Microhabitat Preference of Strombidae in Selected Intertidal Areas of Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental, Philippines

Abstract

This study aimed to identify the microhabitat preference of Strombidae species present in selected intertidal zones of Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental. A total of 406 individuals of Strombidae were collected and identified into 15 species. Most species of Strombidae were recorded to be abundant in seagrasses (Cymodocea rotundata and Thalassia hemprichii) and in algae (Gracilaria salicornia, Ulva lactuca and Ulva intestinalis). Strombidae were also observed along rocks, muddy sand, black sand, sediments and tide pools. A Kruskal-Wallis Test showed that there was a significant difference in species abundance among different microhabitat types (H[6] = 13.46, p = 0.036). This implies that the abundance of species among different habitats was not the same. Supporting this, the Cramer’s contingency test revealed a significant association between the abundance of species to their microhabitat type with a contingency coefficient of 0.76. Canarium labiatum was observed to inhabit G. salicornia, while Canarium mutabile preferred both rocks and tide pools. Canarium urceus favored C. rotundata; Canarium (Canarium) esculentum occurred in G. salicornia and T. hemprichii. Conomurex luhuanus was observed in U. intestinalis and G. salicornia. Euprotomus aurisdianae inhabited the seagrass, while Euprotomus bulla occurred in T. hemprichii and muddy sand. Laevistrombus (Gonggonus) turturella inhabited the C. rotundata. Lastly, Lentigo lentiginosus and all Lambis species were noticed in G. salicornia. Strombidae preferred both seagrasses and algae apparently because these microhabitat types serve as food and nutrient sources to these species.

Diversity of Harvested Gastropods in Guang-Guang, Mati City, Davao Oriental, Philippines

“…However, Strombidae is affected by overexploitation caused by both natural and anthropogenic stressors, which leads to a large Natsir and Dillenia 2023). On the other hand, the other study in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental, Philippines, showed that the most abundant species found in the selected area is the Canarium esculentum with 33.25% species, followed by the Canarium urceus with 17.49%, and the majority of the Strombidae species are found in the sandy-muddy substrate (Pangarungan et al 2022).…”

“…However, the T. sulcata and I. obsolete were commonly harvested in the H' = -∑ P i (ln P i ) decrease in the population of marine species (Stoner et al 2018;Ardila et al 2020). There are about 13 genera of Strombidae, with more than 50 different species reported that are found in the Philippines (Poppe 2008a(Poppe , 2008b, and these include the C. urceus (Pangarungan et al 2022) mangrove area of Guang-guang. These gastropods were collected by handpicking or using a small knife.…”