New distribution record of a true coral species, Psammocora contigua (Esper, 1794) from Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park & Sanctuary, India

Reef-building corals are generally confined to tropical waters across the world oceans. But some coral species are able to tolerate even inhospitable environments and suboptimal extremes, and form lower diversity reefs habitats such as the Gulf of Kachchh, located along the northwestern coast of India. Among the reported hard coral species so far from the Gulf of Kachchh, genus Psammocora is represented by only one species, P. digitata. The present study confirmed a new distribution record of Psammocora contigua from Narara Island. Due to the changing hydro-geographic conditions in the Kachchh region, ramose and branching coral species have been believed to be extinct completely, leaving no sign of live colonies. P. contigua, recorded during the present study is the only living species with ramose growth form recorded so far from the Kachchh waters. The present study also holds out hope to record more new coral species records from the region.

BIODIVERSITI DAN PEMULIHARAAN TERUMBU KARANG DI TIGA BUAH PULAU, MELAKA (Biodiversity and Conservation of Coral Reefs in Three Islands in Malacca)

In the state of Melaka, there are eighteen islands recorded by the Melaka State Museum Corporation (PERZIM). Part of this island serves as a tourist island, and developed islands are also uninhabited islands. However, three islands are recorded to have amazing coral reefs that are still in good condition. The Penang Batu Maung Fisheries Research Institute (AkuaTAR) has conducted a study on the biodiversity of coral reefs around the waters of Pulau Dodol, Pulau Serimbun, and Pulau Undan. AkuaTAR researchers are using scuba diving methods, and at the same time, they did conservation on coral reefs that have been identified in the waters of the Straits of Melaka. The objective of this study is to record the types of community forms such as living corals and identify the species of coral reefs found in three islands in the state of Melaka in Pulau Undan, Pulau Dodol, and Pulau Serimbun. The study also implemented method observation by conducting field studies on the islands involved by doing scuba diving. Results and discussion of the search, these three islands are located in very clean, uninhabited waters. They have a wide range of coral biodiversity using soft coral reefs and hard coral reefs. The study also found that the three islands in the state have the largest coral reefs in the waters of the Straits of Melaka. Keywords: Biodiversity; Conservation; Coral; Three island; Melaka

Recruitment of hard coral after coral bleaching in Krueng Raya Water, Aceh Besar

Krueng Raya waters is an area that has a distribution of coral reef ecosystems. This study aims to determine the recruitment of hard corals after coral bleaching Krueng Raya waters, Aceh Besar District. This research was conducted in April 2017 in Krueng Raya, Aceh Besar. Data were collected at three observation stations using a systematic sampling method using a 1x1 m quadratic transect. Based on the study results, coral recruitment was obtained from eight families and 13 genera (Acropora, Cetenactis, Diploastrea, Favia, Favites, Galaxea, Goniastrea, Helliopora, Leptastrea, Montastrea, Pavona, Pocillopora, and Porites). Where the most abundant coral genus found was from the genus Pocilopora and Porites (16 coloni/10m2). while the station with the highest colony abundance was at station 3 with 28 colonies/10m2.

The change of coral cover in Ujong Pancu waters, Peukan Bada Sub-District, Aceh Besar

Coral reef ecosystems are one of the most productive ecosystems on the earth, with large ecological functions. The disruption of coral reef ecosystems has a significant impact on the surrounding biota. This study aims to determine the condition of coral reefs for the last three years in Ujong Pancu waters, Peukan Bada sub-district, Aceh Besar district. This study uses data in 2017, 2018, and 2019 with three observation locations: Lhok Keeutapang, Lhok Mata Ie, and Tuan Island. The method used is Point Intercept Transect (PIT) with a transect length of 20 m with four repetitions. The results showed that the percentage of hard coral cover in the Ujong Pancu waters decreased from the good category (50.31%) in 2017 to moderate (47.81%) in 2019. The percentage with the highest coral cover was at the Lhok Keutapang location at 72, 81% in 2018, while the lowest coral cover at the Tuan Island location was 15.94% in 2017. The composition of the coral genus found also decreased from 12 coral genera (2017) to 9 coral genera (2019).

