Ostracods and foraminifera are excellent indicators of environmental change and can act as proxies for the presence of seagrass meadows. These proxies have been under-utilized in vulnerable coastal ecosystems in South-east Asia, and the fundamental habitat and environmental parameters required for such application in environmental monitoring have not yet been established. We investigated the habitat preferences of ostracods and foraminiferal species in seagrass and non-seagrass habitats within Sungai Pulai Estuary (Johor, Malaysia), a system currently undergoing major coastal changes. Samples consisted of surficial and downcore sediments collected from two seagrass meadows and a non-seagrass habitat. Multivariate analysis determined the variations in spatial and depth distribution of the meiofauna. Species dominance, abundance and distribution varied between sites, whereas diversity and community structure varied with sediment depth. We found fewer ostracod individuals (N = 1133) than foraminifera (N = 7242). Ostracods were more species-diverse (H′ = 3.34) in the non-vegetated area compared with seagrass areas (H′ = 2.74), whereas foraminifera species were most diverse (H′ = 3.60) in seagrass areas. Opportunistic species, such as Loxoconcha lilljeborgii, Asterorotalia pulchella, Murrayinella globosa, Ammonia tepida and Elphidium neosimplex dominated the meiofaunal assemblages. The presence of Nummulitidae and Paracyprididae in downcore samples provided information related to rare species and families. Salinity, organic matter and percentage of sand explained much of the meiofaunal distribution. Our findings provide new insight into the factors influencing the presence and distribution of ostracods and foraminifera in the estuary, comprising baseline information for understanding the vulnerability of such habitats to anthropogenic changes.

中文翻译：

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热带河口海草和非海草系统中底栖介形虫和有孔虫的物种组成和栖息地偏好

介形类动物和有孔虫是环境变化的极好指标，可以作为海草草甸存在的代表。这些代理在东南亚脆弱的沿海生态系统中没有得到充分利用，在环境监测中应用此类应用所需的基本栖息地和环境参数尚未确定。我们调查了 Sungai Pulai 河口（马来西亚柔佛州）海草和非海草栖息地中介形类和有孔虫物种的栖息地偏好，该系统目前正在经历重大的沿海变化。样品包括从两个海草草地和一个非海草栖息地收集的地表和地下沉积物。多变量分析确定了小型动物的空间和深度分布的变化。物种优势，不同地点的丰度和分布不同，而多样性和群落结构随沉积物深度而变化。我们发现的介形虫个体 (N = 1133) 少于有孔虫 (N = 7242)。介形类动物的物种更多样化（H' = 3.34) 在非植被区与海草区 (H' = 2.74），而有孔虫种类最多样化（H' = 3.60) 在海草区。机会主义物种，例如蝾螈,红星星,球墨雷氏菌,氨水和Elphidium neosimplex主导了小型动物群落。下核样本中的 Nummulitidae 和 Paracyprididae 的存在提供了与稀有物种和科相关的信息。盐度、有机质和沙子的百分比解释了小型动物分布的大部分原因。我们的研究结果为影响河口介形类和有孔虫的存在和分布的因素提供了新的见解，包括了解这些栖息地对人为变化的脆弱性的基线信息。