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Sponges are animals that can produce bioactive compounds. This use needs to be accompanied by sponge cultivation techniques to avoid decreasing the availability of sponge colonies in nature. This study aims to determine the growth rate and survival rate of sponges Aaptos suberitoides and Petrosia nigricans in a recirculation system and to determine the process of wound healing due to transplantation. The research was carried out in September – November 2010 at the Central Laboratory for Marine Science Studies – IPB University, North Jakarta. Sponges are taken from natural habitats and then transplanted into maintenance ponds. The center of the transplanted sponge fragment is passed through a polyethylene rope which is used as a substrate for the sponge. The survival of Petrosia nigricans is decreasing rapidly every week. At the 6th, week the viability of Petrosia nigricans was 0%. Meanwhile, Aaptos suberitoides has a value of 100% with several fragments of 20. The results of measurements of the Petrosia nigricans sponge for 12 weeks show an average and standard deviation of growth rate in length of -0.04±0.24 cm/week and width of 0.02±0.16 cm/week. Meanwhile, the Aaptos suberitoides sponge is 0.06±0.07 cm/week and 0.05±0.09 cm/week wide. Signs of wound closure in Petrosia nigricans were visible on the fourth day after transplantation, while Aaptos suberitoides experienced wound closure on the second day after transplantation. The measurement value for ammonia in the pool is 0.9542 mg/L, nitrate is 0.3544 mg/L, nitrite is 0.0060 mg/L and salinity is 28-38 0/00, and the temperature is 27-29 °C. The sponge Aaptos suberitoides has a better growth response and has a wider survival tolerance than the sponge Petrosia nigricans in maintaining survival in the recirculation system.

A popular tourist destination known for its colorful coral reefs is Kaliage Island, part of the Seribu Archipelago. The UVC (Underwater Visual Census) method was used in a recent study to examine reef fishes’ trophic levels, ecological roles, and community structure. Dominance, evenness, and diversity indices were used to investigate community structure. The results revealed 3,117 fish from 54 species, 16 families, and 32 genera on the reef. The two most notable species within the family Pomacentridae were Pomacentrus alexanderae and Amblyglyphidodon curacao. Fish with major, target, and indicator functions accounted for 85.98 percent, 11.29 percent, and 2.73 percent of the fish population with ecological roles, respectively. The trophic distribution of fishes revealed that 45.01 percent were omnivores, 23.10 percent were planktivores, 19.19 percent were carnivores, 9.46 percent were herbivores, and 3.24 percent were coral eaters. The analysis showed that the reef fish community was balanced and not dominated by any species, with diversity, evenness, and dominance indices of 2.53, 0.87, and 0.01, respectively. For conservation efforts throughout the Seribu Archipelago, this study provides important insights into the stability and health of the reef ecosystem on Kaliage Island.

Pemuteran is well-known for its community-based coral reef conservation activities utilising Biorock technology, through the application of low voltage electricity. The main objective of this research is to assess the condition of coral reefs and fish communities within the Biorock area in Pemuteran, Bali. Data collection was implemented in June 2016 at the bleaching event, employing the Point Intercept Transect (PIT) method, and the Underwater Visual Census (UVCs) method. The benthic community composition at both research stations was dominated by dead coral with algae (Biorock Pemuteran 48.9%, Menjangan Island 51%). Both research locations exhibited branching coral and massive coral as the predominant coral lifeforms. Observational findings reveal noticeable differences in the community structure of coral fish between Biorock Pemuteran and Menjangan Island waters. A total of 11,260 individuals covering 120 fish species across 21 families. Higher fish abundance in Menjangan Island (1,326 ± 224 ind/250 m2) compared to Biorock Pemuteran (551 ± 235 ind/250 m2). The condition of coral reefs at both research locations is included in the poor category (0 – 24.9%). The reef fish community in both Biorock Pemuteran and Menjangan Island is in a stable condition with low dominance level and a moderate to high diversity.

Ternate Island is located on the North Maluku Sea. The North Maluku Sea region includes the Wallacea area and the world's coral triangle. One of the organisms commonly found in this sea is red algae. This study aimed to determine the red algae species by phylogenetic tree analysis based on the rbcL gene as a DNA marker. The preserved red algae tissue samples were extracted with the Geneaid GP100 DNA Extraction Kit Plant. The DNA sample was amplified and then visualized by 1% agarose gel electrophoresis. The amplicon products were sequenced and then aligned with the rbcL gene database that was available at the NCBI gene bank. The phylogenetic tree was constructed using the UPGMA method. The results showed that red algae were identified into four species: namely Gibsmithia hawaiiensis (98.65%), C_rbcL sample was identical to Amansieae sp. (91.50%), D_rbcL sample was identical to Peyssonnelia sp. (95.54%), and G_rbcL sample was similar to Portieria hornemanniI (96.15%). Based on phylogenetic tree analysis, Gibsmithia hawaiiensis from North Maluku is closely related to species from Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia, followed by the Philippines species. Special findings were found to carry out phylogenetic reconstructions that can answer inter-species kinship. The general finding is that the markers used can be used for phylogenetic construction. Phylogenetic construction of Peyssonnelia sp. in North Maluku is related to species from South Africa. North Maluku's Portieria hornemannii is closely related to a species from Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duncanopsammia axifuga (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae) is reported for the first time from Indonesia. A population was found in 5-m deep, murky water on a sediment-rich, inshore reef at Bird's Head Peninsula, West Papua. Some corals were attached to dead coral and others were loose fragments living on sediment. One attached specimen was observed to be damaged as a result of direct contact with an adjacent Goniopora coral. Free-living specimens on sand are more likely able to escape competition for space. These observations may help to better understand the northernmost range limit and the natural environment of D. axifuga, a species that is popular in the international aquarium trade, but has not been studied very well in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clavularia inflata was first described from Ternate Island, Indonesia in 1896 and later reported appeared from Japan and Taiwan in 1953.Clavularia (Blainville 1830) soft corals exhibit complex morphological traits that are difficult to differentiate, thus complicating their identification. DNA barcoding has been envisioned and actively pushed as a credible method for assigning unidentified specimens to known species by comparison to a molecular reference data database. DNA barcoding is an important tool to support the management of biological resources, one of which are soft corals. As soft corals are among the species that are difficult to identify morphologically, DNA barcoding data are very valuable for identifying them. Thus, the purpose of this study was to use molecular methods to confirm the identity of 25 colonies taken from 13 Indonesian coral reef sites (Anambas, Natuna, Tanjung Lesung, Kepulauan Seribu, Madura, Kangean, Bontang, Lombok, Manado, Wakatobi, Morotai, Kon, and Maluku Tenggara Barat (MTB)) and putatively identified as C. inflata. All specimens were identified as C. inflata molecularly using the mitochondrial DNA mtMuts gene. The results from this study can enrich the information base for barcoding of soft corals elsewhere because the samples were taken across a range of nearly 4000km throughout Indonesia archipelago. Although a comparison of the nucleotide base chains to Genbank data indicates that the samples belong to a single species, two clades in the phylogenetic tree and data from the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) indicate that there are two major groups of C. inflata in Indonesia, implying cryptic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]