Struktur Komunitas Bentos dan Kaitannya dengan Siklus Pasang Surut di Estuari Belawan Provinsi Sumatera Utara

Abstract

Estuaries are semi-enclosed coastal ecosystems, as transition areas between fresh water originating from rivers and salt water from the sea. Increasing human and industrial activities have increased the potential risk of reducing the quality of the environment and humans due to the pollution it causes. Benthic community structure can be described through its diversity and abundance. The aim of this research is to determine the structure of the benthic community and the relationship between the condition of the benthic community structure and tides in the Belawan Estuary, North Sumatra Province. This research was carried out from September to November 2023. The research method used was the random purposive sampling method. The research results obtained in total amounted to 1869 individuals consisting of 4 phyla, 5 classes, 29 families and 36 species. The highest diversity index value spatially at high tide is at station 3, namely 1.97 in the medium category and the lowest diversity index value is at station 7, namely 0.64 in the low category. Meanwhile, the highest diversity index value at low tide is at station 1, namely 1.89 in the medium category and the lowest diversity index value is at station 6, namely 0.23 in the low category. The spatial relationship between water environmental parameters at high tide and benthic diversity in the Belawan Estuary shows that the salinity correlation value has a strong relationship and at high tide temporally the salinity and DO parameters have a very strong relationship. Meanwhile, the correlation value of temperature with benthic diversity at low tide temporally has a strong relationship and depth is classified as negative with a strong relationship.