Abstract:
Information on meiofauna community structure in Indonesian mangrove areas is still
limited compared to its vast areas. This study aimed to assess the community structure
and abundance of meiofauna on four stations in mangrove areas, located in Teluk Uma
Village, Karimun Regency. Samples were collected from four stations. Station 1, 2,
and 3 are dominated by mangrove vegetation Rhizophora sp., Avicennia sp., Bruguiera
sp., consecutively while station 4 is located in an area without mangrove vegetation
(Coral Sand). Meiofauna abundance was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Fisher's
test. The result indicated that meiofauna which were found at the study site consisted of
12 taxa namely, Nematodes, Copepods, Polychaeta, Turbellarian, Cumacea,
Oligochaeta, Holothuroidea, Syncarida, Isopoda, Ostracoda, Cnidaria, and Tardigrada.
The average abundance of meiofauna was 3.22 ind/10 cm 2 . It was also found that
Nematodes was the most abundance taxa followed by Copepoda and Polychaeta at all
stations. One-way ANOVA results revealed that the abundance of meiofauna in each
station was significantly different (F=3.52 P<0.05).
