Insects are the most dominant species on the earth with number of known species exceeding over a million (
Harish, 2018). The study’s results found 7 orders and 30 families, with a population of 1,231. The most dominant types of insects are the orders Coleoptera, Hemiptera and Lepidoptera. High diversity index (H'=3.021), high evenness index (E = 0.86243) and low dominance index (D=0.3101) (Table 1). The types of Lepidoptera, Diptera and Hemiptera are majority found around rice fields. Usually, Lepidoptera and Hemiptera are many pests on plants (
Emani, 2018).
Agricultural practices on peatlands require lowering the groundwater level so that plants can grow
(Qurani et al., 2022). The use of peat around Sukamaju village, Malind District and its surroundings for crops dramatically affects the composition of arthropods (
Fasla, 2021) and biodiversity. This agricultural activity is mainly due to chemical fertilizers and pesticides
(Meidalima et al., 2018). The causes of loss of peatland biodiversity are habitat loss, invasion of foreign species, over-exploitation for agriculture, forestry and peat extraction, nutrient pollution and climate change. These arthropods are active in finding food and carrying out reproductive activities. These organisms have a specific time range and temperature for actions during the day to survive (the lowest temperature or highest temperature) (
Susanto, 2000). The first record of insect existence came from the Devonian period (
i.e. 500 million years ago). The first flying insect was traced to the carboniferous period (
i.e. 354 to 295 million years ago). The insects can occupy new habitats and niches where other species cannot occupy by through their unique ability of flight
(Sujayanand et al., 2016).
Natural diversity in rice fields has become important for the community
(Freed et al., 2021). Planting rice varieties are that resistant to types is one of the main obstacles to suppressing pest attacks
(Lestari et al., 2020). Apart from that, people also demand according to their tastes
(Hidayatun et al., 2021). The most common types of insects found are from the Diptera order (Tephritidae), which is one of the pests
(Aryoudi et al., 2015), detrimental to the cultivation of fruit trees (
Ginting, 2007). The high amount of Diptera exists due to the diverse vegetation of various plants such as bananas, papayas, bird’s eye chilies, eggplants, tomatoes, beans and vegetables which can be the host plants. The diversity of vegetation types significantly contributes to arthropods’ existence because arthropods will spend half of their life cycle in a habitat that can provide an optimal amount of food sources as needed (
Kautsar and Alvin, 2015). Coleopteran playing a fundamental ecological role in all type of ecosystems, accounts for 38% of entire insects and about 387,100 species of the Coleopteran are known to exist in the world (
Meena and Kumari, 2023).
Organic farming increases site biodiversity in rice plantations
(Lorenzon et al., 2020); besides, the type of plant or weed will affect insect diversity
(Amarullah et al., 2017) (Pallot et al., 2005). The abundance of species in insects is determined by their reproductive activities, which bolster by suitable areas and meet the needs of food sources
(Hutasuhut et al., 2017). The beneficial insect such predators and parasitoids play crucial role in the agricultural ecosystem by diminishing insect pest populations in the field (
Roy, 2023). Insects such as bees (Trigona spinipes)
(Banik et al., 2023), butterflies (
Nisoniades macarius) and beetles (Pristimerus calcaratus) have been noted to visit flowering plants frequently
(Hamdan et al., 2022). Diversified pollinators maintain the resilience and stability of ecosystems. The diversity in pollinators abundance acts in such a manner that when one pollinator species declines or faces challenges, other species may step in and continue the vital pollination services, minimizing the impact on plant reproduction and ecosystem functioning (
Padhy, 2023). Insect population fluctuations generally show the same trend between different insects, but at the end of the planting season, there is a significant increase, especially in herbivorous insects
(Afifah et al., 2020). Natural enemies, predators and pest parasitoids intercept pest densities below the economic threshold level. It can be functioned as a biological control agent for dangerous species
(Wiranto et al., 2021).
