Coral Reef Conditions At the Snorkeling Spots of the Karimunjawa National Park, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract Karimunjawa as a marine national park has attracted tourists to come and explore coral reefs. The reefs are under increasing pressure from the development of underwater tourist activities so it is necessary to pay attention to the reef condition to maintain its sustainability. This study was conducted in September 2019 by examining the condition of coral reefs in the most visited snorkeling spots based on information from tour operators, i.e. the Ujung Bintang, Maer and Karang Sendok spots. Data was collected using a 20 m line belt transect to count coral cover and was analyzed using coral morphology triangles to assess the Coral Condition Index (CCI) and Impact Severity Index (ISI). The condition of coral reef cover at the Ujung Bintang and Maer spots were in the “good” category based on the CCI, while at the Karang Sendok spot the corals were in the “bad” category based on the ISI. The three snorkeling spots have competition-adapted (K) morphology, which means that the coral reefs are dominated by non-Acropora corals associated with coral reefs with high waves. The dominant life form at the Ujung Bintang spot was foliose corals, at the Maer spot, it was foliose coral and non-Acropora branching corals, while at the Karang Sendok it was Acropora, which is more vulnerable than foliose and massive corals. The CCI at the three spots was in the “good” category as there are healthy coral colonies, whereas the ISI was in the “poor” category since partially and recently dead coral colonies were found there. The coral colony damage in the spots was dominated by bleached coral colonies and partially dead coral colonies.