Crustacean Decapod Assemblage Associated with Seagrass (Zostera marina) Beds in Southern Waters of Korea

Abstract

Decapod assemblages in Zostera marina beds from two bays adjacent to unvegetated habitats were investigated to assess their influence on decapod assemblages. Thirty-eight decapod species belonging to four taxa were collected using a small beam trawl at four habitat types from two different locations off the coast of Namhae Island, South Korea. Dominant decapod taxon at all habitats was the caridean shrimps, with Eualus leptognathus, Heptacarpus pandaloides, Latreutes anoplonyx, La. Laminirostris, and Palaemon macrodactylus being the most abundant caridean species. Crabs were characterized with the highest biomass, but with moderate species richness and abundance. Penaeoid and sergestoid shrimps only accounted for <1% of the total decapod abundance. The number of species and their abundance of decapod assemblages varied greatly by habitat type, season, and diel patterns, but not diversity. Species number and abundance peaked in seagrass beds of southern exposed bays during the autumn and were lowest in unvegetated habitats during the summer months. Diel decapod catch rates were higher at night. Dense seagrass vegetation and nighttime supported higher decapod mean densities, but not species richness and diversity. Multivariate analyses revealed that habitat type and season significantly affected the structure of decapod assemblages, but diel patterns had a minor influence. Among decapod species, Pa. macrodactylus and Pugettia quadridens characterized the decapod assemblages in seagrass beds at the northern semi-closed bay, while Telmessus acutidens, Crangon affinis, Cr. hakodatei, Charybdis (Charybdis) japonica, and Portunus sanguinolentus were significantly associated with both vegetated and unvegetated habitats at the southern exposed bay, with the former two species more abundant during the colder season.

New records of Charybdis japonica (A. Milne-Edwards, 1861) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae) in the Adriatic Sea

“…24 -26°C) (ARPAE, REGIONE EMILIA-ROMAGNA. 2017) is similar to that reported for the C. japonica population thriving in South Korea bays (PARK et al 2020).…”

Decapods of the Southern Tip of South America and the Marine Protected Area Namuncurá–Burdwood Bank: A Nearshore–Offshore Comparison

“…We posit that including deeper waters in the protected area provides new habitats, which increases the number of species under protection. Habitat structure complexity has often been associated with high biodiversity, with a more complex habitat providing a wider range of niches, allowing for a higher number of resident species [82], either juveniles or adults of species of small size [25]. At the BB, the benthic sessile megafauna constitutes animal forests, which also are considered vulnerable marine ecosystems [19,20,83,84].…”

Comparisons of benthic associated fauna assemblages in seagrass meadows across conservation and non-conservation areas in Bali and Lombok, Indonesia

“…This marine flowering plant is widely distributed along temperate and tropical regions, but the highest diversity is centered in tropical Indo-Pacific (Jhon et al, 2023). Along with mangrove and coral reef, the seagrass provides ecological services such as primary producers, shoreline protection, seabed stabilizer, and it could act as nursery ground for many commercially caught species (Unsworth et al, 2019;Jiang et al, 2020;Park et al, 2020). Despite their enormous ecological services, the seagrass meadows also have the potential to sequester large amounts of organic carbon in underlying sediments (Miyajima et al, 2022).…”