Coral Fishes of Chaetodontidae in North Salawaty and South Batanta Districts, Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua Province

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the general condition of Chaetodontidae fish in North Salawati and South Batanta Districts, i.e. species composition and number of species, abundance and density of individuals, as well as ecological indices. Data were collected by using Visual Census method with a 70 m-transect, width 2.5 m to the left and 2.5 m to the right. Therefore, the total area observed was 350 m2. This study found 6 (six) genera with 32 species and total abundance of 791 individuals, Chaetodon, Chelmon, Coradion, Heniochus, Hemitaurichthys and Forcipiger. Based on number of species, the studied area had highly diverse coral fish species. Chaetodon lunulatus and C. kleinii were the most species found with the highest number of individuals. Station KBS01 had highest number of species and individual abundance. Diversity index was 2 < H' < 3 meaning that the coral fish communities in both districts were stable