The use of the relationships between environmental factors and benthic macrofaunal distribution in the establishment of a baseline for coastal management in the Chabahar Bay, Gulf of Oman, Iran

Relationships between benthic macrofauna and natural abiotic factors were studied along the coastal region of the Chabahar Bay, Konarak and Tis of the Gulf of Oman. Sediment characteristics and macrofaunal abundance were determined for the nine transects during cold and warm seasons, using a combination of seabed information of literature and grab sampling. Multivariate analyses revealed that the mollusks and echinoderms had highest and lowest richness respectively. The average Shannon-Wiener index in the warm season in the Tis transects, north of the Chabahar Bay and Konarak were (۳.۲۲, ۳.۲۸, ۳.۲۰), and in winter (۳.۲۹, ۳.۴۷, ۳.۱۷) respectively. In both seasons, biodiversity in the northern region of the Chabahar Bay and Konarak showed the highest and lowest values respectively. Additionally, the results revealed that there is a high positive correlation between non-biological factors and species density in the study regions. The results provide important baseline knowledge for future ecosystem and resource management.

کلیدواژه ها:

Benthos ، communities ، diversity ، environmental ، macrobenthic