Environmental Management
E.D. Lusiana; S. Astutik; N. Nurjannah; A.B. Sambah
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Conservation efforts are often prioritized on a large spatial scale because information about local ecosystems is frequently lacking. Therefore, comprehensive spatial classification of a region’s environmental characteristics is essential for effective marine conservation. ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Conservation efforts are often prioritized on a large spatial scale because information about local ecosystems is frequently lacking. Therefore, comprehensive spatial classification of a region’s environmental characteristics is essential for effective marine conservation. This study aimed to construct geophysical and chemical environmental delineation of the Lesser Sunda Islands which are located in Indonesia. This area is an ecoregion in the coral triangle that has been a primary concern of global biodiversity conservation strategies.METHODS: This study utilized eleven global environmental variables that were accessed from global marine databases. After performing a principal component analysis, a fuzzy C-means clustering technique was used to classify the region into groups based on environmental characteristics in term of seasonal variability. It was expected that the areas within each group would have identical attributes and ecological processes.FINDINGS: The results suggested that the marine environmental factors in Lesser Sunda can be simplified using a principal component analysis technique: 6 principal component factors explained 81.06 percent of the overall raw data variability for the wet season, and 7 principal component variables explained 84.51 percent of the overall raw data variability for the dry season. Then, the area can be delineated into 5 groups (wet season) and 10 groups (dry season) with different environmental characteristics. This method's classified groups principally inferred the Indian Ocean and Bali Sea, Savu Sea and Flores Sea, and Banda Sea as distinct clusters. In particular, the group that included the Indian Ocean had characteristics including lower nitrate and sea surface temperature concentrations, as well as higher potential hydrogen salinity and distance from the shore.CONCLUSION: The findings of this study showed that the single marine conservation area in Lesser Sunda is not sufficient to adequately represent the physicochemical dynamics in the area. The proposed delineation result will supplement the existing bioregion classification of marine areas, such as the Marine Ecoregions of the World. Moreover, it is also consistent with existing conservation programs, including the notable national marine protected areas of the Savu Sea. Nevertheless, the acknowledged biogeographic group of the Indian Ocean indicates that countries must work together to successfully manage marine protected areas and achieve their conservation objectives. This work serves as a baseline for both academic research and ecological assessment, and it will contribute to marine protected areas strategies and conservation efforts in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
Environmental Science
S. Arsad; Y.W. Mulasari; N.Y. Sari; E.D. Lusiana; Y. Risjani; M. Musa; M. Mahmudi; F.S. Prasetiya; L.A. Sari
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Biodiversity is the variety of life that exists on Earth, including all the organisms, species, and populations that come together in a complex manner to form communities and ecosystems. This study aimed to assess the diversity of microalgae in several different sub-habitats ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Biodiversity is the variety of life that exists on Earth, including all the organisms, species, and populations that come together in a complex manner to form communities and ecosystems. This study aimed to assess the diversity of microalgae in several different sub-habitats by identifying their types and abundance in sediments, mangroves, macroalgae, and water columns; additionally, this study analyses the environmental factors that affected the abundance of microalgae in several sub-habitats.METHODS: This study used a quantitative descriptive method with data collection techniques, incorporating the purposive sampling method. Data were analysed using non-metric multidimensional scaling.FINDINGS: The results showed that the composition of microalgae species found in the sub-habitats of sediments, mangroves, macroalgae, and water columns at Siwil Beach were the class of Bacillariophyceae (70%), Chlorophyceae (17%), and Cyanophyceae (13%) in all sub-habitats. In Sempu Island, microalgae were found only from Bacillariophyceae (100%) in the four sub-habitats. The highest abundance of microalgae on Siwil Beach was in the sub-habitat of mangroves, with a total of 5,423,073 cells/cm2, while the highest abundance in Sempu Island was in the sub-habitat of macroalgae, with a value of 1,986,252 cells/cm2. Moreover, based on non-metric multidimensional scaling analyses, there was no similarity of algae diversity between Siwil Beach and Sempu Island, with a high variation of microalgae.CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that the class Bacillariophyceae dominated the communities of microalgae found both in Siwil Beach and Sempu Island. Moreover, factors that mainly affected the abundance of microalgae were environmental, which is already proven by the measurement of water quality in each sub-habitat at both locations. Siwil Beach and Sempu Island water quality was relatively still under the Indonesian national quality standard for seawater. This research is thought to be the first step in exploring the diversity of microalgae in several sub-habitats in East Java, Indonesia, and linking the type and availability of microalgae found in various sub-habitats with environmental water quality parameters and human activities around the waters. In addition, this paper provides the basic information of microalgae diversity based on sub-habitats, especially in the southern part of East Java Indonesia.
