Growth rate and survivorship of Acropora sp. fragments that transplanted on the artificial substrate made from fly ash and bottom ash

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the success the transplantation method using kerbstone media from blocks made of coal waste (fly ash and bottom ash) from Thermal Power Station (PLTU). The research was done from March to August 2018 in the waters of Paiton, Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. The method applied in this research a 7-block design with “H” formation for every module. The coral fragments of Acropora formosa, Acropora pulchra, Acropora intermedia, and Acropora gomezi was 10 cm in average size with 30 repetitions for each size. The average growth rate showed different values during five months of research since the transplantation was done. Acropora formosa had the highest growth rate of 1.958 cm/month. Acropora intermedia 1.730 cm/month, Acropora pulchra 0.958 cm/month, and 0.756 cm/month for Acropora gomezi. By using Kruskal Wallis test for data analysing, obtained a survival rate of over 80% for all types, with Acropora formosa as the highest (92.3%) and Acropora gomezi as the lowest (82.61%). Therefore, kerbstone is considered feasible as a growth media for the coral reef as an effort to support CTI (Coral Triangle Initiative) program in overcoming global warming as an innovation.