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Marine research and conservation in the Coral Triangle
Abstract
The Coral Triangle in south-east Asia contains over three quarters of the total number of known coral species and more than half of the world's coral reefs, whilst providing resources to support the livelihoods of around 120 million people. The Wakatobi National Park is centrally located within this region, encompassing 13,000km2 and including a diversity of reefs, seagrass and mangrove habitats whilst also being home to around 100,000 people. The sustainable use of resources within the Wakatobi is therefore of significance with regard to both global marine conservation issues and the well-being of the resident population. Drawing upon contributions from experts in the natural and social sciences, this book offers the first detailed insight into the status of the marine environment in the Wakatobi.
... This figure represents approximately 75% of the total number of 571 coral species identified in the South China Sea (Huang et al., 2015). Although coral reefs provide various important ecosystem services to human populations, their health status has been declining due to human intervention together with detrimental impacts of climate change and ocean acidification (Wilkinson, 2008; Jordan et al., 2010; Unsworth et al., 2010). Reef Check Malaysia reported that the coral coverage in several reefs of the east coast region was exposed to high rates of sedimentation resulting from construction and land reclamation activities (Reef Check Malaysia, 2008). ...
... Previous studies also reported that coral communities along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia including Tioman Island were dominated by the genera Acropora, Porites, and Montipora (Harborne et al., 2000; Toda et al., 2007). This is due to the fact that these coral genera have their own ability to tolerate and survive with the changes in environmental parameters, such as currents, wave actions, and fluctuation of suspended sediment concentrations (Hong and Sasekumar, 1981; Ammar and Mahmoud, 2006; Unsworth et al., 2010). For instance, Acropora and Montipora are considered to have fast-growing species that are able to expand more rapidly in certain areas compared to other slow-growing Porites species (Rogers, 1990; Karlson and Hurd, 1993; Unsworth et al., 2010). ...
... This is due to the fact that these coral genera have their own ability to tolerate and survive with the changes in environmental parameters, such as currents, wave actions, and fluctuation of suspended sediment concentrations (Hong and Sasekumar, 1981; Ammar and Mahmoud, 2006; Unsworth et al., 2010). For instance, Acropora and Montipora are considered to have fast-growing species that are able to expand more rapidly in certain areas compared to other slow-growing Porites species (Rogers, 1990; Karlson and Hurd, 1993; Unsworth et al., 2010). However, slow-growing Porites species have greater longevity of their coral skeleton compared to more fragile Acropora and Montipora species (Hong and Sasekumar, 1981). ...
The present study aimed to determine the current status of corals using the coral video transect (CVT) method in the east coast, west coast, and isolated areas of Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 65 genera from 21 families of corals were identified, from which the scleractinian corals of Acropora, Montipora, and Porites were dominant in the coral assemblages. Nine reef sites were categorised as having ‘good’ (51.4%–60.3%) coral condition and four reef sites as having ‘fair’ (37.6%–49.2%) coral condition. This study concluded that the reefs around Tioman Island were in ‘good’ average coral condition and have high generic diversity with mixed coral morphological structures. The east coast and isolated areas had better live coral cover compared to the west coast area due to less coastal development and human impacts.
... This 50,000-ha area is the subject of global initiatives aimed at preserving marine biodiversity (Pet-Soede and Erdmann 2003). Mangrove forests serve as essential habitats in shallow marine waters and represent a significant component of the ecosystem in this region (Clifton et al. 2013). ...
... It offers a range of ecological advantages, such as safeguarding against coastal erosion and serving as a habitat for various species and carbon stock. Wakatobi's mangrove ecology is currently under threat from mangrove forest exploitation, coastal development, abrasion, and marine pollution (Clifton et al. 2013). Increased sedimentation and habitat fragmentation are also observed in other mangrove-rich locations (Duke et al. 2007;Polidoro et al. 2010). ...
