Abundance, biomass and the diet of gastropod Platevindex aff. tigrinus in the mangroves of the Persian Gulf

We studied the abundance, biomass and diet of Platevindex aff. tigrinus in the Hara Biosphere Reserve in the Persian Gulf. The seasonal sampling (two seasons) was conducted in winter 2018 and summer 2019. Samples were collected from six sites in Qeshm Island and Bandar Khamir. To determine the effect of environmental parameters on distribution of the species, temperature, salinity, pH, sediment grain size, total nitrogen and organic carbon were measured at each site. The results showed that the abundance of P. tigrinus was significantly higher in the winter compare to summer season. However, there was no significant difference in the biomass of the species between seasons. The PCA results showed that salinity, temperature and sediment grain size contributed to the separation of between seasons. The pH and total nitrogen followed the similar pattern in different sites and seasons. Although, temperature, salinity, sediment grain size, and organic carbon showed difference between seasons. The results showed that salinity and temperature were two important parameters in the distribution of the species during both seasons. The species was mainly feeding on the microphytobenthos during winter and on the sediment organic matter during summer.