteen opisthobranch species were identified, with Cheloclonura amoena as the most dominant species found. Statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney test showed a significant difference (p=0.043) in the diversity of the number of species between protected and unprotected areas at P<0.05. Cheloclonura amoena was the most dominant in Sapi Island (69.81%), Gaya Island (42.86%), and Udar Island (44.44%). Phyllidiella pustulosa accounted for 31.58% of species in Sepangar Island. Sapi and Gaya Island showed Significant differences in the abundance of opisthobranch species using the Kruskal-Wallis test (p<0.05). Abundance of species between protected and unprotected areas using Mann-Whitney test resulted in a significant difference (p=0.023). Feeding behaviour were observed in Chelidonura amoena and Pteraeolidia ianthina. C amoena was seen feeding on algae while P. ianthina was observed feeding on hydroids. In conclusion, abundance and diversity is significant in protected areas based on the analyses conducted. However, abundance in unprotected areas is insignificant but a variation of species is still notable. 2015 Academic Exercise NonPeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17491/1/Local%20air%20quality%20management%20in%20Klang%20Valley.pdf Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas (2015) Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu. Universiti Malaysia Sabah. (Unpublished)
spellingShingle QH Natural history
Fathma Noora Canoy Abbas
Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title_full Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title_fullStr Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title_full_unstemmed Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title_short Abundance, diversity, and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around Kota Kinabalu
title_sort abundance diversity and dietary preferences of opisthobranchs in reefs around kota kinabalu
topic QH Natural history
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17491/1/Local%20air%20quality%20management%20in%20Klang%20Valley.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT fathmanooracanoyabbas abundancediversityanddietarypreferencesofopisthobranchsinreefsaroundkotakinabalu