Arthropods from the Arachnida class, order Araneae found at night totaled 2.3 individuals whose species are unknown. Spiders (arachnids) have an essential role as predators, mainly preying on insects, thus playing a role in controlling pest populations
(Samu et al., 2014), while the trapped isopod order is 4.0 individuals (
Normasari, 2012). Predatory arthropods can potentially prevent crop damage from reaching economic levels in agroecosystems. This is because they contribute to the delay in pest population build up as a result of diverse interactions with pest populations
(Wahab et al., 2020).
The existence of dragonflies significantly affects the ecosystem because these organisms are predators. In addition, dragonflies in feeding webs also act as prey for predators, namely spiders, lizards and birds that prey on insects and frogs (
Sigit, 2013). Presences of butterflies act as bio indicators for presence of particular plant species. Immense role of butterfly in pollination, also contribute to biodiversity maintenance
(Simhachalam et al., 2017).The ability of organisms to adapt primarily arises from genotypic variations
(Limpens et al., 2008). Consequently, the plants that inhabit peatlands are limited to highly specialized species and have tight adaptive capacities (
Minayefa, 2017). Revealed the abundance of individuals and species due to several factors, including the type of plants cultivated around peat and plants on peatlands. Monoculture and polyculture influence terrestrial arthropod diversity. Polycultural stands to have the potential to support an enormous species array either through species-specific associations, which are controlled directly by additional tree species
(Utami et al., 2019).
The diversity of fish in peatland swamps and rivers is quite diverse. Fish are considered an important nutritional source among many cultures especially in coastal areas and fish are signified from other meats due to their cheap economical cost and digestibility
(Alotaibi et al., 2023) and the fact that it contains many essential elements like proteins, phosphorus and potassium (
Sit, 2021). This Swamp holds a relatively abundant diversity of fish and aquatic biota. This area is utilized by the local community or people from other regions to carry out fishing activities and it is a favorite place to catch fish, especially Tilapia (
Oreochromis niloticus) and Snapper (
Lates calcalifer). Various types of fish tend to scattered in freshwater waters, whether in swamp areas and river streams (Table 2).
Data in Table 2 above shows that the species diversity in the Swamp ecosystem in Sukamaju Village is lower when compared to other Swamps in Merauke Regency, such as Dogamit Swamp, which managed to identify 15 fish species (
Maloky et al., 2021) and Kaiza Swamp 12 species (
Sentosa and Satria, 2015). Still, almost the same amounts of species were found, namely eleven species in the waters of the Blue Swamp of Wasur National Park (
Harris, 2018). The highest total catch of fish was found at Station II, which was 63% and Station I was only 37%. The location of Station II is a supporting factor for the number of fish found more than other stations. Station II is an area in the form of a stretch of community land, a small portion of which is managed for local village farming. Moreover, various vacant lands have not been optimally utilized for agricultural activities, so swamps and drainage existences around this area have not been widely utilized. The community still carries out a few fishing activities. The abundance of fish at the two research stations in Kampung Sukamaju Swamp waters is presented in the Fig 1.
The percentage of occurrence also influences the distribution of the abundance of each fish species at the study site. Meanwhile, at Station I, 10 fish species were found, while at Station II, there were 11 species.
H. sagor fish (thorn fish) were only found at Station II and were not found at all at Station I and there were 4 species whose numbers were known to be found in large numbers at both stations, namely
O. niloticus, C, striata, C. batrachus and
P. papuensis. The presence of
C. striata is known by the local community under the local name “Gastor” (snakehead fish), be the species with the highest abundance at Station II found as many as 379 individuals and at Station I as many as 217 individuals. The second abundant species is
O. niloticus, with 256 species at Station II and 115 individuals at Station I. The abundance of species and the number of individual fish in the waters of Kampung Sukamaju Swamp can be seen in Fig 1.
