Distribution of intertidal flat macrobenthos in Buntal Bay, Sarawak, Borneo

The distribution of macrobenthos in the intertidal area of Buntal Bay, Sarawak was studied based on systematic sampling conducted in 2014. This study aimed to determine the intertidal macrobenthic horizontal distribution and their relationship with environmental parameters. An analysis of the intertidal flat marobenthos community suggested that polychaetes dominated the community in terms of the number of individuals and species followed by crustaceans and molluscs. Polychaetes of families Nephtyidae, Spionidae, Capitellidae, and Magelonidae contributed to the high densities of macrobenthos. Multivariate analysis performed by the Biotic and Environmental linking analysis indicated that communities in Transect 1 and Transect 2 were best correlated with food availability (sediment chlorophyll a), and heterogeneity of sediment type (percentage of fine sand and very fine sand). Heterogeneity of sediment characteristic and food availability were identified as potentially playing a key role in the shaping of the intertidal macrobenthic distribution in Buntal Bay.