MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (1): 101-108 (2023)

https://doi.org/10.47193/mafis.3612023010106

ABSTRACT. Gastropods are one of the constituents of benthic communities in waters and are

found throughout the world, ranging from shallow, sandy, coral reefs to deep seas. Gastropods have

several advantages, one of the most relevant is that they can be used as bioindicators of pollution.

The purpose of this study was to determine the diversity and abundance of gastropods in Kapas

Island, Indonesia. This research was conducted for two months on the coast of Kapas Island,

Indonesia. Gastropod collection was carried out at 10 observation stations using three transect lines

toward the sea and divided into three parts, namely upper intertidal, middle intertidal, and lower

intertidal on each transect line. The distance between stations was ∼150 m. Ninety plots of 1 m2

were set. Abundance and diversity were analyzed qualitatively. Results showed that gastropods con-

sisted of 9 genera and 14 species. Among them, Cerithium sp. had the highest individual abundance

(40.15%). The diversity index of gastropods in Kapas Island was 2.07 (medium diversity).

Key words: Abundance, intertidal gastropods, marine environment.

Diversidad de gasterópodos en la Isla Kapas, Indonesia

RESUMEN. Los gasterópodos son uno de los constituyentes de las comunidades bénticas en

las aguas y se encuentran en todo el mundo, desde arrecifes de coral arenosos hasta mares profun-

dos. Los gasterópodos tienen varias ventajas, una de las más relevantes es que pueden ser utiliza-

dos como bioindicadores de contaminación. El propósito de este estudio fue determinar la diver-

sidad y abundancia de gasterópodos en la Isla Kapas, Indonesia. Esta investigación se llevó a cabo

durante dos meses en la costa de la Isla Kapas, Indonesia. La recolección de gasterópodos se llevó

a cabo en 10 estaciones de observación utilizando tres líneas de transecta hacia el mar, divididas

en tres partes, a saber, intermareal superior, intermareal medio e intermareal inferior, para cada

línea de transecta. La distancia entre estaciones fue de ∼150 m. Se establecieron 90 parcelas de

1 m2cada una. La abundancia y la diversidad se analizaron cualitativamente. Los resultados mos-

traron nueve géneros y 14 especies de gasterópodos. Entre ellos, Cerithium sp. tuvo la mayor

abundancia individual (40,15%). El índice de diversidad de gasterópodos en la Isla Kapas fue de

2,07 (diversidad media).

Palabras clave: Abundancia, gasterópodos intermareales, ambiente marino.

Marine Gastropoda has a variety of species found from intertidal to deep

sea areas, often attached to substrates such as coral reefs, wood, aquatic

plants, and immersed in sediments (Ratna et al. 2016). Gastropods are one of

the constituents of benthic communities and are found all over the world,

from shallow sandy and coral reefs to deep waters. Gastropods can also be

101

*Correspondence:

suardiaseq@gmail.com

Received: 14 October 2022

Accepted: 8 November 2022

ISSN 2683-7595 (print)

ISSN 2683-7951 (online)

https://ojs.inidep.edu.ar

Journal of the Instituto Nacional de

Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero

(INIDEP)

This work is licensed under a Creative

Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0

International License

Marine and

Fishery Sciences

MAFIS

NOTE

Diversity of gastropods in Kapas Island, Indonesia

SUARDI LAHENG*, DWI UTAMI PUTRI, IKA WAHYUI PUTRI and MIRANTI

Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries, Madako Tolitoli University, Madako road, Tambun Village, Tolitoli District, Central

Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. ORCID Suardi Laheng https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7256-8872

used as bioindicators of pollution because they

feed on detritus and more abundant where the

environmental has better conditions. Economi-

caly, gastropods are consumed as food, and the

shells are used as an industrial raw materials for

accessories, necklaces and tapestries, as well as

being consumed by other gastropods (Paror-

rongan et al. 2018).

Previous research related to the diversity of

intertidal organisms in Tolitoli Regency has been

carried out on starfish in Bajugan beach (Putri

and Potoboba 2022) and on gastropods in the vil-

lage of Binontoan (Yanti et al. 2022). Coastal

areas with abundant gastropods can be found in

the Tolitoli district, Central Sulawesi. Kapas

Island is a distinctive marine area for tourism,

where gastropods are extensively harvested for

local consumption and as economic support for

inhabitants (BPS 2017). Overexploitation is a

possible consequence of uncontrolled extractive

activities in the island (Parorrongan et al. 2018).

Based on this information, diversity and abun-

dance become one of the benchmarks for assess-

ing the sustainability of marine ecosystems. In

order to determine the status of these aquatic

organisms, the diversity and abundance of gas-

tropods in Kapas Island were evaluated.

