Nabiallah Kheirabadi; Jafar Seyfabadi; Mahnaz Rabaniha; Fereidoon Owfi
Volume 5, Issue 3 , March 2017, , Pages 17-29
Abstract
This study was conducted to survey distribution pattern and seasonal and spatial abundance of hermit crabs in six stations located in the intertidal zones of Hormuz Island. Sampling was conducted during four seasons. Hermit crabs were fixed in 70% ethanol and were transported to the laboratory. With ...
Read More
This study was conducted to survey distribution pattern and seasonal and spatial abundance of hermit crabs in six stations located in the intertidal zones of Hormuz Island. Sampling was conducted during four seasons. Hermit crabs were fixed in 70% ethanol and were transported to the laboratory. With valid identification key, nine species in two families of hermit crabs were identified. SPSS, PAST, TAL (4.2) and R software were used for statistical analyses. ANOVA test using LSD showed that the abundance of identified species were significantly different among some of the stations (P < 0/05) but seasonal changes had no significant effect on abundance of the species. Cluster analysis showed that stations five and six had the highest likeness and station 4 had the highest difference with the other stations. This analysis also showed that summer had the highest difference in abundance of hermit crabs compared to other seasons. Also, comparison the frequency and distribution of the species in all seasons and stations with different measured environmental parameters (pH, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, slope and the overall structure of the substrate) showed that changes in abundance and distribution of hermit crabs dependents only the overall structure of the substrate and changes in other parameters dot not significantly change their frequency and distribution.
