Authors : Nadiarti , Jamaluddin Jompa, Etty Riani and Muhammad Jamal
Abstract: Seagrass beds dominated by Thalassia hemprichii (TH) and Enhalus acoroides (EA) have different complexity structure which in turn will affect fish assemblage structure within the seagrass beds. This study was aimed to compare fish distribution and assemblage structure in both seagrass beds including: fish life stage and fish size distribution. Fish assemblage structure was analyzed using non-metric multidimensional scaling technique and Bray-Curtis cluster analysis while the most contributed species to difference of fish assemblage structure was analyzed using SIMPER (similarity of percentages) procedure. All statistics analysis were carried out using PRIMER v6 Software. The difference between fish distribution in both seagrass beds was analyzed with t-test and Bonferroni post-test using PRISM v5 Software. It can be concluded that fish assemblage structure and distribution pattern in TH and EA-dominated seagrass beds were significantly different, although, there was general trend that the seagrass was an important habitat for fish juveniles. It implies the urgency for the management of seagrass beds to maintain their function in supporting fishery especially in juvenile stage. Future similar works are necessary for sustainable fisheries management development, especially in the threatened seagrass habitats.
Nadiarti , Jamaluddin Jompa, Etty Riani and Muhammad Jamal, 2015. A Comparison of Fish Distribution Pattern in Two Different Seagrass Species-Dominated Beds in Tropical Waters. Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 10: 147-153.