Mangrove ecosystems significantly contribute to climate change mitigation through the absorption and storage of carbon. This research evaluates the diversity, carbon stock, and economic valuation of mangrove ecosystems within the Wakatobi Biosphere Reserve. Data collection occurred at 11 stations distributed among four primary islands: Kaledupa, Wangi-Wangi, Tomia, and Binongko. Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) measurements were utilized to estimate biomass and carbon storage, employing species-specific allometric equations. Economic valuation utilized carbon trading data from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX Carbon) as of 3 January 2025, alongside the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) and Voluntary Market (VM) prices. The mangrove ecosystem of the Wakatobi Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 10,994 hectares and is in excellent ecological condition. The Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index values for tree and pole strata demonstrate moderate diversity (1-3), with Kaledupa and Binongko classified as moderate, whereas Wangi-Wangi and Tomia are categorized as low (<1). The evenness score indicates a high classification for tree strata (>0,6), with the exception of Wangi-Wangi, which is classified as medium (0,4-0,6). Wangi-Wangi Island is classified as low for splinter strata (<0,4), whereas Tomia, Kaledupa, and Binongko Islands are classified as medium. The composition of mangrove species differed across islands, with Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora mucronata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, and Ceriops tagal identified as the most prevalent species and significant contributors to carbon sequestration. The total carbon stock was estimated at 329,82.06 tons, with Kaledupa Island exhibiting the highest stock at 317,226.51 tons, while Binongko Island recorded the lowest at 2,053.8 tons. The economic valuation of carbon storage indicates significant potential: IDR 18,763,377,420 or USD 1,159,307 (IDX Carbon), IDR 266,390,582,055 or USD 16,459,103 (SCC), and IDR 43,155,274,293 or USD 2,666,375 (VM), underscoring the financial importance of mangrove conservation. This signifies a potential for revenue generation in the Wakatobi region, offering a hopeful prospect for the future. This study highlights the ecological and economic significance of mangroves and establishes a basis for sustainable conservation and management strategies aimed at improving the resilience of the Wakatobi Biosphere Reserve.
... In the Philippines, similar patterns have been seen. Seagrasses, as opposed to mangroves and coral reefs, have been proven to be the most visited fishing grounds in the Indo-Pacific region, delivering the most community benefits (Unsworth 2010). The growing reliance on seagrass meadows as a primary fisheries habitat has led to the widespread employment of ever more efficient and exploitative fishing tactics, such as static fish fences , which has resulted in increased food chain damage. ...
... There is almost minimal social science study on the social, cultural, and economic elements of human-seagrass interactions, for example, and there is emerging research that indicates critical linkages between coastal communities and seagrass beds (Cullen-Unsworth et al. 2014). Furthermore, while the importance of seagrass fisheries activity has been recognised internationally (Nordlund et al. 2017), there is a data gap in the Southeast Asian region regarding seagrass fishing resources and the flowon benefits from ecological services it provides (Unsworth 2010). ...
This review reveals the constraints and potential management options for improving the seagrass ecosystem. Southeast Asia is a global hotspot for seagrass biodiversity and its variety, providing essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, organic matter export, feeding and breeding ground for shell and finfish, sediment trapping, etc. However, aside from taxonomy and systematics, dietary and feeding, its ecosystem function and importance were insufficiently explored throughout Southeast Asia. Data from Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Southern China offer comprehensive coverage on the distribution of seagrasses throughout their coastlines but, for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand, substantial gaps are present for seagrass distribution. Meanwhile, for Brunei Darussalam, the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, Pratas Islands, Kalimantan, Central and Southeast Sulawesi, the Maluku Islands, and West Papua, the population dynamics and spatial-temporal information remain poorly explored. Seagrass meadows cover 36,762.6 km2 in Southeast Asia; however, this estimate is likely to be an underestimate because of several ecoregions were underrepresented, and current data was insufficient. A number of natural and anthropogenic threats are posed to the Southeast Asian seagrass ecosystems causing decline of seagrass meadows. Number of measures can be implemented to increase seagrass conservation in Asia, particularly in the Southeast Asian region. It entails: (1) encouraging regional collaboration at the institutional level and capacity building and sharing knowledge; (2) engaging policymakers and government agencies to adopt science-based policies; (3) adopting standardised protocol to determine the distribution range and species availability in different localities to minimise knowledge gap, so as to find the threat appropriately; and (4) engaging with communities to raise awareness and foster seagrass stewardship in the region.KeywordsEcologySpatialDynamicsHabitatNurseryDistributionConservationBiodiversity
... The population of the WNP is essentially divided into two distinct cultures, islanders known locally as 'Pulo' and traditional sea nomads, who now live in permanent stilted houses on the intertidal sand flat and seagrass areas, known locally as 'Bajo' (Clifton et al., 2010;Cullen-Unsworth et al., 2011). Bajo people are regarded to be the most heavily dependent on marine natural resources; however both Bajo and Pulo communities are reliant on marine resources for food, raw materials and income, with 100% of households in the Kaledupa sub-district of the WNP dependent on seafood as their major or only source of protein and 41% of households directly dependent on marine and coastal resources for their primary income (Cullen et al., 2007). ...
