Vertical Distribution and Density of Coral Fungiidae on Malalayang Waters

Fungiidae known as a solitaire coral, attachment and also free living and has capability of individual move for migrate. Their mobility allows them to expand the area, providing a hard substrate for coral recruitment and shelter for other invertebrates. The objective of this study was to examine the density and distribution of fungiid corals in Malalayang waters. The data were collected from September to December 2012 at four different areas. The results of this study showed that the highest density of fungiid corals were occurred on the front reef study site and mostly by Fungia danai (0,62 ind/m2), compared with other species such as Herpolitha limax (0,25 ind/m2), F. paumotensis (0,19 ind/m2), F. fungites (0,18 ind/m2), F. granulosa (0,18 ind/m2) and with an aggregated pattern of distribution. Fungiid corals found in this study were mostly relatively more on the reef flat compared to the reef slope

Successful Determination of Larval Dispersal Distances and Subsequent Settlement for Long-Lived Pelagic Larvae

Despite its importance, we still have a poor understanding of the level of connectivity between marine populations in most geographical locations. Taking advantage of the natural features of the southeast coast of New Zealand's North Island, we deployed a series of settlement stations and conducted plankton tows to capture recent settlers and planktonic larvae of the common intertidal gastropod Austrolittorina cincta (6–8 week larval period). Satellite image analysis and ground truthing surveys revealed the absence of suitable intertidal rocky shore habitat for A. cincta over a 100 km stretch of coastline between Kapiti Island to the south and Wanganui to the north. Fifteen settlement stations (3 replicates×5 sites), which were used to mimic intertidal habitat suitable for A. cincta, were deployed for two months around and north of Kapiti Island (at 0.5, 1, 5, 15, 50 km). In addition, we also conducted plankton tows at each settlement station when the stations were first deployed to collect A. cincta larvae in the water column. On collection, all newly settled gastropods and larvae in the plankton samples were individually isolated, and a species-specific microsatellite marker was used to positively identify A. cincta individuals. Most of the positively identified A. cincta settlers and larvae were collected at the first three sampling stations (<5 km). However, low numbers of A. cincta settlers and larvae were also recorded at the two more distant locations (15 and 50 km). Dispersal curves modeled from our data suggested that <1% of gastropod larvae would travel more than 100 km. While our data show that most larvae are retained close to their natal populations (<5 km), a small proportion of larvae are able to travel much larger geographic distances. Our estimates of larval dispersal and subsequent settlement are one of only a few for marine species with a long-lived larva

Larval Dispersal of Pocillopora Damicornis at High Latitude Coral Communities

In order to elucidate the patterns of dispersal in scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis near the northern limit of its latitudinal range, a total of 50 colonies (15-25 cm in diameter) of this coral were collected from Ooshima Island, Japan, and transplanted within one hour to the area of Satsuki, where they were not present before. Three concentric areas were established such as; the parental area (PA), intermediate area (IA) and outer area (OA). A total of 831 new corals were found in 1997 while 54.3% of these occurred in PA, 30.5% in IA and 15.1% in OA. In 1998, 52.3% of recruits settled in PA, 30.5% in IA and 17.2% in OA. A significant difference in the density of recruits was found among three areas, but recruit density was not significantly different between years and there was no interaction between area and year. There was no significant difference in the number of recruits among different directions, indicating no tendency for larvae to be concentrated in one particular direction. The present study suggests that the planulae of P. damicornis have limited dispersal distances at high-latitudes© Untuk menjelaskan pola penyebaran karang scleractinia Pocillopora damicornis yang berada di batas Utara penyebarannya, total 50 koloni (15-25 cm) dari karang ini dikumpulkan dari Pulau Ooshima, Jepang, dan di transplantasikan dalam waktu satu jam ke daerah Satsuki yang tidak ditemukan jenis ini. Tiga daerah ditetapkan yaitu, Daerah Induk (PA), Daerah Tengah (IA), dan Daerah Luar (OA). Sebanyak 831 karang baru ditemukan pada tahun 1997, sementara 54,3% ditemukan di PA, 30,5% di IA dan 15,1% di OA. Pada tahun 1998, 52,3% ditemukan di PA, 30,5% di IA, dan 17,2% di OA. Ditemukan perbedaan yang signifikan untuk kepadatan antara ketiga daerah tersebut, tetapi tidak ada perbedaan yang signifikan antar tahun dan tidak ada interaksi antara daerah dan tahun. Tidak ada perbedaan yang signifikan dalam jumlah pada arah yang berbeda sehingga hal ini menunjukkan tidak ada kecenderungan bagi larva untuk terkonsentrasi pada satu arah tertentu. Penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa planula P

