<![CDATA[Abstract. Tebiary LA, Leiwakabessy F, Rumahlatu D. 2022. Species density and morphometric variation of species belonging to Conus (Gastropoda: Conidae) genera in the coastal waters of Ambon Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23: 1664-1676. Genus Conus Linnaeus, 1758 belongs to the class Gastropods, order Neogastropoda, family Conidae, and its presence in marine ecosystem is influenced by multiple environmental factors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the density and morphometric variations of Conus species in the coastal waters of Ambon Island, Indonesia. This study was carried out from March-April 2021 using the purposive sampling method. The environmental parameters: temperature, salinity, pH, and DO of seawater were measured in-situ, the Conus species were identified at the Central Marine Research Laboratory, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Ambon, Indonesia while the density data and morphometric variation were determined quantitatively. The results of environmental physico-chemical parameters showed varying values; temperatures ranged from 25.00-29.50oC, salinity 34.00-35.00‰, pH 6.00-7.53, and dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.00-8.00 mg/L. Meanwhile, 7 Conus species was recorded with the density ranging from C. ebraeus with 0.16-0.18 ind/m2, C. rattus, C. sponsalis, and C. lividus ranging from 0.13-0.11 ind/m2, C. monachus, C. muriculatus, and C. coronatus ranging from 0.10 ind/m2. The results of morphometric measurements including shell length (SL), width (SW), thickness (ST), spire height (SH), shell aperture length (SAL), and aperture width (SAW) showed varying values, while the regression analysis results showed that there was a varied relationship between environmental physicochemical parameters and morphometric variations in Conus species. Furthermore, the physico-chemical parameters such as temperature and DO provided the most effective contribution to all morphometric variables.]]>
