IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science You may also like PAPER • OPEN ACCESS New record of Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798) from Meru Betiri National Park, East Java, Indonesia To cite this article: V E Susilo et al 2020 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 457 012016 View the article online for updates and enhancements. - PtNi multi-branched nanostructures as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for fuel cell Kai Zhao, Tangjiang Qian, Xiaoyan Bai et al. - Magnetic non-destructive evaluation of ruptures of tensile armor in oil risers J A Pérez-Benitez and L R Padovese - Electrochemical Sensor Based on Au@nitrogen-Doped Carbon Quantum Dots@Ag Core-Shell Composite Including Molecular Imprinted Polymer for Metobromuron Recognition Tuba Raika Kran, Mehmet Lütfi Yola and Necip Atar This content was downloaded from IP address 18.212.246.155 on 15/11/2023 at 03:06 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 New record of Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798) from Meru Betiri National Park, East Java, Indonesia V E Susilo1*, D Wowor2, Suratno1 and M N Abror1 1 Biology Education, Faculty Teacher and Training Education, University of Jember, Jalan Kalimantan 37 Kampus Tegal Boto Jember 68121 2 Division of Zoology, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jalan Raya Jakarta-Bogor Km 46, Cibinong 16911, Indonesia *Corresponding author: vendieko29.fkip@unej.ac.id Abstract. Some freshwater crabs can be found from brackish up to the freshwater habitats. The crab of the family Varunidae, i.e. Varuna litterata (Fabricius, 1798) has unique migration distribution pattern because it is a euryhaline and catadromous species. The Varunid species is distributed throughout the Indo Pacific region. The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of V. litterata in Meru Betiri National Park (MBNP). Specimens were collected along the rivers passing Andongrejo and Bandealit resorts in MBNP by road sampling method on various habitats, and from lowland up to the middle stretch. The collected specimens were preserved in 70% ethanol. V. litterata was found mainly in settlements at lowland area. This species can migrate to the freshwater as far as 31 Km from the coast. During the collecting time, large females were found in coastal area showing this species association with marine life. Keywords: Varuna litterata, varunidae, Meru Betiri National Park, East Java, Indonesia 1. Introduction Crabs have important role in the ecosystem where they live. They are recycling nutrients while scavenging plants and animal material as a part of the food chain [1]. Therefore, crabs become also food for other organisms in their community. There are two families of freshwater crabs in Southeast Asia, i.e. Potamidae and Gecarcinucidae [2]. In addition, three families of marine crabs such as Sesarmidae, Varunidae and Hymenosomatidae have members that spend their adult lives in freshwater [1]. These members are euryhaline and amphidromous; the zoea as a plankton develops in high salinity marine environment, the megalopa which already evolve as a swimmer can tolerate wide range of salinity migrates from the sea through brackish water to freshwater and since then they spend their life in freshwater [3-6]. Later, the adult males and females migrate to the sea for mating and egg production [3]. One of the Varunid members which has this unique life style is Varuna litterata [3-7]. This species is distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region starting from South Africa, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Australia [8, 9]. In Indonesia, V. litterata is found in Halmahera, Moluccas [10], Gorontalo in northern part of Sulawesi [11] and Special Region of Yogyakarta in central part of Java [12]. Record of this species from the eastern part of Java had never been reported before. Almost all records [8, 9, 11, 12] show that V. litterata is encountered in lowland. Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 In this work we report the presence of V. litterata for the first time at the southern coast of East Java which is directly facing the Indian Ocean, the species preferences for habitat, and the ability of the species to migrate inland waters. These basic biological data gained will be very useful for the Meru Betiri National Park decision makers to establish the conservation management for the inland water system. The good conservation management will ensure the sustainable of the life of all inhabitants of this national park. