Preliminary Study: Genetic Population of Calcinus elegans in the South Coast of Java Island Based on Sequence COI Gene

摘要

The south coast of Java Island is comprised of rocky beaches and tidal flats that are habitats for hermit crabs. One of these is Calcinus elegans, which has high economic value as an aquarium ornament, with a greater potential for Indonesian income from export trading. These organisms have an important role in their ecosystem as detritus and scavengers. This study was conducted to determine the genetic population of C. elegans based on sequences of COI mitochondrial DNA. Fifty-four samples of Garut, 43 of Yogyakarta and 47 of Banyuwangi populations were successfully amplified using universal primers LCO 1490 and HCO 2198. Gene diversity and nucleotides are not significant among populations, while genetic diversity among populations was interpreted by shared haplotype. The number of shared haplotypes among the three populations is 12 haplotypes with 90 samples included with a proportion 62.5% from all samples. This shows that there are large interactions among populations. This interaction is indicated by haplotypes, polymorphic sites, and heterozygosity. The Banyuwangi population has a lower intensity interaction than the others. However, the three populations come from one ancestor.