Assemblage of Gastropods in the Rocky Intertidal Zone of Asry Beach, Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

The macrofaunal components find its habitat in all areas of the marine ecosystem. Specifically, gastropods are considered the most common inhabitants of the intertidal zone with wide range of distribution in the rocky intertidal biota. A 3-year study on gastropod assemblage in Asry Beach, Kingdom of Bahrain was conducted from 2016 to 2018 which determines diversity and evenness of the rocky intertidal species. Taxonomic identification showed 31 species which belong to 25 genera and 16 families. The total annual population of gastropod assemblage does not vary significantly at p < 0.05 using analysis of variance (ANOVA). ShannonWiener species diversity index (H′) revealed high species diversity (H′ = 4.19) in the Family Muricidae; moderate (H′ = 2.04–3.29) among the species of the Family Pyramidellidae, Cerithiidae, Oliveliidae, Calliostomatidae, Turbinidae, Trochidae, Buccinidae, Velutinidae and Margeliidae; and low (H′ = 1.04–1.11) among the species of the Family Batillariidae, Borsoniidae, Cerethiopsidae, Epitoniidae, Volutidae and Columbellidae. Pielou’s evenness index show that most of the species have complete evenness (J’ = 1.0–3.81). The varying annual mean temperature exert no effect on the total assemblage of gastropods (r = −0.0231). Tolerant species include C. selectum, L. attenuatum and Turbonilla sp. 1. The rocky intertidal pool is typically diverse although exposed to varying environmental occurrences.