Coral Reefs is one of the major components of coastal and marine resources major, in addition to the mangrove forest, and yet. Coral is a collection of marine fauna gathered into one form Terumbu. Body structure is made up of many coral calcium and carbon. Living with this animal eat a variety of micro-organisms that live in the field through the sea.
Coral reefs and all life that is inside one of the natural wealth of the nation of Indonesia invaluable price. Wide is estimated that there are coral reefs in the waters of Indonesia is more than 60,000 km2, the wide spread of the West Regions Eastern Indonesia Indonesia (Walters, 1994 in Suharsono, 1998).
Indonesia is the place for about 1 / 8 of the coral reef (Cesar 1997) and is a country that is rich in diversity of the biota, compared with countries other Southeast Asia.
Coral reefs contain a variety of benefits that are very large and diverse, both ecological and economic. According to Cesar (1997) estimate the type of benefit in the coral reefs can be identified into two, namely the benefits of direct and indirect benefits.
Benefits from coral reef that can be directly utilized by humans is the utilization of resources of fish, coral reefs, tourism, research and utilization of aquatic biota that are in it. While that is not included in the utilization is as a direct function of coral reefs as coastal abrasion, biodiversity and others.
Ecology
Coral (Coral reef) is a community of organisms living on the base of the rock formation and the form of limestone (CaCO3) is strong enough to withstand water wave style. While organisms-organisms that live here is the dominant animal animals that have a framework of coral calcium, and algae that many of them also contain calcium. Associated with coral reefs above divided between the animals or coral reef (coral reef) as an individual organism or a component of society and as a coral reef ecosystems (Sorokin, 1993).
Coral reef ecosystems as the basis of the main sea with coral stones that have amazing architecture and formed by thousands of small animal called a polyp. In the form of sederhananya, coral polyp consists of a course that has a form of tube-like body with a mouth that is located at the top and surrounded by Tentakel. However, in most species, one individual coral polyp will develop into many individuals who called colony (Sorokin, 1993). Based on the ability to produce the limestone reefs are divided into two groups, namely coral reefs hermatipik and ahermatipik. Hermatifik coral reef is a coral can form the building that is known and the distribution Terumbu only found didaerah Tropical. Coral ahermatipik not produce Terumbu and this is a group of wide-spread throughout the world. The main difference Hermatipik and coral reefs ahermatipik is mutualisme the symbiosis between coral hermatipik with zooxanthellae, which is a kind of algae Uniselular (Dinoflagellata unisular), such as Gymnodinium microadriatum, is there in the network-network coral polyp animals and perform photosynthesis. Results from the side of this event is the deposition of calcium carbonic structure and form of the building unique. This feature is used to determine the type of species of animals or coral. Coral hermatipik have the unique nature of the fusion between the nature of animals and plants so that the direction of growth is always positive Fototropik. Generally, this type of live coral in the waters of coastal / marine shallow enough that where sunlight penetration is still up to the water is basic. In addition to living coral animals need a warm water temperature ranges between 25-32 ° C (Nybakken, 1982). According to Veron (1995) is a coral reef massif sediment (deposit) concentrated Calcium (CaCo3) generated by a reef with a little extra from the alga berkapur (Calcareous algae) and other organisms-organisms that mensekresikan carbonic calcium (CaCo3). In the process of formation of coral reefs and coral stone (Scleractina) is the composer's most important reef builders or animals Terumbu (reef-building corals). Including coral stone in the Class Anthozoa which Filum Coelenterata members who only have a stadium polyp. Anthozoa class consists of two Subkelas namely Hexacorallia (or Zoantharia) and Octocorallia, which divided both the origin, Morfologi and physiology. Coral animals as the main developer is Terumbu marine organisms because they are capable of efficient growth in the less fertile nutrien (oligotrofik). According Sumich (1992) and Burke et al. (2002) most species of coral to alga symbiosis with the symbiotic zooxanthellae that live in the network. In symbiosis, zooxanthellae produce oxygen and organic compound through photosynthesis akan that used by the coral, while the coral inorganik component form nitrate, phosphate and carbon dioxide for the zooxanthellae live. Next Sumich (1992) explains that the process fotosintesa by causing increased production of alga carbonic calcium with carbon dioxide to stimulate and chemical reactions as follows: Ca (HCO3) CaCO3 + H2CO3 H2O + CO2 Fotosintesa by algae that create coral bersimbiose Terumbu forming the body shell deposist made of carbonic calcium, approximately 10 times faster than the coral that is not formed Terumbu (ahermatipik) and not bersimbiose with zooxanthellae. Veron (1995) and Wallace (1998) revealed that the coral reef ecosystem is unique because there are usually only in tropical waters, is very sensitive to changes in the environment of his life, especially temperature, salinity, sedimentation, and Eutrofikasi require water quality natural (pristine). Similarly with environmental temperature changes due to global warming over the tropical waters in 1998 has caused coral bleaching (coral bleaching), which followed the death of mass reach 90-95%. Suharsono (1999) recorded during bleaching events, the average surface water temperature in Indonesia is 2-3 ° C above normal temperature.