This research was conducted for two months

off the coast of Kapas Island, Tolitoli Regency,

Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia (1° 16' 58"

N-120° 47'57"E). Gastropods were collected at

10 sampling stations (Figure 1). For each station,

three transect lines of 50 m and 150 m in width

were established towards the sea, perpendicular

to the shoreline, divided into three levels, namely

upper, middle, and lower intertidal. The distance

between stations was ∼150 m. A total number of

90 plots (quadrats) of 1 ×1 m were randomly

selected (English et al. 1997). Gastropods found

in each plot were identified, sorted and num-

bered, and three individuals for each species were

preserved in formalin 70% (Rukmana and

Purnomo 2019). All specimens were deposited at

the Madako Tolitoli University Laboratory. Envi-

ronmental observations included the substrate

type and in situ water temperature and pH.

Gastropods were identified to the lowest taxo-

nomic level using identification books (Dharma

1988) and journals (Bula et al. 2017; Haumahu

and Uneputty 2018; Rukmana and Purnomo

2019; Liline et al. 2021) based on morphological

characteristics such as shape, color, and shell. The

validity of species names was also checked from

the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

database.

Frequency of incidence (FoI) was estimated

using the equation:

FoI = Ni.St ×100

N.St

where, Ni.St is the total number of locations

where the species iwas found, N.St is the total

number of sampling locations (Romimohtarto

and Juawana 2001). Frequency value ranges are

0-25% (very rare), 25-50% (rare), 50-75% (mod-

erate), and > 75% (frequent/absolute). Gastropod

abundance was calculated using the formula:

Ki = ni

A

where Ki is the individual abundance (density)

(ind. m-2), ni is the number of each species (indi-

vidual), and Ais the transect area (m2). The cal-

culation of gastropod diversity was done using

the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’):

H’ =-∑ Pi (LNPi)

where Pi is the proportion of the ith species, and

LN represent the logarithm of Pi. The Shannon-

Wiener diversity index is classified into three lev-

els: H’ <1 (low species diversity), 1 ≤H’ ≤3

(medium species diversity), and H’ >3 (high

species diversity) (Brower et al. 1990).

102 MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (1): 101-108 (2023)

Results indicate that gastropods collected in

Kapas Island consisted of 9 genera and 14

species (Table 1; Figure 2). The diversity of gas-

tropods in Kapas Island was medium (H’ =2.09),

which means that the gastropod ecosystem is in

a balanced condition. Gasteropod abundance

showed that the highest was Cerithium sp., while

Oliva sp. was the lowest (Figure 3). Frequency

of incidence was moderate for Nerita exuvia,

Cellana radiata, and Cerithium sp., while the

other species had variable frequencies (rare and

very rare) (Figure 4). Water quality (tempera-

ture, salinity, pH) and substrate were suitable for

the habitat of gastropods (Liline et al. 2021)

(Table 2).

Ecologically gastropods act as detritus feeders,

so they can be used as bioindicators of waters

where, the higher the abundance of gastropods,

the better the condition of the waters (Bula et al.

2017).

Rukmana and Purnomo (2019) collected dif-

ferent gastropods in Toraja Bird Beach, Madura,

namely, Trochus maculates,Nerita spengleriana,

N. plicata,C. annulus,Cypraea moneta,Nassar-

ius margaritiferus,N. olivaceus,Polinices mamil-

la,Engina incarnata, and Phos hirasei.

The most common species variation found was

the Genus Nerita, with five species (N. spengleri-

ana,N. polita,N. plicata,N. exuvia, and N. albi-

cilla). According to Liline et al. (2021), seven

species of Nerita were found in Ambon (Latuha-

lat, Hutumuri, and Suli villages), namely N. max-

ima,N. costata,N. plicata,N. spengleriana,N.

gossa,N. albicilla, and N. chamaeleon. Same

authors described this location as an intertidal

area with sandy, rocky, and clay substrates, suit-

able for the habitat of gastropods. Haumahu and

Uneputty (2018) identified ten species of Nerita

on rocky substrates in the intertidal area of Oma

Village, Haruku Island.

103

LAHENG ET AL.: DIVERSITY OF GASTROPODS IN KAPAS ISLAND, INDONESIA

Figure 1. Gastropod collection sites at Kapas Island, Indonesia.

IndonesiaIndonesia

Kapas IslandKapas Island

The abundance of gastropods on Kapas Island

was dominated by Cerithium sp. (40.15%). Kapas

Island is also dominated by sandy-clay and slight-

ly rocky substrates. Results of this study are in

agreement with those of Hafish et al. (2022) in

Lembar Bay, West Nusa Tenggara, where Cerithi-

um sp. was the most common species (16.76%).