... Bajo people are regarded to be the most heavily dependent on marine natural resources; however both Bajo and Pulo communities are reliant on marine resources for food, raw materials and income, with 100% of households in the Kaledupa sub-district of the WNP dependent on seafood as their major or only source of protein and 41% of households directly dependent on marine and coastal resources for their primary income (Cullen et al., 2007). Despite representing only a small percentage of the population in the WNP, Bajo people account for approximately 50% of fishers and have a high level of marine ecological knowledge (Clifton et al., 2010;Cullen et al., 2007;Pilgrim et al., 2008). ...
Dugongs (Dugong dugon) depend on seagrass meadows for food. As such seagrass and dugong conservation should go hand in hand. Assessing dugong populations is notoriously challenging. In the most resource dependent communities Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) is generally high and can provide an alternative to the use of expensive ecological surveys to understand dugong populations and support associated resource management decisions. Residents of the Wakatobi National Park (WNP), SE Sulawesi, Indonesia are highly dependent on marine resources for livelihoods and correspondingly LEK is high. Here LEK documents the presence of D. dugon in the WNP and infers changes in population size. Interviews with local residents in 2012-2013 revealed 99 sightings of dugongs since 1942, 48 of which occurred between 2002 and 2012, with 79.82% of respondents having seen a dugong. Declines in the frequency of sightings within the lifetime of several respondents were reported, respondents speculating that populations are reduced. This information can guide further cooperative research and conservation efforts for the protection of a vulnerable species and the seagrass habitat on which it depends.
... For example, at least 350 million people live within 50 kilometers of the coast. They not only rely on coastal and marine ecosystems for food, but also rely on other economic and cultural resources (Clifton et al., 2010). ...
The protection pattern of typical marine ecosystems is an overall summary of the regional marine ecosystem protection, indicating the protection status of typical marine ecosystems. The coastal waters of China and ASEAN countries have a highly diverse range of ecosystem types, including mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. The need to protect these ecosystems is urgent, but establishing marine protected areas often involves conflicts with stakeholders highly dependent on these ecosystems. By constructing an analysis model of the protection pattern and driving mechanisms of typical marine ecosystems, with a focus on the China-ASEAN region, this study aimed to analyze the characteristics of typical marine ecosystems protection patterns in China-ASEAN, evaluate the current protection status of these ecosystems, discuss the driving factors, and derive a regression function to clarify the quantitative relationship between the protection pattern and driving factors of typical marine ecosystems in the China-ASEAN region. The results indicate that there are four main driving factors influencing the protection pattern of typical marine ecosystems in China-ASEAN countries. The most significant driving factor is the Natural Geographic and Resource Factor, followed by Urbanization, Industrial Structure, and Population Size and GDP Factor. Among these, the Natural Geographic and Resource Factor and the Industrial Structure Factor have a positive impact, while the others have a negative impact. In the future, it is crucial to fully consider the diversity and distribution of marine ecosystems to promote joint efforts among China-ASEAN countries in protecting marine ecosystems through international cooperation.
... The study sites in Indonesia were located in the WNP, Southeast Sulawesi. The park encompasses 1.39 million hectares (https:// wakat obina tiona lpark.id/peta-kerja/) in the center of the Coral Triangle, harboring over 390 species of hard coral, and 590 fish species across the 50 k hectares of coral reefs (Clifton et al., 2010). ...
