Kristine N. Busmion, Neriza C. Arche
Meiofauna is an integral part of the marine ecosystem and is often used as a bioindicator since it is vulnerable to shifts in environmental conditions. In a lake fed by local runoffs, like Lake Balinsasayao, there is a minimal account of the interstitial species. In order to account for the effects of inflow to meiofauna, the study determined the meiofauna diversity in the littoral zone of Lake Balinsasayao, Sibulan, Negros Oriental. The diversity of meiofauna in sites with disturbed and undisturbed sediments in areas with stream inflows was determined in the study area. The substrate coring method was employed in randomly selected points in the littoral zone of the lake. For each sample, the sediments were passed sequentially through a 500-micrometer sieve, then 63-micrometer sieve. The residue retained in the 63- micrometer sieve that was considered as meiofauna. The meiofauna was identified from 4 classes belonging to 5 phyla, namely: Nematoda, Arthropoda, Rotifera, Gastrotricha, and Platyhelminthes. The lake has a Shannon-Wiener diversity value of 1.35, and in sites with and without inflow, Shannon-Wiener diversity values are 1.30 and 1.35, respectively. The t-test results showed no significant differences in terms of meiofauna diversity between areas with and without inflows. The overall result of the study suggests that disturbance brought about by the movement of sediments in areas with inflow minimally affects the meiofauna community. It further implies that since the disturbance is relatively low, the diversity of the meiofaunal species is not at its maximum. © 2021 Author(s).
Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines; University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines
