Zooplankton diversity in Teluk Kalong, Kemaman

Abstract

A study on the diversity of zooplankton in Teluk Kalong, Kemaman was carried out nearby the entrance of the Kemaman Port. Lack of baseline data on the distribution and diversity of zooplankton in Teluk Kalong, Kemaman was the reason this study was carried out. Furthermore, diversity of zooplankton in an area may be affected by the introduction of alien species through ballast water discharge, thus leading to chosen study area which is Teluk Kalong, Kemaman due to Port Kemaman which is located nearby this area. Samples were taken by towing Kitahara Net with mouth diameter of 0.21m and mesh size of IOOμm vertically in each 15 randomly picked sampling stations where some stations are near the shore and some are away from the shore. A total of 53 genuses identified from the samples collected. The identification of possible alien species was carried out by referring to previously made databases or researches. Meanwhile, the diverseness of species of zooplankton shows ascending patterns as the station moved towards the open sea.