International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume IX, Issue VII, July 2022 | ISSN 2321–2705
Mineral Content in Substrate Media, Growth Rate, and Survival Rate of Acropora sp.
Shobriyyah Afifah Nabilah, Sri Andayani, Mohamad Fadjar
Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine, University of Brawijaya
Abstract: Coral reef ecosystems are formed from the composition of coral animals that produce lime (CaCO3). Coral animals are animals that do not have a backbone that are included in the phylum Coelenterata. These animals consist of polyps and a skeleton to produce lime. The choice of coral substrate media helps the coral to settle and affects the growth and survival rate of corals. Corals can attach and grow quickly on a suitable substrate medium. This study aims to determine the substrate media’s material content, coral growth rate, and the survival rate of Acropora sp. transplanted on cement, kanstin faba, and Lapindo brick substrate media. This type of research is experimental. The research design used in this study was a Randomized Complete Block Design. The first group is the difference in substrate media consisting of cement, kanstin faba, and Lapindo brick. The second group is the difference of corals consisting of A. formosa, A. tenuis, and A. millepora. The results showed that the mineral content of the cement substrate media, kanstin faba, and Lapindo brick contained CaO, SiO2, Fe2O3, and Al2O3. The highest coral growth rate was found on cement substrate media at 1.63 cm/month, while the highest growth rate based on coral species was in A. formosa at 1.63 cm/month. Coral survival rate was highest on cement substrate media and A. formosa with a value of 96%.
Keywords: Coral reef, Transplantation, Substrate, Acropora sp.
I. INTRODUCTION
Coral reefs are ecosystems with abundant biodiversity (Romio et al., 2017). Many marine biotas live in it both on the seabed and in the water column. Coral reef ecosystems are formed from the composition of coral reef animals that produce lime (CaCO3). Coral animals are animals without backbone that are included in the phylum Coelenterata (Putra et al., 2020). These animals consist of polyps and a skeleton to produce lime. The polyp is the soft part, while the skeleton is the hard part (Giyanto et al., 2017). But behind the pride of the potential, value, and benefits of the coral reef ecosystem, the quantity (area) and quality of coral reef ecosystems is decreasing year by year (Suparno et al., 2018).
The damage of coral reefs continues and increasing. It is predicted that in the 2030s, more than 90% of the world’s coral reefs will be threatened by rising temperatures, ocean acidification, and anthropogenic activities by humans (Erika et al., 2019). Illegal exploitation of coral reefs for commercial purposes has an impact on the destruction of coral reef ecosystems. This can lead the extinction of coral species and the loss of the ecological function of coral reefs, therefore it is important to restore coral reef ecosystems to suppress and restore the declining condition of coral reef ecosystems. This can be done by transplanting coral reefs.