An Investigation on Fluctuations of Intertidal Polychaete worms in two muddy-sandy shores of Bandar Abbas, Persian Gulf

The present study has investigated polychaete worms in a muddy-sandy shore in Bandar Abbas in two sites. The first site which was receiving urban sewage of the city and was next to Terminal was named "Terminal". The second site was next to Goharshad Hotel and was named "Goharshad". Present research was conducted in a one year period starting from July 2005 until June 2006 on a monthly basis. Sampling was done using a hand corer. Results showed that five families of polychaete worms, comprising 6 species, were present as macrofauna in the sites. The identified families were: Nereididae, Nephtyidae, Spionidae, Capitellidae, and Glyceridae. The family Spionidae was most diverse while Nephtyidae were the most abundant family. Results indicated that the polychaete worms were relatively sparse. This was more considerable in high intertidal areas. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the two sites (p>0.05). Also it was clear that main habitat for the polychaete worms is low intertidal zone.