Exploring the Influence of the Island Typology on Morphological Diversity of the Green Seaweed Caulerpa racemosa in Indonesia | ||||
| Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries | ||||
| Article 113, Volume 29, Issue 4, July and August 2025, Page 2053-2068 PDF (788.71 K) | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejabf.2025.445047 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Author | ||||
| Kusnadi et al. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Environmental factors such as habitat type and seawater physicochemical parameters play a crucial role in driving differences in the abundance and morphological traits of marine macroalgae. This study investigated the impact of seawater physicochemical gradients on the abundance and morphological characteristics of Caulerpa racemosa across two distinct island types in Indonesia—flat and hilly islands—represented by Pari Island and Sebesi Island, respectively. Seawater parameters recorded included substrate type, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, and silicate. Morphometric variables such as assimilator height and width, stolon diameter, rhizoid diameter, ramulus diameter, number of rhizoids, and number of assimilators were measured using ImageJ software. Data analysis was conducted using the Mann-Whitney test, t-test, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results indicated that island type significantly influenced seawater physicochemical properties, which in turn affected the abundance and morphological traits of C. racemosa. Significant morphological variations were observed between the two island types. Mean values of assimilator width were 1.290cm on Pari Island and 1.128cm on Sebesi Island; stolon diameter measured 0.481 and 0.372cm, and the number of rhizoids was 1.300 and 1.750, respectively (P< 0.05). Salinity, DO, and TDS were higher on Sebesi Island (32.190ppt, 6.708mg/ L, and 30.033mg/ L, respectively) compared to Pari Island (31.760ppt, 5.403mg/ L, and 29.675mg/ L, respectively). PCA analysis revealed that Sebesi Island was strongly associated with salinity, DO, TDS, and abundance, while Pari Island was characterized by higher phosphate and nitrate levels, suggesting nutrient enrichment likely due to domestic waste input. These findings contribute to a better understanding of morphological plasticity in response to habitat-specific environmental parameters in tropical marine ecosystems. The results have implications for sustainable aquaculture, particularly in guiding site and strain selection for the cultivation of C. racemosa. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Morphological variation; Type of island; Caulerpa racemosa; Physicochemical | ||||
|
Statistics Article View: 52 PDF Download: 69 |
||||
