Community Structure and Biodiversity of Intertidal Sandy Beach Macrofauna in Chabahar Bay, Northeast of Oman Gulf, IR Iran

Biodiversity and community structure of macrofauna of the intertidal sandy beach at Chabahar Bay were studied for a period of ten months in 2007. A total of 32 species were observed and identified in this study so that polychaete with 16 species was numerically dominant. The results showed changing densities were influenced by monsoon season so that maximum density (1935.47 ind/m2) was observed at pre-monsoon while minimum (181 ind/m2) was obtained at monsoon. The highest and lowest value of diversity and richness indices were obtained at pre-monsoon and during monsoon, respectively. Also, multivariate analysis separated monsoon season from pre and post monsoon clearly. Our results show that monsoon can be the most important factor on biodiversity and community structure of macrofauna at Chabahar Bay and intertidal of this bay have not favorable environment for macrofauna development.