COMMON GENUS OF BENTHIC DIATOMS ON THE SEAFLOOR OF THE SOUTHERN SOUTH CHINA SEA, PENINSULAR MALAYSIA - A PRELIMINARY SURVEY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46754/umtjur.v5i3.376Keywords:
Microphytobenthos, benthic diatoms, South China Sea, seafloor diatomsAbstract
This study was conducted to determine the diversity of benthic diatom, which is the most ubiquitous group of the microphytobenthos (MPB) collected on the seafloor of the southern South China Sea along the Peninsular coastal waters during a research expedition in March 2019. Triplicates samples were collected from six stations (E1 to E6), and a total of 968 cells representing 17 species of benthic diatoms were identified and recorded. The highest species richness was recorded at E1 with 16 species, and the least number of species was found at E6 with 9 species recorded. The highest density was recorded at E3 with 30 cells cm-2 and the lowest density was found at E6 with only 3 cells cm-2. Coscinodiscus sp. was the most abundant reported species. Although only preliminary, this study provides an essential baseline data especially due to limited information available on the diversity and richness of benthic diatom in the coastal waters of the South China Sea.
References
Bellinger, E. G., & Sigee, D. C. (2010). Algae as bioindicators. In Freshwater algae (pp. 99–136). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https:// doi.org/10.1002/9780470689554.ch3
Cantonati, M., Scola, S., Angeli, N., Guella, G., & Frassanito, R. (2009). Environmental controls of epilithic diatom depth-distribution in an oligotrophic lake characterized by marked water-level fluctuations. European Journal of Phycology, 44, 15–29.
Desrosiers, C., Leflaive, J., Eulin, A., & Ten- Hage, L. (2013). Bioindicators in marine waters: Benthic diatoms as a tool to assess water quality from eutrophic to oligotrophic coastal ecosystems. Ecological Indicators, 32, 25–34.
Goessling, J. W., Cartaxana, P., & Kühl, M. (2016). Photo-protection in the centric diatom coscinodiscus granii is not controlled by chloroplast high-light avoidance movement. Frontiers in Marine Science, 2(JAN). https://doi.org/10.3389/ fmars.2015.00115
Kovach, W. L. (1999). A multivariate statistical package. Anglesey, Wales: Kovach Computing Service.
Hansson, L. A. (1992). Factors regulating periphytic algal biomass. Limnology and Oceanography, 37, 322328.
Hasle, G. R., & Syvertsen, E. (1997). Marine diatoms. In Tomas, C. R. (Ed.) Identifying marine Phytoplankton (pp. 5-385). San Diego: Academic Press, Inc.
Hildebrand, M., Davis, A. K., Smith, S. R., Traller, J. C., & Abbriano, R. (2012). The place of diatoms in the biofuels industry. Biofuels, 3, 221–240.
Jiang, H., Zheng, Y., Ran, L., & Seidenkrantz, M. S. (2004). Diatoms from the surface sediments of the South China Sea and their relationships to modern hydrography. Marine Micropaleontology, 53, 279–292.
Lee, R. E. (1999). Phycology. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Li, J., Wang, L., Zou, Y., & Li, J. (2022). Spatial variation of diatom diversity with water depth at Huguang Maar Lake, Southern China. Journal of Paleolimnology, 68(1), 119–131. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933- 021-00218-5
Lu, J., Chen, M., & Chen, Z. (2016). Distribution of diatoms in the water and surface sediments of southern South China Sea. Chinese Science Bulletin, 51, 76-80.
Miller, D. C., Geider, R. J., & MacIntyre, H. L. (2018). Microphytobenthos: The ecological role of the “Secret Garden” of unvegetated, shallow-water marine habitats II. Role in Sediment Stability and Shallow-Water Food Webs, 19, 202-212.
Olenina, I., Hajdu, S., Edler, L., Andersson, A., Wasmund, N., Busch, S., Gobel, J., Gromisz, S., Huseby, S., Huttunen, M., Jaanus, A., Kokkonen, P., Ledaine, I., & Niemkiewicz, E. (2006). Biovolumes and size-classes of phytoplankton in the Baltic Sea. Baltic Marine Environment Proceedings, 106. Stockholm: Helsinki Commission.
Phang, S. M., Mustafa, E. M., Ambati, R. R., Sulaiman, N. M. N., Lim, P. E., Majid, N. A., & Liew, K. E. (2015). Checklist of microalgae collected from different habitats in peninsular Malaysia for selection of algal biofuel feedstocks. Malaysia Journal of Science, 34, 141-167.
Redzuan, N. S. & G. J. C. Underwood, 2(020). Movement of microphytobenthos and sediment between mudflats and salt marsh during spring tides. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 496.
Salleh, A., & Tajuddin, Z. M. (2006). Phytoplankton of Carey Island (pp. 207). Golden Hope Plantations Berhad and Institute of Biological Sciences (UM).
Underwood G. (2002). Adaptations of tropical marine microphytobenthic assemblages along a gradient of light and nutrient availability in Suva Lagoon, Fiji. European Journal of Phycology, 37, 449-462.
Underwood, G. J. C. (1995). Seasonal and spatial variation in epipelic diatom assemblages in the Severn Estuary. Oceanographic Literature Review, 42(7), 559–560.
Underwood, G. J. C., Phillips, J., & Saunders, K. (1998). Distribution of estuarine benthic diatom species along salinity and nutrient gradients. European Journal of Phycology, 33, 173-183.
Wu, R., Gao, Y., Fang, Q., Chen, C., Lan, B., Sun, L., & Lan, D. (2013). Diatom assemblages in surface sediments from the South China Sea as environmental indicators. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 31, 31–45.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Journal of Undergraduate Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