Rising ocean temperatures are the primary driver of coral reef declines throughout the tropics. Such declines include reductions in coral cover that facilitate the monopolization of the benthos by other taxa such as macroalgae, resulting in reduced habitat complexity and biodiversity. Long‐term monitoring projects present rare opportunities to assess how sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) influence changes in the benthic composition of coral reefs across distinct locations. Here, using extensively monitored coral reef sites from Honduras (in the Caribbean Sea), and from the Wakatobi National Park located in the center of the coral triangle of Indonesia, we assess the impact of global warming on coral reef benthic compositions over the period 2012–2019. Bayesian generalized linear mixed effect models revealed increases in the sponge, and hard coral coverage through time, while rubble coverage decreased at the Indonesia location. Conversely, the effect of SSTAs did not predict any changes in benthic coverage. At the Honduras location, algae and soft coral coverage increased through time, while hard coral and rock coverage were decreasing. The effects of SSTA at the Honduras location included increased rock coverage, but reduced sponge coverage, indicating disparate responses between both systems under SSTAs. However, redundancy analyses showed intralocation site variability explained the majority of variance in benthic composition over the course of the study period. Our findings show that SSTAs have differentially influenced the benthic composition between the Honduras and the Indonesian coral reefs surveyed in this study. However, the large intralocation variance that explains the benthic composition at both locations indicates that localized processes have a predominant role in explaining benthic composition over the last decade. The sustained monitoring effort is critical for understanding how these reefs will change in their composition as global temperatures continue to rise through the Anthropocene. Global warming continues to transform coral reef assemblages throughout the tropics, impacting biodiversity and ecosystem function. Here we identify disparate disruptions between an Indoneisan coral reef and a Honduran coral reef system under climate change over the last 10 years. " cd_value_code="text
... The coral reefs of the Wakatobi Marine National Park are classified as abundant which includes about 50,000 ha of coral reefs, based on research results that show the richness of species and genera of sclerectin corals is much higher than other areas in the world's coral triangle (Clifton et al., 2013). ...
Marginal coral reefs are located in a limited aquatic environment, causing coral organisms to live under threat and only certain species of coral are able to survive. Porites lutea is one species of coral that is able to live in normal and marginal coral reef conditions. The purpose of this study is to determine the ecology of Porites lutea, the physiological ability of Porites lutea's Productivity (P) and Respiration (R), coral reef habitat conditions and environmental factors that affect the distribution of Porites luteal in normal and marginal locations. This study used the belt transect method, measurement of coral colony volume, physiological productivity (P) and respiration (R), transect picture for substrate cover and coral reef conditions and CTD to measure environmental indicators such as temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll and DO. The results shows that the density of Porites coral is higher at normal coral reef locations (Pak Kasim), the highest volume range is 25-100 cm3, with the largest size in the 451-475 cm3 class. P/R values is higher at normal coral reef sites, especially in reef slope areas. Coral reef habitat cover is dominated by abiotic components with poor coral reef conditions in marginal and normal environments. Water temperature was significantly different (P=0.039) between two normal and marginal locations with a range of 27.08 - 27.51 oC, Salinity was significantly different (P=0.145) with a salinity 33.44ppt at normal locations and 32.88 ppt at marginal locations. The chlorophyll and oxygen number was not significantly different between the two locations, the range of chlorophyll 0.03 – 0.15 mg/L and oxygen 2.49 – 5.23 mg/L. The turbidity factor was significantly different between locations (P=4.86E-07) where the marginal location in Sample was more turbid than the normal location in Pak Kasim. This study shows that there are differences between normal and marginal waters in environmental conditions and physiological reactions of Porites lutea, but this coral is able to survive to show their resilience to environmental stresses.
Keywords: Coral physio-ecology, Porites lutea, P/R ratio, marginal coral reefs.
... The study sites in Indonesia were located in the Wakatobi National Park (WNP), South-east Sulawesi. The park encompasses 1.4 million hectares in the centre of the Coral Triangle, harbouring over 390 species of hard coral, and 590 fish species across the 50k hectares of coral reefs (Clifton et al. 2010), Approximately 100k people reside within the WNP, many of which directly rely on coral reefs for their daily livelihoods (Cullen et al. 2007;Exton et al. 2019). Surveys were taken across 6 established study sites (Fig 1), encompassing various types of coral reefs. ...
Coral reef ecosystems have been rapidly altered by anthropogenic warming, posing significant threats to marine biodiversity. However, alterations of the benthic configurations of coral reefs under global warming likely vary through space given local-scale variation in environmental conditions and ecosystem processes. Here, we examine the responses of coral reef benthic configurations under global warming in two independent coral reef ecosystems from Honduras and Indonesia. Using Monte Carlo Markov Chain Generalised Linear Mixed models, our findings reveal that at the Honduras sites, global warming significantly drove reductions in sand, sponge and coral rubble coverage, while bare rock coverage increased. Conversely, the Indonesia sites only showed increases in sponge coverage and decreases in rock coverage associated with water warming. These strong disparities seem to have been driven by global warming only at the Honduras sites, but not at the Indonesia sites. This suggests that the Indonesia sites of the Wakatobi National Park (WNP) may be resistant to compositional changes under global warming. We suspect the resistance to compositional change at the WNP is driven by disparate ecosystem processes between the Honduras and Indonesia sites which enhances resilience to disturbance, such as water warming. Furthermore, there is potential indication that abiotic processes comparatively shelter coral reefs of the WNP from rising temperatures, however, this facet would need further exploration. Given the resistance to compositional change of coral reefs within the WNP, this region could potentially harbour critical biodiversity as global warming continues to decimate coral reefs throughout the tropics.
