The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the seaweed industry and business. The export-import trade is the most severely impacted sector, mainly the raw material export of seaweed. The purpose of this study was to determine how smallholder farmers in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, can survive under adverse conditions and maintain their businesses during a pandemic. The research was conducted through a combination of field surveys and in-depth interviews with respondents. Interviews were performed using a variety of instruments, including questionnaires and cameras. According to the study's findings, smallholder farmers are impacted by a decline in prices and demand. Smallholder farmers in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, are attempting to adapt or adjust their operations to maintain profitability. Seaweed farmers make significant savings and cut their spending in the event of a pandemic. What is intriguing is that respondents did not reduce their spending on food. Instead, they prioritize reducing tertiary needs. Additionally, the same holder farmer borrows from collectors, borrows from the bank, and works side jobs. Thus, seaweed farmers are relatively unaffected by this pandemic and recover more quickly than other types of fishery businesses.Keywords: Covid 19, seaweed, smallholder farmer, Nusa Tenggara Barat

A study aiming to compare the abundance and species composition of invertebrates among four sites (Strickland East, Strickland West, Strickland Far East and North Point) on intertidal rocky platforms around Rottnest Island, Western Australia was conducted in January 2018. Eight quadrats with 1m by 1m dimension were haphazardly placed at each of three zones in the sampling site including the inner, middle and outer zone in relation to the shoreline in order to obtain the data of invertebrate community structure. The result of a one-way ANOVA test with a robust covariance matrix showed that the intertidal invertebrate abundance among the four sampling sites was statistically significant different (P<0.05). Then, a further test using Tukey post hoc analysis found that invertebrate abundance at Strickland East was significantly different with the assemblage of invertebrate at North Point, Strickland West and Strickland Far East at the level of significance of 1%, 5% and 10%, respectively. Whereas the cluster analysis revealed that there were two clusters of invertebrate species at Rottnest Island. In the future, it is recommended to conduct an invertebrate community structure monitoring program consistently every year covering all intertidal sites around Rottnest Island in order to obtain reliable data useful for conservation and management purposes.

Indonesia is the largest habitat of mangroves in the world which many are distributed in the urban areas of small islands. However, knowledge about conditions, potential, and management challenges of mangrove in these urban areas are still scarce. This study’s objectives are to assess mangrove conditions, potential threats, and the perception of local people. In the last two decades, mangrove cover in the main city of Ambon decreased at the rate of 0.75% y−1 and the status of the vegetation health was poor. In contrast, there was no much change in the mangrove areas of a satellite city, Tual and it has healthy mangrove forests. Mangrove forests have a good potential for carbon storage, either in Tual (191 Mg C ha−1 or 703 Mg CO2e ha−1) or Ambon (120 Mg C ha−1 or 441 Mg CO2e ha−1). Estimates of the economic value of carbon sequestration by mangrove forests in Tual and Ambon were US$ 30,896 and US$ 49,195 ha−1. The management challenges include mangrove deforestation, plastic pollution, and low public participation. Given the significant economic values of the mangrove areas and their potential carbon loss due to mangrove deforestation, avoiding mangrove deforestation, restoring the ecosystem, and strengthening conservation actions in small islands’ urban areas are crucial to ensure the sustainable use of mangrove resources.

The objective of this study was to analyze the species composition and distribution of marine macroalgae at Pari Island reef cluster-Seribu Islands reef system Jakarta based on specimen information available in Reference Collection of Research Center for Oceanography (RCO-LIPI). The Macroalgae specimens were collected irregularly by researchers during marine expedition projects from 1973 until 2014. Taxonomic identification of specimens was conducted in 2014, validation of species names was updated in May 2020 through www.macroalgaebase.org. The floristic composition value of macroalgae was analyzed using the C/P, R/P, and (R+C)/P ratio. Bray-Curtis similarity index analyzes were performed to visualize differences in macroalgae species from the different islands. We recorded a total of 41 species from 25 genus and 18 families. Rhodophyta represented the most significant number of taxa with 20 species (49%), followed by Chlorophyta with 11 species (27%) and Phaeophyta with ten species (24%). In this study, we found that Sargassum polycystum, Gracilaria salicornia, Amphiroa fragilisima, and Halimeda opuntia are dominant species in the study area. The highest macroalgae diversity found in Kongsi Island with 33 species, while the lower diversity found in Pari Island with five species. Bray-Curtis Similarity index showed that Kongsi Island and Burung Island have the highest similarity value with 29,26%, while Tikus Island and Pari Island have the lowest similarity value with 11,76%. The macroalgae distribution in the Pari island reef cluster influenced by the difference of substrate profile and environmental pressure derived from human activities. Proper management of macroalgae resources is necessary to preserve the sustainability of the macroalgae ecosystem. Keywords: macroalgae, composition, distribution, Pari Island

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