Abstract:
Study on distribution of macrobenthos had been done in mangrove forest at Pengkalan
Gelap, Setiu. This study was associated with the project of Petra- UNDP mangrove
regeneration community project which supported by the Terengganu State Government
and UMT. The main objective of this study was to estimate diversity and distribution of
macrobenthos in Pengkalan Gelap, Setiu. Sediment characteristics and environmental
factors were the most important factors directly affecting the diversity and density of
macrobenthos. There were eight species of macrobenthos that regularly found in
Pengkalan Gelap; polychaeta, Olygochaeta, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Echinodermata,
Polyplacophora, Crustacea and others. Highest diversity for macrobenthos was found in
station 4 transect 1 (H'=0.9268) with the evenness E' value of 0.4763 and Margalef s
richness value of 1.6053 while the lowest diversity index for macrobenthos in Pengkalan
Gelap, Setiu were found at station 5 with the average (H'=0.504), evenness E' value of
0.259 and Margalef s richness value of 2.6309. Gastropoda was resulted as the dominant
species from phylum mollusca in the study area. Results show that the texture of
sediments was coarse sand. These indicated that there was a correlation between total and
type of macrobenthos with the size of sediment in the mangrove of Pengkalan Gelap,
Setiu.
