Abstract
Indonesia lies at the centre of biodiversity for corals. However, the reefs suffered from extensive human exploitation. Marine Protected Areas is thought to be best solution to protect coral reefs ecosystem. Understanding genetic diversity is crucial for effective management of the MPAs, however genetic diversity is rarely been corporate in designing an MPA. Moreover, many MPAs are uneffectively manage due to poor designated and demarcated.Raja Ampat which is located in western tip of West Papua, was designated as a park to mitigatethreatsand protect the valuable marine resources.Scleractinian corals in the genus Acropora are among the most dominant distributed in Raja Ampat waters, including the species of Acroporahyacinthus. The research aimed to analyze genetic diversity and to describe the kinship relationship of Acroporahyacinthus between 2 populations: Boo Island and Deer Island, Raja Ampat. Genetic marker Cytochrome Oxidase I (CO I) of the mitochondrial genome DNA (mtDNA) was used to analyze genetic diversity. Reconstruction of phylogenetic tree and genetic diversity were made by usingsoftware MEGA 5.05 (Moleculer Evolutionary Genetics Analysis). The results of this research indicatecorals A. hyacinthus from Boo Island and Deer Island Raja Ampat are in the low category of genetic diversity and overall had a close genetic relationship of kinship. This is likely due to the small size of the population and few numbers of samples that may not represent the population.
Highlights
Indonesia lies at the centre of biodiversity for corals [1]
The results of this research indicatecorals A. hyacinthus from Boo Island and Deer Island Raja Ampat are in the low category of genetic diversity and overall had a close genetic relationship of kinship
The Marine Protected Area (MPA) was established under Goverment Decree No 27/2008 which protect more than million hectares of coastal and marine in Raja Ampat areas
Summary
Indonesia lies at the centre of biodiversity for corals [1]. Though the reefs support life of more than 67.500 villages, it suffered from extensive human exploitation [2]. Marine Protected Area (MPA) is thought to be one of the best strategies for protecting biological diversity, increase fisheries yields, and protect vulnerable life stages of marine species [6]. Raja Ampat was designated as Marine Proctected Areas (MPA) in order to mitigate threats and protect valuable marine resources. The MPA was established under Goverment Decree No 27/2008 which protect more than million hectares of coastal and marine in Raja Ampat areas. Reefs were generally in very good condition compared to most areas of Indonesia with high live coral diversity and minimal stress due to natural phenomenon such as cyclones, predation (i.e. crownof-thorns starfish), and freshwater runoff [8]. Marine resources in Raja Ampat are under threat from increasing frequency of disturbances associated with climate change (i.e. coral bleaching). Scleractinian corals in the genus Acropora are among the most dominant distributedgenera in Raja Ampat waters.This publication aims to determine the connectivity patterns and genetic diversity of Acropora hyacinthus of Raja Ampat in order to understand the genetic diversity of the coral to help conservation program of the MPA
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