Condition of Hard Corals and Quality of The Turbid Waters in Spermonde Islands (Case Studies in Kayangan Island, Samalona Island and Kodingareng Keke Island)

Coral reefs in Spermonde waters have experienced degradation as a result of the increasing turbidity in these waters. This research was conducted on Kayangan Island, Samalona Island and Kodingareng Keke Island, Spermonde Islands, Makassar City. The purpose of this study was to determine the percentage of coral cover, types and the how much the turbidity of the waters influence the coral. The researcher measured the coral cover using Underwater Photo Transect and processed the data using CPCe software. The levels of turbidity were taken at three locations and examined in the laboratory and the other parameters were measured on site. The correlation between turbidity and coral cover was analysed by regression analysis method. Based on the regression results, the turbidity level has a negative effect on coral cover. The level of turbidity is higher on Kayangan Island with 0.89 NTU with a cover percentage of 4.95 %, Temperature of 30°C, Salinity of 30 ppm, DO of 5.44 mg/l, pH 7.8 and the species found were Porites and Faviidae. Samalona Island is 0.43 NTU with a percentage of coral cover of 14.08 %, Temperature of 30°C, Salinity of 30 ppm, DO of 5.44 mg/l, pH of 7.7 and the most common types are Acropora and Fungiidae. Kodingareng Keke Island has a turbidity value of 0.32 NTU, Temperature of 29°C, Salinity of 30 ppm, DO of 6.08 mg/l, pH 7.3 and the most common coral species, Fungiidae. Higher levels of turbidity in Kayangan Island will result in the death of certain coral species (unable to adapt) and will also have an impact on the percentage of hard coral cover.

Comparison of Standard Caribbean Coral Reef Monitoring Protocols and Underwater Digital Photogrammetry to Characterize Hard Coral Species Composition, Abundance and Cover

The precise assessing and monitoring of coral reefs are necessary to address and understand the threats and changes in coral communities. With the development of new technologies and algorithms for image processing, new protocols like underwater photogrammetry are implemented to study these ecosystems. This study compares the main ecological metrics for reef condition assessment, obtained with an underwater digital photogrammetry protocol (UWP) and traditional sampling design simulations in coral reefs of the Cozumel Reefs National Park. Three orthomosaics (380 m2) per reef on six fringing reefs were constructed, and the hard coral community characterized using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The orthomosaics were also used as a basis to simulate transect lines and obtain data on the hard coral community according to the video transect (VT) protocol, point intercept (PIT) protocol, and the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol. Higher colony abundance, species richness, and lower coral cover estimates (p < 0.05) were obtained with the UWP. This protocol was also sensitive to small sized species. All the sampling designs showed similar capability to identify dominant species in terms of colony abundance and coral cover. The VT, PIT, and AGGRA showed similar coral cover values (p > 0.05), which seems to indicate that these sampling designs overestimate this important metric. Our results will help to understand and integrate the observations obtained with UWP with long-term data obtained with commonly used monitoring protocols in the Caribbean region.

DOMINASI GENERA KARANG KERAS (HARD CORAL) DI PERAIRAN DESA TANJUNG TIRAM, KAB. KONAWE SELATAN

Ekosistem terumbu karang di Desa Tanjung Tiram memiliki sumberdaya yang beranekaragam dan berlimpah. Namun dalam beberapa dekade terakhir, keberadaannya terancam oleh kegiatan penangkapan ikan yang tidak ramah lingkungan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dominasi genera karang keras dan persentase tutupan karang hidup serta hubungan faktor lingkungan dengan sebaran kondisi terumbu karang di perairan Desa Tanjung Tiram. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan September 2020. Hasil penelitian ini ditemukan 3 genera dominasi yaitu Porites, Fungia dan Favites dimana Porites merupakan genus karang yang paling dominan ditemukan di area reef slope dan reef flat. Secara keseluruhan persentase tutupan karang hidup Perairan Tanjung Tiram berada di bawah 60%. Semakin dalam perairan presentase tutupan karang hidup makin rendah dan patahan mendominasi.Kata kunci: Dominasi, Karang Keras, Tanjung Tiram.

