Distribution and taxonomy of soft bottom crustacea from an offshore area of South China Sea

Abstract

A study on the distribution and taxonomy of soft-bottom macrobenthos (Arthropoda: Crustacea) was conducted at the offshore areas of Southern South China Sea (Terenggau, Pahang and Sabah). The sampling had been done with the aid of 2 vessels which were FOS LEO (Pahang and Sabah) and Vanessa 7 (Terengganu). This study aims to determine species diversity and distribution of soft-bottom macrobenthos (Crustacea) in these mentioned areas. Besides, this study also aims to determine the interaction between soft-bottom macrobenthos (Crustacea) and few abiotic parameters such as sediment textures and total organic carbon contents. In addition to that, the purpose of this study is to illustrate the morphology of the selected softbottom macrobenthos Crustacea (Amphipoda).