University of Twente Student Theses
Reef front heterogeneity analysis and coral genera diversity pattern in the Bunaken National Park, Indonesia
Schulze Rojas, Juan Pablo (2010) Reef front heterogeneity analysis and coral genera diversity pattern in the Bunaken National Park, Indonesia.
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| Abstract: | Coral reefs are among the most diverse, complex and productive ecosystems of the world. They are an important source of income, food, pharmaceutics, leisure and protection of the shoreline against storm damage and erosion, and poses a high diversity value. Coastal development, with the increase of population, the bad fishing practices, the effects of inland pollution and erosion and the bad regulations of tourism are threatening and damaging this ecosystem. To manage and protect the coral reefs, mapping them using remote sensors is useful. Past studies proved that geomorphological classes are useful to predict coral reef diversity. The present study analysed the relation of incisions present in the reef front with the diversity of the corals and the pattern of the coral diversity. The study area consisted of an island fringing reef and a coastal fringing reef in two areas of the Bunaken National Park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. A benthic map with 14 classes and an overall accuracy of 71.8% was produced. 44 different hard coral genera were recorded in 42 line intercept (LI) samples. The minimum amount of genera found in a single 20 m. LI was of 5 and the maximum 19. Tombariri presented a relative higher coral diversity compared to Bunaken Island. The Reef Front Heterogeneity Index (RFHI) was measured in front of each LI with 3 different scales: 50 m., 100 m., and 500 m. The result presented no correlation with the RFHI and the coral diversity in either of the scales. Despite of that, a trend could be seen. In the samples where the RFHI was high, coral diversity found was also high. Distance to the reef front presented a significant but low correlation. In Bunaken Island, 6 different sites could be identified, according to their geographic location, and a diversity pattern in these sites was found. The most remarking differences were found between the areas facing the east and west, with higher diversity to the east. The same pattern can be appreciated with the similarity index. The coral diversity didn‟t present variation between different management zonation levels. KEYWORDS: Coral Reef, Genera, Coral Diversity, Reef Front Heterogeneity, Bunaken National Park, Bunaken, Tombariri. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | ITC: Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation |
| Programme: | Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation MSc (75014) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/90739 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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