Transplantation of Coral Fragment, Acropora Formosa (Scleractinia)

The minimum size of coral transplants, Acropora formosa, was assessed to support their survival and growth. For this, 150 coral fragments of different sizes (5, 10, 15 cm) were transplanted close to the donor colony. Their survivorship and growth were observed for 12 months. At the end of the observation time, 90% of 15 cm-transplanted coral fragments survived, while the others (10cm and 5 cm) did 86% and 82% respectively. The average growth rate of 5 cm-coral fragments was 0.860 cm/month, while 10 and 15 cm-fragments were 0.984 cm/month and 1.108 cm/month respectively. One-way ANOVA showed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) among the three (5, 10, 15 cm) transplant initial sizes in which the longest fragment size tended to survive longer than the smaller one. However, the smaller transplants grew better than the bigger one, 10.318 cm/year (206%) for 5 cm-transplant, 11.803 cm/year (118%) for 10 cm-transplant, and 13.299 cm/year (89%) for 15 cm-transplant, respectively. Ukuran minimal fragmen karang Acropora formosa yang ditransplantasi diduga untuk mendukung ketahanan hidup dan pertumbuhannya. Untuk itu, 150 fragmen karang ditransplantasi ke lokasi yang berdekatan dengan koloni induknya. Ketahanan hidup dan pertumbuhan semua fragmen karang yang ditransplantasi diamati selama 12 bulan. Pada akhir pengamatan, 90% dari fragmen karang berukuran 15 cm yang ditransplantasi dapat bertahan hidup, sedangkan yang lainnya (ukuran 10 cm dan 5 cm) masing-masing sebesar 86% dan 82%. Rata-rata laju pertumbuhan fragmen karang dengan ukuran awal 5 cm adalah 0,860 cm/bulan, sedangkan ukuran fragmen 10 dan 15 cm masing-masing adalah 0,984 cm/bulan and 1,108 cm/bulan. ANOVA satu arah menunjukkan adanya perbedaan yang nyata (p<0.05) antara ketiga ukuran fragmen yang berbeda, di mana ukuran fragmen karang yang lebih panjang cenderung mempunyai ketahanan hidup yang lebih baik. Namun demikian, ukuran transplant yang lebih kecil memiliki pertumbuhan lebih baik dibandingkan dengan ukuran yang lebih besar, yakni10,318 cm/tahun (206%) untuk transplant berukuran 5 cm, 11,803 cm/tahun (118%) untuk 10 cm, dan 13,299 cm/tahun (89%) untuk ukuran 15 cm

Survival and Growth Rates of Transplanted Scleractinian Corals on the Reef Flat at Kalasei Waters, Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi

In order to know survival and growth rates of some scleractinian coral species, 538 colonies from 46 species were collected from the reef which was affected by reclamation activity and transferred to the adjacent reef about 300 meters from the former location. All of the transplanted colonies were observed during 12 months (April 2011 – March 2012). We found that 47 (8.74%) dead coral colonies dominated by branching corals and 491 (91.26%) were dominated by live coral colonies of the growth forms encrusting, folioseandmassive. The highest coral growth (10.59 to 11.32cm/year) was showed by branching Acropora, while the lowest (0.35 to 0.71 cm/year ) was showed by the group of massive-submassive growth form. This study concluded that corals with encrusting, folioseandmassive growth formhad a high survival rate, but they have slow growth ratescompared withbranching growth form. Untuk mengetahui tingkat ketahanan hidup dan pertumbuhan karang Scleractinia, 46 jenis karang Scleractinia yang terdiri dari 538 koloni dikoleksi dari areal terumbu karang yang sementara direklamasi dan ditransplantasi ke area rataan terumbu yang berjarak sekitar 300 meter dari area aktivitas reklamasi di pantai Kalasey dan pengamatan dilakukan selama satu tahun (April 2011 - Maret 2012). Ditemukan 47 (8,74 %) koloni karang yang mati dan didominasi oleh karang bercabang, dan 491 (91,26 %) koloni yang hidup didominasi oleh karang dengan bentuk pertumbuhan encrusting, foliose dan massive. Pertumbuhan karang tertinggi adalah karang bercabang dari kelompok Acropora yaitu 10,59 - 11,32 cm/Tahun, sedangkan terendah adalah kelompok dengan bentuk pertumbuhan massive-submassive yaitu 0,35 - 0,71 cm/Tahun. Penelitian ini memperlihatkan bahwa karang dengan bentuk pertumbuhan encrusting, foliose dan massive memiliki tingkat ketahanan hidup yang lebih tinggi, tetapi memiliki pertumbuhan yang lebih lambat dibandingkan dengan karang bercabang