The Impact of Coral Bleaching on Coral Reef Fishes in Sekotong Bay, West Lombok Regency

Coral reef fish is one of the main components making up the ecosystem of coral reefs. There is a strong mutual dependence between reef-forming corals and fish that inhabit coral reefs. Various fish species use coral as a food source and habitat. This article describes the impact of coral bleaching on the diversity, density, and biomass of coral reef fish in the waters of Sekotong Bay, West Lombok. Underwater visual census (UVC) methods are used to obtain data on species, the number of individuals per species, and fish size at transect length 70 meters and width 5 meters. Simple linear regression analysis that is used to assess the impact of coral bleaching on the condition of coral reef fish shows that coral bleaching affects the diversity and density of reef fish. This analysis also showed that coral bleaching affected herbivorous fish biomass but not carnivorous fish. This study concludes that the degradation of coral fish in the Sekotong Bay of West Lombok occurs due to various factors, especially the declining health conditions of coral reef

Assessing the Condition of Coral Reefs and the Indicator Fish (Family: Chaetodontidae) in Coastal Waters of Jayapura City, Papua Province, Indonesia

The aim of this study was to find out the condition of coral reef coverage and the presence of Chaetodontidae fish in coastal waters of Jayapura City, Indonesia. The observation of coral reef coverage was performed using point intercept transect (PIT) method; meanwhile the observation of the presence of Chaetodontidae fish used visual census method. The result of this study described that coral reef condition in the study site was in severely damage (live coral 0%) in the DOK II site at 6 m depth, moderately damage (live coral 32.00% ±  2.13% to 42.00% ± 13.18%) in Kayu Pulo Island and the DOK II at 3 m depth, and good condition (live coral  56.00% ± 7.48% to 60.00% ± 5.55%) in the Tanjung Kayu Batu. There were 9 Chaetodontidae fish species from  Chaetodon genus, Forcipiger genus, and Heniochus genus. The number of Chaetodontidae fish was 95, of which Heniochus acuminatus was the most dominant, as many as 46 individuals. &nbsp

Reef fishes of Saba Bank, Netherlands Antilles : Assemblage structure across a gradient of habitat types

Saba Bank is a 2,200 km2 submerged carbonate platform in the northeastern Caribbean Sea off Saba Island, Netherlands Antilles. The presence of reef-like geomorphic features and significant shelf edge coral development on Saba Bank have led to the conclusion that it is an actively growing, though wholly submerged, coral reef atoll. However, little information exists on the composition of benthic communities or associated reef fish assemblages of Saba Bank. We selected a 40 km2 area of the bank for an exploratory study. Habitat and reef fish assemblages were investigated in five shallow-water benthic habitat types that form a gradient from Saba Bank shelf edge to lagoon. Significant coral cover was restricted to fore reef habitat (average cover 11.5%) and outer reef flat habitat (2.4%) and declined to near zero in habitats of the central lagoon zone. Macroalgae dominated benthic cover in all habitats (average cover: 32.5 – 48.1%) but dominant algal genera differed among habitats. A total of 97 fish species were recorded. The composition of Saba Bank fish assemblages differed among habitat types. Highest fish density and diversity occurred in the outer reef flat, fore reef and inner reef flat habitats. Biomass estimates for commercially valued species in the reef zone (fore reef and reef flat habitats) ranged between 52 and 83 g/m2. The composition of Saba Bank fish assemblages reflects the absence of important nursery habitats, as well as the effects of past fishing. The relatively high abundance of large predatory fish (i.e. groupers and sharks), which is generally considered an indicator of good ecosystem health for tropical reef systems, shows that an intact trophic network is still present on Saba Bank

Connectivity between coastal habitats of two oceanic Caribbean islands as inferred from ontogenetic shifts by coral reef fishes

Mangroves and seagrass beds are considered important nursery habitats for juveniles of coral reef fishes. Studies have mostly focused on the fish community of just one habitat, so the connectivity between different coastal habitats is often unclear. In this study, density and size of reef fish were determined using a single sampling technique in four non-estuarine bay habitats and four reef zones in Curaçao and Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles). The data indicate that of the complete reef fish community at least 21 species show ontogenetic crossshelf shifts in habitat utilization. The 21 species mainly utilized shallow-water habitats (mangroves, seagrass beds, channel and shallow reef) as nursery habitats and the deeper coral reef zones (\u3e 5 m depth) as adult lifestage habitats. Fish species utilized 1–3 different nursery habitats simultaneously, but habitat utilization clearly differed between species. Previous studies showed that the dependence on these nursery habitats is very high, based on reduced density or absence of adults on coral reefs where these habitats were absent. The strong connectivity between several coastal habitats during the ontogeny of various commercially important reef fish species is evidence for the inclusion of bay habitats within boundaries of fishery reserves or marine protected areas

Coral Reef Fish and Plankton Diversity Toward Coral Reef Coverage in Panjang Island of Anak Krakatoa Mountain

The coral reef is part of the marine ecosystem that important because of its role as a source of life, especially for marine variety creatures. This study aims to determine the relationship of the diversity of reef fish and plankton to coral reef cover on the Panjang Island of Anak Krakatoa Mount, Lampung. Line Intercept Transect used for retrieval of coral reef data and the Underwater Visual Census method for collecting coral reef fish data. Diversity and dominance index are utilized to analyze correlations between them. A good coral reef is obtained at point 2 (5 meters in depth) while at other points the condition of the coral reef is classified as moderate. The highest number of fish is found at point 1 (5 meters in depth) with 56 individuals. The highest plankton diversity is 3.04 Index whereas located at point 2 (0 meters in depth). They have a positive correlation (0.955-coral reef coverage with fishes, 0.916-diversity of reef fish and coral reefs, 0.833-diversity of reef fish with plankton) upon their relationship

