MEGABENTHOS DIVERSITY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH SEAGRASS COVER IN THE SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM OF PAPAGARANG ISLAND, KOMODO NATIONAL PARK

• Main Author: Ibrahim Miftahulhuda, Muhammad
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/57841
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Seagrass is a plant that lives in coastal areas at water depths of 0.5 to 10 meters. Interactions between biotic and abiotic components in seagrass beds form a seagrass ecosystem. The ecosystem is a habitat for various groups of organisms, including megabenthos. Megabenthos are invertebrate animals that live in or on the surface of the substrate and are larger than 1 cm in size. This group of animals is easy to be found in waterbodies with good quality water and well-maintained conditions, for example in conservation areas such as the Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara. The aims of this study were: (1) to describe the megabenthos community on the coast of Papagarang Island, Komodo National Park; (2) to compare the condition of megabenthos communities in locations near and far from settlement areas; and (3) to analyze the relationship between seagrass cover and megabenthos diversity. Megabenthos communities were described based on composition, abundance, richness, evenness and species diversity. Data was collected in January 2021 at two different stations, namely Station 1 which was close to the settlement, and Station 2 which was located a little further from the settlement area. The method used for seagrass vegetation analysis was the SeagrassWatch method, namely by making three transects 50 meters in length towards the sea and at each 5 meter interval, 50x50 cm square plot is made. The species and seagrass cover in each plot were then recorded. The distance between parallel transects is 25 m. Megabenthos data sampling was carried out using the benthos belt transect method, namely by making three transects 70 meters in length towards the sea, then recording the megabenthos found with an observation distance of 1 meter to the left and right of the transect. The results showed that there were at least 10 megabenthos species, namely Synapta maculata, Holothuria scabra, Diadema setosum, Echinothrix calamaris, Brissus latecarinatus, Protoreaster nodosus, Fromia milleporella, Nassarius graphiterus, Cymbiola vespertilio, and Melo sp. Megabenthos abundance at Station 1 was 0.298 individuals/m2, at Station 2 was 0.112 individuals/m2 and the combined abundance from both stations was 0.410 individuals/m2. The megabenthos diversity index at Station 1 is 0.950 and was classified as low, at Station 2 was 1.460 and was classified as moderate, while the composite diversity index is 1.175 and can be classified as moderate. Megabenthos evenness index at Station 1 is 0.489, at Station 2 is 0.701, and the evenness index of both location was 0.510. The correlation value between seagrass cover and megabenthos diversity of 0.783 indicates a strong relationship; with a coefficient of determination of 0.614. The results of this analysis indicate that an increase in seagrass cover tends to be followed by an increase in the diversity of megabenthos.