Analysis of hard coral condition on coral reef ecosystem in Ternate Island

Hard coral is a type of coral building structure in coral reef ecosystems. Hard coral is a coral reef entity that plays an important function in a coral reef ecosystem, especially related to physical and ecological functions in shallow marine waters environment. This study aimed to study percentages of coral cover, species life form, diversity index, dominance index, and distribution clusters of hard corals based on environmental parameters around Ternate Island. Hard coral cover sampling was carried out systematically using the underwater photo transect (UPT) method. The number of sampling stations were 30 location points with 750 photos. The method used for analyzing ecological conditions of hard corals was coral point count with excel extensions (CPCe). Environmental parameters measured included salinity, temperature, pH, brightness level, and dissolved oxygen. The distribution of hard coral clusters was analyzed statistically using the classify-hierarchical cluster. Study results showed that coral cover percentages ranged from 19% to 93% with an average cover of 67%, species diversity range was 7 to 40 species with an average of 19 species, diversity index (H ') with a value of 1.14 to 6.02 with an average of 2.07, dominance index (D) with a value of 0.13 to 0.53 with an average of 0.23. The results of the analysis of the distribution of hard corals consisted of four clusters. The study also found that distribution of hard coral clusters in Ternate Island was related to substrate topography.

Broad scale proteomic analysis of heat-destabilised symbiosis in the hard coral Acropora millepora

Coral reefs across the globe are threatened by warming oceans. The last few years have seen the worst mass coral bleaching events recorded, with more than one quarter of all reefs irreversibly impacted. Considering the widespread devastation, we need to increase our efforts to understanding the physiological and metabolic shifts underlying the breakdown of this important symbiotic ecosystem. Here, we investigated the proteome (PRIDE accession # PXD011668) of both host and symbionts of the reef-building coral Acropora millepora exposed to ambient (~ 28 °C) and elevated temperature (~ 32 °C for 2 days, following a five-day incremental increase) and explored associated biomolecular changes in the symbiont, with the aim of gaining new insights into the mechanisms underpinning the collapse of the coral symbiosis. We identified 1,230 unique proteins (774 host and 456 symbiont) in the control and thermally stressed corals, of which 107 significantly increased and 125 decreased in abundance under elevated temperature relative to the control. Proteins involved in oxidative stress and proteolysis constituted 29% of the host proteins that increased in abundance, with evidence of impairment to endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeletal regulation proteins. In the symbiont, we detected a decrease in proteins responsible for photosynthesis and energy production (33% of proteins decreased in abundance), yet minimal signs of oxidative stress or proteolysis. Lipid stores increased > twofold despite reduction in photosynthesis, suggesting reduced translocation of carbon to the host. There were significant changes in proteins related to symbiotic state, including proteins linked to nitrogen metabolism in the host and the V-ATPase (-0.6 fold change) known to control symbiosome acidity. These results highlight key differences in host and symbiont proteomic adjustments under elevated temperature and identify two key proteins directly involved in bilateral nutrient exchange as potential indicators of symbiosis breakdown.

Physiological Response of Shallow-Water Hard Coral Acropora digitifera to Heat Stress via Fatty Acid Composition

Heat stress disturbs the mutualistic relationship between the hard corals and the symbiotic algae, which cause coral bleaching. A wide array of biochemical parameters is used to demonstrate the phenomenon. This study exposed a shallow-water hard coral, Acropora digitifera, to a series of elevated temperatures over time while the interaction between Symbiodiniaceae (SD) density, antioxidants activities, fatty acid (FA) composition, and putative FA health indicators was evaluated. Heat stress caused a substantial loss in SD densities, consequently regulated the antioxidant activities and caused significant changes in FA composition. There was a lack of evidence showing A. digitifera experienced oxidative stress; nonetheless, a significant decrease of monounsaturated fatty acid as (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) during the thermally induced experiment demonstrated that corals utilize their unsaturated FA as a final barrier or as a repair system against oxidative damage once the antioxidant enzyme cannot cope with stress condition. The lower ratio of putative FA health indicators [i.e., n-3 LC:n-6 LC, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA):arachidonic acid (ARA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA):ARA] characterized an unhealthy coral. The loss of SD density was significantly correlated with certain PUFA markers [i.e., linolenic acid (18:3n6), 20:5n3, and 22:6n3] and putative FA health indicator (i.e., n-3 LC:n-6 LC, EPA:ARA, and DHA:ARA). These notably imply that the FA linked with the symbiont can be a potential health indicator for assessing the effect of the environmental stressor on coral. This study also revealed the regulation of FAs during stress conditions, especially when heterotrophic feeding is limited. Future studies on FA profiles toward antagonistic or synergistic effects will offer a better understanding of the nature of this relationship under a harsh climate.