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Abstract
Sandy and rocky beaches are important habitats for crabs, which humans most likely utilize. Characteristics of the crab community depend on the shape of beaches, environmental factors, pollution, habitat loss caused by human threats, and climate change. The structure of the crab community on sandy and rocky beaches of Ko Tao and Ko Nang Yuan consisting of a total of 20 stations with different levels of human threats were studied. The species richness of crabs on sandy beaches were made up of five families, seven genera, and nine species while eight families, 15 genera, and 17 species of crabs were found on rocky beaches. Ao Chalok had the highest Shannon-diversity index on sandy and rocky beaches at 1.922 and 1.561, respectively, due to its habitat diversity. It has been found that human threats affect the crab community on sandy beaches, especially the prevalence of ghost crab. The crab community in each station on rocky beaches was separate, depending on characteristics of the crab habitats.
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References
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