Benthic Macroinvertebrates Assemblages in the Fish Pond

Abstract

Overall, small holder of fish farmers in Kelantan in particular does not monitor their pond water quality to maintain fish health due to tedious and expensive work. Hence, this study was proposed to identify the assemblages of benthic macroinvertebrates at the fish pond for potential as a tool for water quality assessment via biological indicator. The study area was in one of the small holder fish pond at Gua Musang, Kelantan, Malaysia. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected monthly from March to August 2021. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected by using a heavy-duty D-frame dip net combined with a bag-shaped. The ecological indices were calculated (Shannon diversity index, Margelef’s richness index, Pielou’s evenness index, and Simpson’s dominance index). Results showed a total of 356 individuals from 27 taxa of aquatic insects were collected. Corixidea (Hemiptera) recorded high abundance in July 2021. Even though there were differences in the abundance of benthos for monthly sampling, the season was only a part of the factors that might contribute, however the other factors cannot be neglected such as food availability, water quality and substrates composition conditions. Hopefully the findings could be used by the small holders to assess their pond water quality effectively with minimum cost.