Species diversity, dominance and species richness of the hermit crabs (Crustacean: Paguroidea) in the intertidal zones of Hormuz Island

This study was conducted to survey species diversity, dominance, and richness indices and determines relationship among some sea water and sea bed characteristics with abundance of the hermit crabs in the coastal zones of Hormuz Island. Six stations were selected in intertidal zones during the four seasons (in Summer 2010 to Summer 2011), and sampling was done by hurling random quadrate (9 quadrates 0.5×0.5 m). Physicochemical factors such as pH, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, slope, and the sediment grain size were measured and the correlation between the measurements and abundance of the hermit crabs was calculated by the Spearman rank correlation (Significance for all tests was set at 0.05). PAST software was utilized for calculating species biodiversity indexes (Simpson dominance index, Shannon-Wiener species diversity index, and Margalef richness index). Results indicated that station 4 (western coast of Hormuz Quay) contained the most amount of the biodiversity indices and station 6 (Red soil mine) contained the lowest amount of the biodiversity indices. According to biodiversity indices, station 6 is a difficult and inappropriate habitat for the hermit crabs. Shannon-Wiener species diversity index and Margalef richness index showed negative correlation by slope (in bed) and Simpson dominance index showed positive correlation by percent of sand in bed.