Meroplankton in Ambon Bay
Fismatman Ruli, Nining Betawati Prihantini, Sem Likumahua, Tri Widodo, Malik Sudin Abdul, Syafrizal, Iskandar Abd. Hamid Pelupessy

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Indonesia.
Research Center for Deep Sea, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

Abstract

Here we present the study of meroplankton in Ambon Bay. This study aims to determine the composition and abundance of meroplankton in Ambon Bay. Seventeen stations (nine in the inner Ambon Bay and eight in the outer Ambon Bay) were sampled in march 2022. A plankton sampling was carried out using a plankton net with a mesh size of 300 microns and a diameter of 30 cm drawn at a depth of 10 meters to the surface. The study results showed that the meroplankton in Ambon Bay at the time of observation consisted of several fish larvae and eggs, Echinodermata larvae, and Mollusca, Decapoda larvae, Cirripedia larvae, Stomatopoda larvae, and Anellida larvae. The abundance of meroplankton in the inner Ambon Bay is higher than in the outer. The meroplankton group was dominated by Echinodermata larvae, which were found to dominate at all research stations, especially in the inner bay of Ambon, with the highest abundance found at station 4, which was 120.31 ind/m3. The second and third dominating groups are from Decapoda Larvae, especially Brachyura (Zoea Stage) and Fish Eggs.

Keywords: Abundance, Ambon Bay, Composition, Meroplankton

Topic: Aquatic Biodiversity (International)