Nematode Fauna in Estuarine and Coastal Sediment of the Ariake Sea with Reference to the Habitat of Mudskipper, Beleophthalmus pectinirostris

Abstract

The seasonal occurrence of nematodes in the mud sediment of the Ariake Sea, Saga, was investigated from April 1991 to March 1992 at two localities, Rokkaku river estuary and Higashiyoka coast, the protected and unprotected areas of the mudskipper, Beleophthalmusp ectinirostris, respectively. In both localities, most of nematodes were isolated from the surface soil layer by centrifugal flotation technique. Totally 43 species were isolated from the coastal soil and 41 from the estuarine soil. Of all the species isolated, 34 were common to the two localities. The dominant species was Desmodora cazca in the coast and Spilophorella sp. in the estuary. The overall species diversity of nematode was higher in the former locality than in the latter one, where the nematode population precipitously declined in winter season. The similarity value between the nematode fauna in the two localities was high during May to July, while relatively low August to March. The relation between nematode fauna and mudskipper's habitat was briefly discussed.