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Sampling locality This research was conducted in two resorts, i.e. Andongrejo and Bandealit in Meru Betiri National Park, Jember Regency, East Java Province, Indonesia. The crab samples were obtained from two rivers, i.e. Andongrejo and Bandealit rivers. The establishment of the sampling site is based on the availability of the habitat type. The sampling sites are coastal area, settlement, farm (orchard and rice field), and monoculture plantation (rubber or coffee). There were 3 sampling sites under Andongrejo resort, i.e. 1 settlement, 1 farm, and 1 primary forest. In Bandealit resort, there were 6 sampling sites i.e. 2 coastal forests, 1 settlement, 1 monoculture plantation, 1 secondary and 1 primary forests. 2.2. Sampling techniques The sampling was conducted scatter between August and October 2018. The samples were collected by using tray net (40 x 60 cm) with road sampling methode [13], 200 meters long for each sampling site. The collected samples were preserved in 70% ethanol to keep the specimens in good condition and they are stored in the Zoological Laboratory, Biological Education, University of Jember. The samples were identified based on morphological characters according to Ng [14]. The characters were checked by using Nikon SMZ745 stereo microscope. The abiotic factors measured were water current velocity, water clarity, water temperature, and elevation. The substrate of the river and surrounding habitat were also noted. After identification, each sample was measured its carapace width in centimetres and sexed. Samples with less and equal to 2.5 cm carapace width are grouped as small, samples with 2.6 cm up to 3.5 cm carapace width are grouped as medium, and samples with 3.6 cm carapace width and larger are grouped as large. Following abbreviation used: m asl = meters above sea level for elevation. 3. Results A total of 52 specimens of V. litterata (Fabricus, 1798) were gained from the rivers in Meru Betiri National Park. The largest male specimen obtained from the settlement area in Andongrejo resort has 4.4 cm carapace width (figure 1), while the largest female found from coastal forest in Bandealit resort has 3.8 cm carapace width. The carapace of V. litterata is squarish, slightly flat with three anterolateral teeth including orbital tooth. The chelipeds are symmetrical. Male crabs have larger chelipeds than the females. Ambulatory legs are long and slender. The last ambulatory leg is very flattened in form of a peddle. The flattened leg enables the crab to swim. The megalopae, on the other hand, are swimming from the estuary area to the freshwater ecosystem by using their relatively large abdomen, pleopods and uropods while walking, climbing and even clinging by using the pereiopods [4]. V. litterata is mostly abundant in the settlement area, both in Andongrejo and Bandealit resorts (table 1). All three sizes and both sexes of V. litterata are found here. The second abundant is in the farm in Andongrejo resort and in the plantation in Bandealit resort. The crab is least abundant in all types of forest in both resorts. In general, more male crabs than the females in Andongrejo, especially at the settlement and farm areas. In Bandealit, the presence of male and female is 17 : 19 which is quite close to balance with a little bit more females. Most of small individuals are found in settlement areas compare to the other habitat types based on resort and river system. 2 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 This crab species can be found up to 223 m asl in the middle stretch and as far as 31 Km from the coat line. However, it prefers lowland such at 61 m asl at settlement area in Andongrejo resort and 14 m asl at settlement area in Bandealit resort. 2 cm Figure 1. Dorsal view of male V. litterata (Fabricus, 1798) Table 1. Distribution of Varuna litterata, elevation dan distance from the coast line Resort Type of habitat Male (individual) Female (individual) Total (individual) Elevation (m asl) Distance (Km) Andongrejo Settlement Farm Primary forest 4S, 1M, 2L 2M, 3L 0 1S 0 1S, 2M 5S. 1M, 2L 2M, 3L 1S, 2M 61 105 223 31 29.75 8.25 Bandealit Coastal forest 1 Coastal forest 2 Settlement Plantation Secondary forest Primary forest 0 1S 8S, 3L 1S 2S 2S 1M, 2L 3S 3S, 1M 5S, 2M 1S 1S 1M, 2L 4S 11S, 1M,3L 6S, 2M 3S 3S 18 27 14 30 57 77 0.5 0.25 5 4.25 5 5.5 4. Discussion The samples from Meru Betiri National Park, East Java, Indonesia were checked with the work of Dr. N. K. Ng [15], an expert in Varunidae. All morphological characters of the samples are fit well with the characters of V. litterata (Fabricius, 1798). Therefore, there is no doubt that the examined samples are indeed V. litterata. V. litterata is a widely distributed species which can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific region [8-12, 14-18], however, this species had never been reported from the eastern part of Java before. Our finding of V. litterata from the