Investigation of diversity and distribution of starfish and brittle starfish in the Persian Gulf coastal regions of Bushehr Province

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Echinodermata is one of the very good detectors for assessing the health and condition of coral reefs and shores in marine waters. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diversity and distribution of Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea in the lower and middle tidal zones of the Persian Gulf coastlines in the area of Bushehr province (Air Force stations, Bandar Rostami, North and South Uoly). Sampling from April to March 2017 was performed seasonally and by Quadrat (1×1) and in two transects perpendicular to the sea (width 30 meters) and with an approximate distance of 100 meters. A total of 184 individuals, 7 species including 4 species of starfish, 3 species of fragile star belonging to Astropectinidae(A. polyacanthus phragmorusand A. monacanthus), Asterinidae (A.species), Ophidiasteridae (species L. multifora) ,Ophiotrichidae (Ophiothrix sp.) and Ophiocomidae (O.  scolopendrina and Ophiocoma sp.) collected. The most frequent species was Ophiothrix sp .and the least frequent was the L. multiflora . Species habitat were A. polyacanthus phragmorus tropical sandy beaches, A. monacanthustidal sandy beaches, A. iranica, tidal cliffs and L. multiflora, Ophiothrix sp., O. scolopendrina species, and Ophiocoma sp. The rocky-coral beds. 90.54% of species had cluster distribution while, other species had a uniform distribution. The results of Shannon species diversity indices H '= 1.7672 and J'= 0.8754   indicated the relative uniformity and uniformity of stars and fragile stars on the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province.

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Iranian Scientific Fisheries Journal
Volume 29, Issue 3
September and October 2020
Pages 155-166

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