Fish Assemblages Associated with Coral Patch Reef Communities at San Salvador, Bahamas

The coral reef ecosystems of tropical seas provide the greatest diversity of all aquatic realms in terms of sheer numbers of species as well as microhabitats. Over the last 30 years, reef fish ecologists have attempted to eludicate processes accounting for the great biodiversity among fishes found on coral reefs. Theories and models ranging from recruitment-based stochastic nonequilibria! assemblages to models based solely on habitat structure have been proposed and debated. However, it is widely accepted that both recruitment and post-settlement processes shape an assemblage of reef fish. My study examined the reef fish assemblages of three contrasting patch coral reefs at San Salvador, Bahamas, and examined the potential role of each - reef\u27s coral community in structuring its fish assemblage. The three reefs were found to differ in terms of coral cover and dominant coral species, but not coral species richness or diversity (H\u27). Significant differences were also found among fish assemblages, in terms of mean fish counts, species richness, diversity, and counts within families and feeding guilds. The patch reefs at Rice Bay consistently showed lower fish abundance and so showed the lowest coral cover. A number of correlations were found linking fish variables with coral variables, especially at relatively impoverished Rice Bay, suggesting associations between reef fish abundance and coral habitat variables such as scleractinian and total coral cover. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed relationships between fish species abundances and select coral variables at Rice Bay and Lindsay Reef. However, establishing strong relationships among fish community and coral community characteristics remains elusive. i

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary: A rapid assessment of coral, fish, and algae using the AGRRA Protocol

The Flower Garden Banks are topographic features on the edge of the continental shelf in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. These banks are approximately 175 km southeast of Galveston, Texas at 28° north latitude and support the northernmost coral reefs on the North American continental shelf. The East and West Flower Garden Banks (EFG and WFG) and Stetson Bank, a smaller sandstone bank approximately 110 km offshore, are managed and protected as the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS). As part of a region-wide initiative to assess coral reef condition, the benthic and fish communities of the EFG and WFG were assessed using the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol. The AGRRA survey was conducted during a week-long cruise in August 1999 that was jointly sponsored by the FGBNMS and the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF). A total of 25 coral transects, 132 algal quadrats, 24 fish transects, and 26 Roving Diver (REEF) surveys were conducted. These surveys revealed reefs with high coral cover, dominated by large, healthy corals, little macroalgae, and healthy fish populations. The percent live coral cover was 53.9 and 48.8 at the WFG and EFG, respectively, and the average colony diameter was 93 and 81 cm. Fish diversity was lower than most Caribbean reefs, but large abundances and size of many species reflected the low fishing pressure on the banks. The benthic and fish assemblages at the EFG and WFG were similar. Due to its near pristine conditions, the FGB data will prove to be a valuable component in the AGRRA database and its resulting scale of reef condition for the region. (PDF contains 22 pages.

Climate warming, marine protected areas and the ocean-scale integrity of coral reef ecosystems

Coral reefs have emerged as one of the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate variation and change. While the contribution of a warming climate to the loss of live coral cover has been well documented across large spatial and temporal scales, the associated effects on fish have not. Here, we respond to recent and repeated calls to assess the importance of local management in conserving coral reefs in the context of global climate change. Such information is important, as coral reef fish assemblages are the most species dense vertebrate communities on earth, contributing critical ecosystem functions and providing crucial ecosystem services to human societies in tropical countries. Our assessment of the impacts of the 1998 mass bleaching event on coral cover, reef structural complexity, and reef associated fishes spans 7 countries, 66 sites and 26 degrees of latitude in the Indian Ocean. Using Bayesian meta-analysis we show that changes in the size structure, diversity and trophic composition of the reef fish community have followed coral declines. Although the ocean scale integrity of these coral reef ecosystems has been lost, it is positive to see the effects are spatially variable at multiple scales, with impacts and vulnerability affected by geography but not management regime. Existing no-take marine protected areas still support high biomass of fish, however they had no positive affect on the ecosystem response to large-scale disturbance. This suggests a need for future conservation and management efforts to identify and protect regional refugia, which should be integrated into existing management frameworks and combined with policies to improve system-wide resilience to climate variation and change

Studi Keterkaitan Komunitas Ikan Karang Dengan Kondisi Karang Tipe Acropora Di Perairan Sidodadi Dan Pulau Tegal, Teluk Lampung Kab. Pesawaran, Provinsi Lampung

Coral reefs are complex ecosystems and providing habitat for reef fish communities. The purpose of this study was to know the relationship or betwen of Acropora coral condition with reef fish communities in waters Sidodadi and Tegal island, Bay Lampung, district of Pesawaran, Lampung. This research was conducted in April 2010. The observation method of coverage of coral reefs were by using LIT (Line Intercep transcet) method and monitoring of the abundance of reef fish communities by using UVS (Under Water Visual Sensus) method. The pattern of relationship between the reef fish communities with the condition of coral Acropora was analyzed by using simple linear regression method. Percentage coverage of coral reefs in the study sites ranged from 67,80 - 92,30%, and could be categorized as good to excellent. Community structure of Reef fish was in stable condition with the amount of each individual of species\u27s is spread evenly and no domination species. Attendance rate of reef fish between the island of Tegal and Sidodadi waters had similarity as indicated by Dice index value 0,7. The conditions of coral acropora had positive linkage with reef fish abundance except for coral Acropora tabular type