The main habitat of this species is the tropics with

shallow waters and sandy substrates (Hafish et al.

2022). According to Ratna et al. (2016) and Chus-

na et al. (2017), good water conditions and nutri-

ent content are factors that favor the abundance of

gastropods.

The diversity index (H’) can be interpreted as

a systematic description of the community facil-

itating the process of analyzing information

about types and numbers of organisms. The

diversity index (H’) of the average gastropod on

Kapas Island was 2.0 (medium). Diversity values

from this study were similar to those of Rukmana

and Purnomo (2019), with diversity ranging

from 1 ≤H’ ≤3 (medium) in Toraja Bird Beach,

Sumenep Madura; while Hafish et al. (2022)

obtained lower diversities (0.36-1.17) in Lembar

Bay. One of the reasons for these differences in

diversity values may be due to the different envi-

ronmental and water quality characteristics of

each study site. According to Bula et al. (2017)

gastropods diversity is influenced by pollution,

water physicochemical factors, and aquatic sub-

strates.

The water quality of Kapas Island showed

salinity, temperature, and pH values adequate for

the life of gasteropods (Sandewi et al. 2019).

According to Adi et al. (2014), Chusna et al.

(2017) and Bula et al. (2017), gastropod the

diversity and abundance of gastropods is influ-

enced by water pollution and physicochemical

factors, such as, temperature, salinity, current,

pH, oxygen, substrates and depth, as well as com-

petition, predation, and the availability of suffi-

cient nutrients.

104 MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (1): 101-108 (2023)

Table 1. Diversity of gastropods in Kapas Island, Indonesia (ni =number of species, N =total number of species, ln =logarithm

of ni/N).

No Species ni N ni/N ln Diversity

1 Nerita exuvia 72 959 0.0751 -2.5892 -0.1944

2 Nerita polita 31 959 0.0323 -3.4319 -0.1109

3 Nerita spengleriana 92 959 0.0959 -2.3441 -0.2249

4 Nerita albicilla 38 959 0.0396 -3.2283 -0.1279

5 Nerita plicata 15 959 0.0156 -4.1578 -0.0650

6 Cellana sp. 102 959 0.1064 -2.2409 -0.2383

7 Cellana radiata 46 959 0.0480 -3.0372 -0.1457

8 Menathais sp. 56 959 0.0584 -2.8405 -0.1659

9 Conus ebraeus 5 959 0.0052 -5.2565 -0.0274

10 Oliva sp. 4 959 0.0042 -5.4796 -0.0229

11 Strombus luhuanus 31 959 0.0323 -3.4319 -0.1109

12 Faunus ater 40 959 0.0417 -3.1770 -0.1325

13 Cerithium sp. 385 959 0.4015 -0.9126 -0.3664

14 Cypraea moneta 42 959 0.0438 -3.1282 -0.1370

2.07

105

LAHENG ET AL.: DIVERSITY OF GASTROPODS IN KAPAS ISLAND, INDONESIA

Figure 2. Gastropods collected in Kapas Island. A) Strombus luhuanus. B) Cerithium sp. C) Nerita spengleriana. D) Nerita poli-

ta. E) Nerita plicata. F) Nerita exuvia. G) Cellana sp. H) Cellana radiate. I) Nerita albicilla. J) Faunus ater. K)

Menathais sp. L) Oliva sp. M) Conus ebraeus. N) Cypraea moneta.

106 MARINE AND FISHERY SCIENCES 36 (1): 101-108 (2023)

Figure 3. Gastropods abundance in Kapas Island, Indonesia.

Figure 4. Frequency of incidence of gastropods in Kapas Island, Indonesia.

Cypraea moneta

Cerithium sp.

Faunus ater

Strombus luhuanus

Oliva sp.

Conus ebraeus

Menathais sp.

Cellana radiata

Cellana sp.

Nerita plicata

Nerita albicilla

Nerita spengleriana

Nerita polita

Nerita exuvia

4.38

4.17

3.23

0.42

0.52

5.84

4.80

10.64

1.56

3.96

9.59

3.23

7.51

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Abundance (%)

40.15

Cypraea moneta

Cerithium sp.

Faunus ater

Strombus luhuanus

Oliva sp.

Conus ebraeus

Menathais sp.

Cellana radiata

Cellana sp.

Nerita plicata

Nerita albicilla

Nerita spengleriana

Nerita polita

Nerita exuvia

01020 40506070

Frequency of incidence (%)

30

40

50

30

10

20

60

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