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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2015; 3(3): 255-257
E-ISSN: 2320-7078
P-ISSN: 2349-6800
JEZS 2015; 3(3): 255-257
© 2015 JEZS
Received: 10-04-2015
Accepted: 15-05-20105
Abid A Ansari
Department of Biology, Faculty
of Sciences, University of Tabuk,
Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence:
Abid A Ansari
Department of Biology, Faculty
of Sciences, University of Tabuk,
Tabuk, 71491, Saudi Arabia
Relative density of Istiblennius dussumieri along
some selected coastal sites of the Red Sea, Tabuk,
Saudi Arabia
Abid A Ansari
Abstract
Rock skippers (Istiblennius dussumieri) are important for their biological and ecological studies and used
as potential indicator to investigate the ecological conditions of coastal waters. They are considered as an
important tool for the environmental monitoring and assessments of coastal aquatic ecosystems. In this
study we measured relative density of rock skipper at 3 sampling stations namely Haql, Sharmaa and
Duba in varying environmental conditions of Tabuk during the year 2014. The results of this study
showed a direct relation between relative densities of rock skipper in response to monthly variations in
climatic conditions of Tabuk. Rock skippers are very sensitive to aquatic environmental conditions and
their potential would help the researchers working on this species.
Keywords: Rockskipper; Relative density; Bio-indicator; Coastal waters
1. Introduction
Rock skippers are studied as a bio-indicator in environmental monitoring and impact
assessments of various contaminants in coastal waters
[1]
. This potential would be beneficial
for new researches on this species especially for its ecological importance in detecting
pollution levels in coastal water ecosystems
[2]
. The behavioral, physiological, histological, and
embryological changes in rockskippers are considered as strong indicators for the monitoring
and assessment of coastal water quality. They are strongly capable to accumulate higher
concentrations of water contaminants in their body tissues
[3]
. The species is limited to humid
environment only and they have adopted amphibians like habits and habitats, as they respire
through skin
[4, 5]
. Reproductive behavior and life cycle patterns of rock skippers have been
studied by various workers
[6, 7]
. To evaluate the population and community structure of the
rock skipper’s different parameters like relative density, abundance, frequency, growth and
mortality are used. Some of the species are now considered as endangered due to perturbation
in their natural habitat and contamination of costal environments
[8]
. Human and rock skipper
interact with each other due to their tolerance to organic pollution and habitats close to the
coastal settlements of human population
[9]
.
2. Materials and Methods
Three coastal stations of the Red Sea viz. Haql (29
o
17’9.9” N 34
o
56’ 18.9” E), Sharmaa (28
o
1’ 27.9” N 35
o
16’ 9.9” E) and Duba (27
o
20’ 57.3” N 35
o
41’ 46.2” E) were selected for this
study (Fig.1). Relative density of I. dussumieri was studied on monthly basis (January 2014 to
December 2014) to investigate the impact of varying environmental conditions on species
structure. After every 300 meters five sampling sites from each station (Haql, Sharmaa and
Duba) were selected starting from the residential area of the city near to the sea coast.
Qualitative survey for the relative density of I. dussumieri along the selected coastal areas of
the Red Sea was carried out using quadrates of 1m
2
. At each site five sampling quadrates were
studied as replicates.
Relative density was calculated as:
Total number of individuals of I. dussumieri in all the sampling units
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- × 100
Total number of sampling units studied