Baseline patterns of structural and functional diversity of benthic amphipods in the western Arabian Gulf.

Seerangan Manokaran, Thadickal V Joydas, Mohammad A Qurban, Linoy L Cheruvathur, Thomas J Kariyathil, Abdullajid U Basali, Syed Ajmal Khan, Abdulaziz M. Al-Suwailem

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    This work presents the structural and functional traits of benthic amphipods in the Saudi waters of the Arabian Gulf. Sixty-two species belonging to 37 genera and 17 families were recorded. Sensitive species such as Grandidierella bonnieroides, G. exilis, Gammaropsis atlantica and Caprellidea indet., were mostly dominant. The average values of richness, density and diversity (H' log2) were 11 ± 1, 512 ± 232 ind. m-2 and 3.1 ± 0.1 respectively. The density decreased with increased in depth (nearshore (NS) - 784 ± 445 and offshore (OS) - 222 ± 28, p = 0.023), while evenness (NS - 0.93 and OS -0.94) and diversity (NS - 3.10 and OS - 3.18) were unaffected by depth. Interstitial space dwellers (56.76%) and surface deposit feeders (60.16%) were dominant in the nearshore sand substratum. However, domicolous (72.2%) with suspension and surface deposit feeders (71.7%) were more in offshore silt sediments. The combination of depth, pH and TPH (p = 0.249) influenced the distribution of amphipods.
    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)112054
    JournalMarine pollution bulletin
    Volume164
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Jan 30 2021

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Baseline patterns of structural and functional diversity of benthic amphipods in the western Arabian Gulf.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this