Temporal study of coral reef health in Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park

Abstract

Coral reefs are one of ecosystems that have high biodiversity and productivity. The condition of coral reefs in Seribu Islands is currently being threatened by various marine industry development activities. This study aims to determine coral reef health in Seribu Islands, DKI Jakarta. The study was conducted at eight observation stations in Kepulauan Seribu Marine National Park area on 7-10 March 2022 (First Monitoring) and 31 May until 3 June 2022 (Second Monitoring). Coral reef data collecting were using Underwater Photo Transect (UPT) method. Reef fish data collecting were using Underwater Visual Census (UVC) method. While for macrobenthos data collecting were using the Belt Transect method. The coral reef health index was determined based on two main components, there are benthic component and reef fish component. Overall, coral reef health from eight observation stations during two monitoring sessions had high recovery potential, although some stations had low coral cover and low target fish biomass. In addition, several species of macrobenthos are bioindicators that can contribute to purifying waters.