Coral Disease Prevalence in the Western Lombok Waters
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coral bleaching, coral reefs, disease prevalence, life below water, ulcerative white spots
Abstract
Coral disease is one of the major threats to coral mortality, leading to severe degradation of coral reef ecosystems. Several studies on coral disease have been conducted in Indonesia; however, coral disease prevalence in Lombok waters remains unknown. This study aims to identify coral diseases, quantify their prevalence, and examine their relationships with coral reef covers. Two data collection methods used were the belt transect method for coral disease observation and underwater photo transect for benthic substrate cover assessment. Four types of coral diseases were identified: ulcerative white spots (UWS), pigmentation response (PR), white syndrome (WS), and white pox (WP). Additionally, two types of coral health disorder caused by other organisms were found, namely coralliophila and tube formers. The overall coral disease prevalence was 10.2±0.18% (± SE), while coral health disorder prevalence reached 6.0±0.62%. Coral diseases were only found in the massive corals: Astreopora, Cyphastrea, Favia, Goniastrea, and Porites. The condition of coral reefs was classified as moderate (fair), and coral diseases were distributed homogenously among sites. There were neither significant correlation between coral reef covers and coral disease prevalence, nor between coral reef covers and coral health disorder prevalence. Coral disease prevalence was more related to sponges and soft corals covers, while coral health disorder prevalence was more closely related to hard corals and rubble covers. The results suggest that coral disease is concerning in Lombok waters, and regular long-term monitoring coral diseases is required to achieve the sustainable development goal life below water.
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