Some of the species found are known as introduced species, including tilapia (
O. niloticus), Gastor fish (
C. striata) and Betok fish (
A. testudineus). The existence of this species in the research location needs to be watched out for because it is generally predatory, has omnivorous habits and even has a tendency to shift other communities in local waters. Furthermore,
Sentosa and Satria (2015) added that Gastor fish tend to be found in waters where there are endemic fish such as the Papuan Arowana which is raising Arowana chicks. The two stations did not show a significant difference where at Station I and Station II the diversity index values ranged from 1.7951-1.9401 where this value entered the value 1.0<H’<3.5 and was categorized as having a moderate species diversity value
(Maloky et al., 2021). There were more community activities at Station I than Station II which were considered to have a different effect on the diversity of fish species at this second station.
Sriwidodo
et al. (2013) added that the composition and abundance of fish can also be affected by seasonal changes. Seasonal changes will affect environmental parameters such as temperature, pH and brightness. Based on the measurement results, it was found that the pH range was between 5-7, for temperatures between 28-35°C and the brightness for sunlight penetration was between 65-160 cm. The uniformity index value (E) has a slight difference where the uniformity index at Station I is 0.8090. This value indicates that the E value at Station I is in a stable condition with a high uniformity value (0.6 < E ≤1.0), the same value is shown for the uniformity index (E) at Station II worth 0.7224 so it is included in the category community and the value of equity is high and is in a stable condition. On the other hand, the dominance index value (C) shows a different trend, where at station I the C value is 0.1922 and station II is 0.2234. Both dominance index values are in 1 value range, namely 0 < C ≤ 0.5 and categorized as low dominance for each species. So, the relative diversity and uniformity values are classified as moderate, stable and inversely proportional to the dominance index, where no single species dominates at the two research stations. Other fishery potential besides fish found in the waters of Kampung Sukamaju, there are also various aquatic plants and macrobenthos.
Fauna found in this research site not just limited with fish species but also we had successfully identified the macrobenthos in Sukamaju Village Swamp. There are 2 classes consist of 6 family and 8 species (Table 3). Mostly of the family belongs to Class of Gastropods, meanwhile another 2 family belongs to Class of Bivalve.
At Station I the percentage of presence reached 43%, while for Station II it reached 57%. However, the number of species found at Station I was much less, namely as many as 5 species, compared to Station II which reached 7 species. The environment of aquatic plants in the same time supporting the existence of organism such as gastropooda and bivalve. The characteristic of Station II is the location less of human acitivity and found many tree and aquatic plants in the edge of the swamp. However, the tren had show the same pattern with the numbers of fish. The abundance of molluscs in Stations I and II came from 2 significant classes of the
Mollusc phylum, namely the Gastropod Class and the Bivalve Class. The most common species of
P. ampullacea were found both at Station I and Station II, namely 64 individuals at Station I and 119 individuals at Station II, followed by
P. canaliculata species with 77 individuals at Station I and 86 individuals at Station II, while the species
Pilsbryoconcha exilis (initially looks like
Sinanodonta woodiana) at Station I as many as 56 individuals and Station II as many as 74 individuals. Based on the presence of species, it can be seen that there were 3 species not found at Station I, namely
F. javanica, A. helena and
P. grandis, while at Station II, the species
P. erosa was the only species not found (Fig 2).
The existence of these clams or bivalves which are generally known as mussels from the Unionidae family are known as clams that have relatively large valves. It also spread from the islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Bali, Madura and Papua (
Marwoto and Isnaningsih, 2014;
Astari et al., 2018). According to
Louloulia et al., (2018) the presence of bivalves in nature is closely related to environmental parameters, where it is known that the total organic matter content influences their presence in sediments which ranges from 80-94% when compared to the total organic matter content in water. This means that the presence of sediment has a stronger influence on the abundance of mussels in their habitat. The same pattern molluscs show is similar to the community structure found in other organisms such as fish. The existence of bivalves, especially the species
P. exilis and
P. erosa, is also influenced by the presence of fish as a medium for growth in one of their breeding stages. Before settling in the substrate habitat, bivalves during the glochidia stage will make fish as hosts, which generally attach to the gills of fish in these waters
(Louloulia et al., 2018; Thorn, 2023).
