FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

Cerithium zonatum is a dominant species in the intertidal zone around Shi-Lang, Green Island. This study sought to characterize the population dynamics of C. zonatum in this area. The results indicated that the density of C. zonatum was the highest in rocky habitats (7,529 ± 3969 ind./m2), followed by the density in the seagrass bed (3,456 ± 1195 ind./m2) and the density in sand habitats (1,842 ± 1289 ind./m2). Individuals from the different microhabitats were also significantly different in shell length (p < 0.01); specifically, the mean length was 7.28 ± 2.61 mm for snails from the seagrass bed, 7.15 ± 2.03 mm for snails from the sand habitats, and 5.20 ± 2.81 mm for snails from the rocky habitats. In order to evaluate the potential of using C. zonatum as an indicator species of the intertidal in the Green Island, further study of C. zonatum’s basic ecology should be undertaken.