Publication Date:
2024-03-12
Description:
Marine lakes are bodies of seawater that are land-locked and maintain a subterranean connection to
\nthe surrounding sea. Here, we document the species diversity of benthic molluscs in 11 marine lakes in Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, using the roving diving survey method. We specifically tested for
\nrelationships between species richness and lake size and the degree of connection to the surrounding sea,
\nand tested potential environmental drivers of community structure. We recorded 73 species, belonging to
\nthe classes Gastropoda (48 species, comprising 36 genera and 25 families), Bivalvia (24 species, consisting
\nof 17 genera and 12 families), and Polyplacophora (one species). Molluscs from marine lakes are a subset
\nof species also occurring in coral, seagrass, mangrove, and rocky shore habitats in the open sea. We
\nfound lake communities to mostly consist of grazers and filter feeders. The number of mollusc species
\nsignificantly increased with increasing connection to the surrounding sea, but not with increasing surface
\narea, indicating that dispersal potential may be the main driving force. Furthermore, we observed no
\nsignificant influence of the environment on the variation in mollusc species composition among marine
\nlakes. Still, we observed certain species to be exclusively present in either high or low-connected lakes,
\nindicating a potential effect of environmental filtering. Marine lakes provide a unique ecosystem for
\ndiverse mollusc assemblages and as such should be protected.
Keywords:
anchialine system \xe2\x80\x93 biodiversity \xe2\x80\x93 bivalves \xe2\x80\x93 gastropods \xe2\x80\x93 marine island biogeography
Repository Name:
National Museum of Natural History, Netherlands
Type:
info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Format:
application/pdf
