Abundance and Biodiversity of Benthic Infauna at Seagrass Ecosystem in Three Small Islands of Northern Papua, Indonesia: Liki Island, Meossu Island and Befondi Island

Abstract

One of the ecological roles of seagrass ecosystems is as a habitat for marine organisms. Benthos is a group of marine biota that lives on the bottom of the waters and can be found in seagrass ecosystems. This study aims to inventory the diversity of benthic organisms in seagrass ecosystems in Liki, Befondi and Meossu island. This research is part of the second leg of the Nusa Manggala Expedition which was held in 2018 on Liki Island, Meossu and Befondi, the northern waters of Papua. Benthos data was collected using cores at 0 m, 50 m and 100 m on the line transect. The results of this study indicate that the highest density of seagrass is on Liki Island. In addition, 33 species of benthic organisms were found on Liki Island, 42 species on Meossu Island and 20 species on Befondi Island. The highest abundance and diversity of benthic organisms was found on Meossu Island. The dominant benthic organisms come from the gastropod class with the species having the highest abundance, Euplica scripta. Based on this research, it is suspected that there is a relationship between the condition of the seagrass ecosystem and the abundance and diversity of benthos.