Analysis of The Conditions of Acropora Transplant Corals in "Liang" Bunaken National Park, North Sulawesi Province

Abstract

Coral transplantation is the grafting or cutting of live corals to be transplanted elsewhere or where the corals have been damaged, aiming for restoration or the formation of natural coral reefs. Coral transplantation plays a role in accelerating the regeneration of coral reefs that have been damaged and can also be used to build new coral reef areas that previously did not exist. Meanwhile, the objectives of the research are: To describe the initial conditions, artificial coral transplantation in Liang, at the Bunaken National Park location; Analyzing the number of transplanted corals that survived for 3 years; Analyzing the condition of transplanted corals by measuring the length and number of coral branches that survived for 3 years. The results obtained for coral transplantation carried out in "Liang" Bunaken National Park, from 84 transplanted in 7 Modules, 76 coral fragments survived, and only 8 coral fragments died, with a 90% survival percentage. The average value of the increase in height of transplanted coral fragments was 10 cm, and the number of branches that increased in each coral fragment was an average of 11 branches in each surviving coral fragment. This means that from 2018 to 2021, the increase in height and number of branches is around 3 cm per year.