... Such a compilation would help ensure that like-for-like comparisons, while incorporating taphonomic differences, are made in attempting to understand why the shallow-marine ecosystems in the Coral Triangle contain the most diverse biota in the world. Studies, including those from Southeast Asia, are beginning to document taxonomic diversity across a range of modern habitats (e.g., Moll 1983; Gray 1997; Karlson et al. 2004; Becking et al. 2006; Clifton et al. 2010 and references therein together with data collected by conservation organizations (e.g., Reef Check)). Such studies, however, are currently limited in assessing the full variability of modern carbonate-associated habitats and the full range of biota types, and are mostly restricted to living organisms rather than their associated bioclastic sediments (cf. ...
A holistic approach is adopted here to evaluate basin-wide trends in carbonate systems, their subenvironments and the potential marine biodiversity partitioning between different habitats within the Coral Triangle biodiversity hotspot in central Southeast Asia. The Central Indonesian Kutai Basin is typical of many Cenozoic Southeast Asian basins in having extensive and varied carbonate systems, and is one of the few regions in the Coral Triangle with detailed systematic multitaxon evaluation of Oligo-Miocene deposits. The Kutai Basin may therefore provide data, when compared with other modern and global datasets, to better understand marine biodiversity development within the global diversity foci. Carbonate systems in the Kutai Basin included small-scale ephemeral features, such as delta-associated patch reefs, mixed carbonate-clastic shelves, and large-scale (> 10 km) land-attached and isolated carbonate platforms affected by varied energy regimes. Twenty-five–plus subenvironments or habitats are spread across the different carbonate systems, with the large-scale platforms hosting over 12–15 different habitats. These subenvironments include clastic-influenced mesophotic coral reefs/carpets, nonclastic- and clastic-influenced sea-grass beds, downslope reworked coral rubble, and shallow low-energy inner platform areas, to name a few. Perhaps paradoxically, the systems that two decades ago were almost unstudied, the clastic-influenced coral reefs/carpets, are now the only ones in the region to have been systematically studied for their marine biota. Detailed biotic studies have therefore only investigated < 4 of the 25-plus potentially habitable carbonate subenvironments within the basin. This variability of carbonate systems and their subenvironments, but paucity of detailed biotic data is typical of many basins within equatorial Southeast Asia. It is recognized that detailed multitaxon biotic studies are in their infancy for Southeast Asia, and that there are challenges of taxonomic bias and/or preservation for many groups within the fossil record. Currently, however, we cannot evaluate marine biodiversity partitioning across the varied habitat mosaics of Southeast Asian carbonate systems with possible pathways discussed for furthering this field of research. It is likely that we are (?grossly) underestimating biodiversity on a basin-wide and probably a system-wide scale. It is hoped that studies of this type will contribute towards better understanding of equatorial marine carbonate systems, their biological inhabitants and producers, and the spatio-temporal development of global biodiversity hotspots.
A coral assessment was carried out utilizing Coral Video Transect (CVT) technique over 12 reef sites in Labuan Marine Park (LMP), Malaysia. The goals of the assessment were to determine the present coral health status and to determine the pattern of coral community in the LMP. Among the four different localities surveyed, Rusukan Besar and Rusukan Kecil Island was mainly predominated by live (C) and dead coral (DC) while the Southern Reef is mainly covered by DC, sand, silt and rock (SR) and C. Kuraman Island significantly different between other localities by the domination of algae (ALG), SR and DC. Majority of the reefs were in 'poor' condition with 58.33% of the reef sites have the percentage of live coral cover between 0.97%-22.5%. Only 25% and 16.67% of the reef sites were rated as 'fair' and 'good' condition. Overall, the coral reef in LMP was in 'fair' condition and possessed 27.22% of the live coral cover which near to the borderline of 'poor' category. A total of 38 coral genera from 13 different families were recorded. Among all genera, Acropora accounted the highest proportion of coral cover followed by Porites and Montipora. Two coral communities were preoccupying the reefs in LMP based on the cluster and SIMPER analysis: Acropora-Porites-Montipora community and Acropora-Porites-Favites community. The findings of this study can provide detailed baseline information for subsequent studies as well as for conservation and protection management to the coral reefs of LMP.
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