The Impact of Coral Bleaching on Coral Reef Fishes in Sekotong Bay, West Lombok Regency

Abstract

Coral reef fish is one of the main components making up the ecosystem of coral reefs. There is a strong mutual dependence between reef-forming corals and fish that inhabit coral reefs. Various fish species use coral as a food source and habitat. This article describes the impact of coral bleaching on the diversity, density, and biomass of coral reef fish in the waters of Sekotong Bay, West Lombok. Underwater visual census (UVC) methods are used to obtain data on species, the number of individuals per species, and fish size at transect length 70 meters and width 5 meters. Simple linear regression analysis that is used to assess the impact of coral bleaching on the condition of coral reef fish shows that coral bleaching affects the diversity and density of reef fish. This analysis also showed that coral bleaching affected herbivorous fish biomass but not carnivorous fish. This study concludes that the degradation of coral fish in the Sekotong Bay of West Lombok occurs due to various factors, especially the declining health conditions of coral reefs