A Taxonomic Survey of a Seagrass Community in the Northern Coast of Semirara Island, Antique

Abstract

The dwindling stature of the ecosystem of today has drawn attention to its neglected aspects. It is only now that people are learning the importance of the seagrass community. The coexistence of Organisms in the estuarine regions has laid a bigger importance on seagrasses, thus, prompting this research. Using three transect lines of 100 meters in length each; a taxonomic survey of the seagrass community in the Northern Coast of Semirara Island, Antique was done. The results of the study show that after having computed for the Shannon's Diversity Index, the index was highest for seagrass (0.6393) while lowest for alga (0.3003). In Site C, the index was lowest for seagrass (0.2788), while highest for alga (0.4369). Likewise, it can be noted that the following species of seagrasses can be found in the sites: Enhalus acoroides, Cymodocea rotunda/a, Cymodocea sp., Halodule pinifolia, Halodule sp., and Halophila ovalis. Meanwhile, the following species of algae were found: Halimeda macroloba, Halimeda sp., Valonia sp., Galaxaura sp., and Dictyota sp. The seagrass community can be characterized by the dominant species, which is the Cymodecea rotundata.