southern coast of East Java which is directly facing the Indian Ocean (figure 2) is a new record for Meru Betiri National Park. It is not a surprise since this species prefers areas faced by more oceanic waters [14]. In India, V. littterata is commonly found at the sea on drift logs [18] and the females need go to the deep sea for spawning [15]. Gravid females of this species can be found also in intertidal areas, frequently associated with floating clumps of brown algae, Sargassum spp [14]. The megalopae have 3 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 been known to exhibit swarming behavior when they invade freshwater [3, 4, 16, 18]. Therefore, large females which are probably on the way to the sea for mating and the young ones are entering freshwater were found in the coastal forest of Bandealit resort. Indian Ocean Figure 2. Locations of new record from V. litterata The phenomenon of the migration of V. litterata from marine environment through estuarine is strongly related to the physiological mechanisms. The zoea and the crab stages of this species are stenohaline, they can only survive within a narrow range of salinities. The zoeae need high salinity, while the crabs need zero salinity although during the mating season adult crabs will migrate to the sea. During megalopa and young crab stages they become euryhaline because they are in the estuarine area where the level of salinity is quite variable. The salinity can be low due to rainwater or freshwater input from the river. However, V. litterata is still not successfully in invading freshwater since the larvae still need marine environment with high salinity for their development. Due to this life style, V. litterata can be considered as a euryhaline and a catadromous species. V. litterata was most abundant in settlement areas regardless the distance from the sea. Settelement area in Andongrejo resort is 31 km from the sea, while the settlement area in Bandealit is only 5 km from the coast. The elevations of both settlements are 61 m asl and 14 m asl, repectively. These two areas are considerably low; therefore, it is easy for the crabs to swim up to 31 km from the coast. Previously, V. litterata was found up to 20 km from the sea in completely freshwater [14, 19]. Therefore, this is the first record for V. litterata being able to invade far inland freshwater. In subtropical eastern Australia, V. litterata can be found up to 17 m asl [7], while in the primary forest of Andongrejo resort this species can reach up to 223 m asl. This is also the first record for V. litterata to be found in rather high area at the middle stretch of a river system. This study shows also that V. litterata prefers settlement over farm, plantation and forests. The last choice is all types of forests both in lowland such as coastal forests and in the middle stretch such as secondary and primary forests. This species inhabits several types of substrate, such as mud, sand, stones and rocks (figure 3) that varying characteristics of river conditions with muddy to rocky and sandy conditions. There are plenty of food for the crabs from the domestic waste at the settlements, while the waters in the forests are poor. In India, this crab prefers sandy substrate [20]. 4 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 (a) (b) (c) Figure 3. (a) lowland, (b) and (c) Highland 5. Conclusion This is the first record for V. litterata being present in southern coast of East Java, i.e. Meru Betiri National Park. This species can be found as far as 31 km from the sea in completely freshwater and it can reach up to 223 meters above sea level. This species were abundant in settlement and it was rarely found in the forest. Acknowledgments The first, third and fourth authors thank the Dean of Biology Education, Faculty Teacher and Training Education, University of Jember for supporting the research. The authors are also grateful to the Meru Betiri National Park management for giving permit to do research and collecting specimens in the national park. This work was supported by the grant provided to the first author through Kelompok Riset Pemula scheme of University of Jember 2018. 5 The 3rd International Conference on Biosciences IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 457 (2020) 012016 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/457/1/012016 References [1] Ng P K L 2004 Crustacea: Decapoda, Brachyura Freshwater invertebrates of the Malaysian Region eds C M Yule and H-S Yong (Kuala Lumpur: Academy of Sciences Malaysia) pp 311–336 [2] Klaus S, Selvandran S, Goh J W, Wowor D, Brandis D, Koller P, Schubart C D, Streit B, Meier R, Ng P K L and Yeo D C J 2013 J. Biogeogr. 40 63–74 [3] Connell A D and Robertson W 1986 S. Afr. J. 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