The temporal and spatial distribution of Opusia indica (Alcock, 1990) in mangrove ecosystem of the northern Persian Gulf (Hormozgan province)

This study was conducted to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of Opusia indica in the Hara Biosphere Reserve in the Persian Gulf. Seasonal sampling (four seasons) was performed from winter 2019 to autumn 2019. Sampling was done in five regions and three habitats within each region using metal quadrats with dimensions of 25 × 25 cm. In each habitat, environmental parameters including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH along with organic matter and grain size were measured. The results showed that the abundance and biomass of Opusia indica have decreasing trend with increasing habitat complexity. Seasonally, the highest abundance and biomass were observed in winter and autumn, respectively, and the lowest abundance and biomass were observed in spring. There was a significant difference between habitats and seasons (p <0.05). Salinity showed a significant difference between habitats but didnchr('39')t have seasonal changes. While temperature didnchr('39')t show a significant difference between habitats, but it had seasonal changes. There was a significant difference between dissolved oxygen levels and pH between habitats and seasons. Significant changes were observed between habitat and seasons in sediment grain size, while the amount of organic matter showed only differences between habitats. Also, analysis of Kendall correlation between environmental factors (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen and pH) with abundance and biomass showed that there was a significant correlation between these environmental factors but no significant correlation was observed between abundance and biomass with the amount of organic matter. The results help to better understand the situation of this species in the mangroves ecosystem.