New Records of Cubozoan and Scyphozoan Jellyfish from Sabah Waters, Malaysia

Jellyfish play a vital role in the ocean’s ecosystem, acting as a nursery for young fishes, crabs, and brittle stars, as well as a source of food for certain charismatic megafauna, such as sunfish and sea turtles. They also pose a threat to human activities, with jellyfish blooms negatively impacting fisheries, power generation, and tourism. However, very little information is available on the biodiversity of jellyfish within the waters of Borneo. Here, we present new records of jellyfish found along the coast of Sabah, Malaysia, located in northern Borneo, bordering the megadiverse region of the Coral Triangle. A total of six species belonging to two classes and six families hitherto not recorded to the state are reported, Chironex yamaguchii, Acromitus maculosus, Crambione mastigophora, Linuche aquila, Netrostoma sp., and Phyllorhiza punctata. Of these, two species (C. yamaguchii and L. aquila) are harmful to humans, with C. yamaguchii capable of causing human fatalities. Reports of harmful jellyfish are useful to the medical and tourism industry, as some of these species may inflict stings and adverse reactions to humans ranging from rashes and skin irritation to fatal envenomation. A checklist has also been provided for all collected jellyfish species from Sabah waters of Borneo, Malaysia.

The distribution of benthic amphipod crustaceans in Indonesian seas

Amphipod crustaceans are an essential component of tropical marine biodiversity. However, their distribution and biogeography have not been analysed in one of the world’s largest tropical countries nested in the Coral Triangle, Indonesia. We collected and identified amphipod crustaceans from eight sites in Indonesian waters and combined the results with data from 32 additional sites in the literature. We analysed the geographic distribution of 147 benthic amphipod crustaceans using cluster analysis and the ‘Bioregions Infomaps’ neural network method of biogeographic discrimination. We found five groups of benthic amphipod crustaceans which show relationships with sampling methods, depth, and substrata. Neural network biogeographic analysis indicated there was only one biogeographic region that matched with the global amphipod regions and marine biogeographic realms defined for all marine taxa. There was no support for Wallaces or other lines being marine biogeographic boundaries in the region. Species richness was lower than expected considering the region is within the Coral Triangle. We hypothesise that this low richness might be due to the intense fish predation which may have limited amphipod diversification. The results indicated that habitat rather than biogeography determines amphipod distribution in Indonesia. Therefore, future research needs to sample more habitats, and consider habitat in conservation planning.

Sleuthing cryptic Chromodorids (Mollusca, Nudibranchia): adding to Philippine marine biodiversity

The Verde Island Passage of the Philippines is renowned for its rich marine biodiversity and heterobranch mollusks are demonstrable models of that species richness of the region. Chromodorid nudibranchs represent a particularly rich taxon, with species of Chromodoris being one of the most iconic and abundant taxa in shallow water coral reef environments. Despite being one of the best-documented clades of nudibranch mollusks, recent work has shown that numerous cryptic and pseudocryptic species are abundant in the waters of the Coral Triangle region. This paper reviews the species richness and distribution of Chromodoris species in the Philippines and provides a description of a new species of Chromodoris from the region. Chromodoris alcalai Gosliner, n. sp. is named to honor Dr. Angel Alcala’s 90th birthday and his pioneering contributions to preserving the marine biodiversity of the Philippines. This species is most similar externally to C. dianae Gosliner and Behrens, 1998, with which it was erroneous lumped. Distinctness of molecular data, external morphology and coloration, and internal anatomical features clearly distinguish these two species. KEYWORDS: systematics, Nudibranchia, coral reefs, Indo-Pacific, Coral Triangle

SEGITIGA TERUMBU KARANG DUNIA (THE CORAL TRIANGLE): MANFAAT, MASALAH DAN UPAYA

The coral triangle is the epicenter of marine biodiversity in the world which located in the eastern part of Southeast Asia and the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Despite the benefit of this area, the coral triangle also faces unsustainable fishing practices called Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU). This paper is aiming to provide the benefit of the coral triangle, and the efforts to overcome the problem that occurs in this area. To analyze this paper, the authors applied a descriptive approach, and most of the data obtained through literature review. And the result shows that the coral triangle is very beneficial to the countries in this area. Furthermore, to protect these precious natural resources from IUU, the government in this area decided to work together to overcome through the establishment of a multilateral partnership The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI)

SPESIASI DAN BIOGEOGRAFI IKAN DI KAWASAN SEGITIGA TERUMBU KARANG

The coral triangle is a region with the highest hotspot of fish biodiversity in the world. Factors to explain biodiversity in the coral triangle are varied widely. Factors as well as biogeography and speciation in evolutionary processes would explain the richness of fish species. The species formation theory in fish (speciation) is divided into allopatric, sympatric, and parapatric speciations. Biogeographically, the reason of what causes high biodiversity in the coral triangle area is divided into several models, namely: the center of origin, the center of overlap, the center of accumulation, the center of survival/refugia, and the mid domain effect/null model. This article will discuss the role and contribution of each mode/hypothesis in explaining coral triangle areas' biodiversity hotspots to provide information for biodiversity conservation of reef fishes in the future.