Research article

ZOOPLANKTON FOOD SOURCES OF SOFT CORALS IN MANOKWARI WATERS, WEST PAPUA PROVINCE

Tresia Sonya Tururaja 1.2*, Elvira Martina Awuy2,Alvinas Kayukatui2, Jemmy Manan2,Hendrik V. Ayuan2, Roni Bawole 1,2, Rina A. Mogea1,3, Murtihapsari1,4

Online First: November 30, 2022


Soft coral as one of the animals on coral reefs, has a food source in the form of zooplankton, especially epibenthic copepodsso that hThis is the basis of this research.Pthis researchaims toexamine the structure of the zooplankton community in terms of abundance, diversity index and dominance index of zooplankton and make an inventory of soft coral species. Zooplankton and soft coral samples were taken from Kaki Island waters, Lemon Island waters and Marampa Harbor waters, Manokwari.Zooplankton samples were observed using a 10 x 10 alternating microscope using the census (sweeping) method abovesedgwick rafter cell.The results of the identification of zooplankton fromthree locations6 classes were found, namely Hexanauplia, Malacostraca, Ostracoda, Branchiopoda, Gastropods, and Bivalves which were divided into 24 species.ZThere are 9 species of ooplankton in the waters of Kaki Island, 21 species in Lemon Island, and 24 species in Marampa Harbor. The class with the highest number is Hexanauplia. The same zooplankton species were found from the three research sites, namely Eurytemora pacifica and Copepot sp. The highest abundance of zooplankton was found in Marampa Harbor and the smallest on Kaki Island. The waters of Kaki Island, Lemon Island and Marampa Harbor have a moderate value of zooplankton diversity. The zooplankton class that dominates the waters is Hexanauplia (copepoda). The soft corals found were Sinularia, Sarcophyton and Lemnalia where these animals consumed zooplankton from the classes Hexanauplia, Malacostraca, Ostracoda, Branchiopoda, Gastropods, and Bivalvia.

Keywords

zooplankton, soft coral, Manokwari