Taksonomi dan Habitat Pilihan Bintang Laut di Perairan Pulau Hari, Sulawesi Tenggara
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Date
2015Author
Gaffar, Syamsidar
Zamani, Neviaty P.
Purwati, Pradina
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Organisms prefer habitats which provide most of their requirement for growing and populating. In order to minimize competition, each population develops habitat sharing in many ways including diet preference and habit, and defense mechanism. This habitat sharing is demonstrated as area that is inhabited by individuals of the population. Research in habitat sharing of seastars has been conducted in August-December 2012. Seastar specimens were collected from and observed at Hari Island Waters (South East Sulawesi), applying road sampling and free handpicking technique. Geography position of each individu of seastar was remarked in GPS (Geographical Position System), and the characteristics of area where each individu of seastars was found, growth type and cover area of corals, species and cover area of seagrass, type of the substrate, was recorded. These position of seastars were then overlayed on habitat map to develop area inhabiting by each population of seastars. Results of research uncovered nine species of seastars that taxonomically confirmed: Linckia laevigata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Ophidiasteridae: Valvatida), Linckia multifora (Lamark, 1816) (Ophidiasteridae: Valvatida), Nardoa tuberculata Gray, 1840 (Ophidiasteridae: Valvatida), Nardoa novaecaledoniae (Perrier, 1875) (Ophidiasteridae: Valvatida), Fromia monilis (Perrier, 1869) (Goniasteridae: Valvatida), Culcita novaeguineae Műller & Troschel, 1842 (Oreasteridae: Valvatida), Choriaster granulatus Lütken, 1869 (Oreasteridae: Valvatida), Echinaster luzonicus Gray, 1840 (Echinasteridae: Spinulosida), Acanthaster planci (Linnaeus, 1758) (Acanthasteridae: Spinulosida). Corals grew well surrounding Hari Island, especially in the north side encircling a 2.9 ha lagoon. Between lagoon and the island, there were seagrass area (± 0.4 ha) and open sandy area. Most seastars inhabited this area, giving a distribution of west-east-direction belt. L. laevigata was found with the largest number of individuals (58 ind.), distributing widely. The habitat preference did not show specific. N. tuberculata prefered area with branching corals while C. novaeguineae tended to live in sandy area both among seagrass and corals. A. planci as coral feeders prefered tubulate Acropora eventhough some individuals found on massive coral and sandy bottom among corals. C. granulatus were found in a small area of sandy bottom among coral closed to reef slope. F. monilis and N. novaecaledoniae were only found 3 and 2 individuals, distantly each other, inhabiting close to reef slope. These two species have never been reported in large number. Habitat prefered by each population of seastars which showed in spatial distribution map, demonstrated a strategy in minimizing competition among populations. This strategy concerned with live requirement and adaptation potential (morphology and habits) of each seastar species.
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- MT - Fisheries [2934]