Publication Details

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF FOULING SERPULID Ficopomatus cf. uschakovi PILLAI, 1960 AT SETIU WETLANDS, TERENGGANU

Fouling is an undesirable accumulation of unwanted organisms on submerged structures that happens all over the world, including tubeworm from the family Serpulidae. Fouling serpulids are capable of building large, reef-like colonies that can have strong ecological and economic impacts through fouling on man-made structures such as ship hulls, seawater intake pipes and aquaculture platforms. Although various studies on distribution of the fouling serpulids have been done worldwide, fouling serpulids status in Malaysia are poorly known. This study was conducted to determine the spatial and temporal patterns of the Ficopomatus cf. uschakovi and their relationship with environmental parameters in Setiu Wetlands. A monthly assessment was conducted for 14 months (May 2017 until July 2018) at three different stations (northern, middle and southern part of Setiu Wetlands). A frame consisting of three replicates of perspex plate (14 x 10 cm) was placed randomly at each station and collected for assessment every month. All F. cf. uschakovi tubes on the front and back of the plate were counted. Physico-chemical parameters collected included temperature (oC), salinity (ppt), pH and dissolved oxygen (mg/L) of the water column. The results showed distribution of F. cf. uschakovi were spatially and temporally variable whereby higher density was recorded at the station with protected area and orientation. The distribution and occurrence of F. cf. uschakovi tubes in Setiu Wetlands also was affected by the environmental parameters, particularly, temperature, salinity and pH of the water column.