Coral cover and reef fishes in the Karang Takat patch reef, Sumenep, Madura, Indonesia

¹ Department of Marine Science, Universitas Trunojoyo Madura, 69162 Bangkalan, Indonesia
² Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Universitas Diponegoro. Jl. Prof. Sudarto, S.H., Tembalang, Semarang 50275, Central Java, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Karang Takat Patch Reef Sumenep is a coral reef ecosystem located between Gili Labak Island and Gili Genting Island, which means that the coral reef ecosystem is directly impacted by activities that occur on both islands. The abundance of reef fish is closely tied to the health of the coral reef ecosystem. This study aims to determine the coral cover and community structure of reef fish communities, including abundance, diversity index, evenness index, and dominance index. The study was conducted in August 2023. Coral cover was collected using an Underwater Photo Transect. Reef fish data were collected using the Underwater Visual Census method with transects of 70 meters and a width of 5 meters. Coral cover in Karang Takat was 5.13%, categorized as damaged. 17 species of fish were found with a total of 148 individuals, including the families Chaetodontidae, Pomacentridae, and Labridae. Species of the family Pomacentridae are the most common compared to other species. The reef fish diversity index (H’) was 2.35, which is included in the moderate diversity. The Evenness Index (E) in the Karang Takat was 0.48, which indicates less stable conditions. The reef fish dominance index (D) is 0.14, which indicates a low dominance.