Species abundance of jellyfish in Kuala Terengganu waters

Abstract

Jellyfish are marine invertebrates that classified in the Phylum Cnidaria. This phylum consists of the Class Scyphozoa, Cubozoa clan Hydrozoa. This research aimed to identify the species of jellyfish that occur in the Kuala Terengganu coastal waters. Trawling method was used in this research for five times starting from September 2006 - March 2007. There were three Orders occur in Kuala Terengganu coastal waters that identified as jellyfish from Order Semaeostomeae, Rhizostomeae and Cubomedusae. Every Order classified has different morphology. Distributions of jellyfish around the world's ocean were sporadic and seemingly unpredictable in nature. Diversity of jellyfish caught is analyzed by using Shannon-Weiner Index and species evenness. Relationship between wet weight (w/w) and bell diameter (BD) were analyzed according to species caught. For this relationship, it shows significant correlation for species studied in this research. The highest diversity of jellyfish in this project is from the Order Semaeostomeae and followed by species from Order Cubomedusae and Rhizostomeae. The diversity of jellyfish was according to seasonal changes.