Assessment of species composition and abundance of selected marine invertebrates in Pulau Layang Layang, Malaysia

Marine invertebrates were surveyed at eight sites at Pulau Layang Layang Malaysia on May 2009. The purpose of this study was to establish a list of selected marine invertebrate species found in Pulau Layang Layang waters as well as to rank those species according to abundance. Data on sighting frequency, species composition and abundance of the selected invertebrate species were collected using a roving diver technique. A total of 37 invertebrate species were recorded. The top five most frequent species sighted were Tridacna sp. (giant clams), Acanthaster planci (crown-of-thorns starfish), Trochus sp. (top shells), Choriaster granulatus (granular sea stars) and Phyllidia sp. (nudibranch). Species richness, according to the number of species sighted during each survey, was found to be highest at the Tunnel site and lowest at the Reefball site. This study also examined species distribution across different depth ranges. The majority of the species (33 out of 37) could be found between the depth of one to ten metres. It is hoped that these results can be utilised to produce a proper monitoring and better conservation management plan for Pulau Layang Layang