Komunitas Makroalga sebagai Bioindikator Kualitas Perairan Pantai Desa Hatu, Maluku Tengah, Maluku

Juliennette Happinesty Rikumahu, Dr. rer. nat. Andhika Puspito Nugroho; Prof. Dr. Ir. Ig. L. Setyawan Purnama, M.Si

2023 | Tesis | S2 Ilmu Lingkungan

Provinsi Maluku merupakan daerah perikanan yang potensial di Indonesia, dengan 92,4% wilayahnya tertutup lautan. Namun peningkatan jumlah penduduk dan aktivitas manusia menyebabkan penurunan kualitas perairan akibat perubahan komponen fisik, kimia, dan biologi perairan di sekitarnya. Hal ini mempengaruhi kehidupan berbagai biota laut termasuk makroalga, yang akan digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebagai bioindikator kualitas perairan di Pantai Desa Hatu. Masyarakat Desa Hatu melakukan berbagai praktik yang dapat menyebabkan polusi berbahaya dan peningkatan jumlah coliform, bebapa diantaranya yaitu membuang limbah domestik dan melakukan B.A.B.S (buang air besar sembarangan). Berdasarkan permasalahan tersebut, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengkaji kualitas air laut di Pantai Desa Hatu dengan menggunakan komunitas makroalga dan mengkaji pemahaman warga sebagai agen pencemar.

Penelitian ini dilakukan pada populasi makroalga dan air laut dari 45 lokasi berbeda di sepanjang pesisir pantai Desa Hatu, dan 75 responden masyarakat dipilih secara acak berdasarkan jarak domisili ke pantai dan sungai Desa Hatu. Komunitas makroalga diukur menggunakan indeks keanekaragaman, keseragaman, dominansi, dan kelimpahan, dianalisis dengan Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI), dan dibandingkan antar titik sampling untuk menilai status ekologis perairan pesisir Desa Hatu. Hubungan antara parameter fisikokimia dan komunitas makroalga ditentukan menggunakan metode PCA dan biplot. Data kuisioner dianalisis secara statistik deskriptif untuk melihat tingkat pemahaman masyarakat tentang pencemaran ekosistem laut.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa komunitas makroalga di Pantai Desa Hatu secara keseluruhan memiliki tingkat keanekaragaman dan keseragaman yang rendah, dengan keberadaan jenis yang dominan pada setiap stasiun penelitian, dengan nilai kelimpahan jenis tertinggi pada stasiun 1 yaitu 69 % Halimeda sp. dan 15% Sargassum sp.; di stasiun 2, 72% Turbinaria sp. dan 17% Ulva sp.; dan di stasiun 3, 61% Halimeda sp. dan 18% Turbinaria sp. Menurut analisis EEI-e komunitas makroalga, perairan di Pantai Desa Hatu berkualitas baik di stasiun 1, berkualitas buruk di stasiun 2, dan berkualitas sedang di stasiun 3, dengan rata-rata kualitas rendah di seluruh badan air. Sebagian besar penduduk Desa Pantai Hatu berpendidikan minimal SMA dan sadar akan masalah yang terkait dengan pencemaran ekosistem laut, tetapi sejumlah masyarakat tetap melakukan perilaku pencemaran seperti mencuci pakaian di sungai, memelihara ternak di dekat sumber air, dan mempraktikkan buang air besar sembarangan. Selain itu, ada juga ketidaksepakatan terkait dengan efisiensi peran pemerintah, desa, dan LSM dalam mengatasi masalah saat ini, hal ini dapat mempengaruhi mereka yang belum memahami dan/atau melakukan kegiatan yang berpotensi pencemaran di daerah aliran sungai pantai desa Hatu.

Maluku Province is a potential fishery area in Indonesia, with 92.4% of its area covered by the ocean. However, as a result of changes in the physical, chemical, and biological components of the surrounding waters, the increase in population and human activity has led to a decrease in water quality. This affects the lives of many marine creatures, including macroalgae, which will be used in this study as a bioindicator of water quality to show the quality of coastal ecology. The community of Hatu Village disposes of domestic waste and engages in seawater-based B.A.B. (open defecation) practices which can cause a harmful pollution and high coliform levels. In order to address this issue, this study will examine the quality of the seawater at Hatu Village Beach using the community structure of the macroalgae that already exists and the understanding of the residents as pollutant agents.

The study was conducted on macroalgae and seawater populations from 45 different locations along the littoral area of the coast of Hatu Village, and 75 community respondents were selected at random based on their distance from the beach and rivers of Hatu Village. Macroalgae communities were measured using diversity, uniformity, dominance, and abundance indices, analyzed with the Ecological Evaluation Index (EEI), and compared between sampling points in order to assess the ecological status of the coastal waters of Hatu Village. The relationship between physicochemical parameter and the macroalgae community was determined using PCA and the biplot method. On the basis of the questionnaire's results, descriptive statistics were used to examine the level of public understanding regarding pollution of marine ecosystem

The results of this study showed that the macroalgae community in Hatu Village Beach as a whole had a low level of diversity and uniformity, with the presence of the dominant species at each research station, with the highest species abundance value at station 1, namely 69% Halimeda sp. and 15% Sargassum sp.; at station 2, 72% Turbinaria sp. and 17% Ulva sp.; and at station 3, 61% Halimeda sp. and 18% Turbinaria sp. According to the EEI-e analysis of the macroalgae community, the waters at Hatu Village Beach are of good quality at station 1, bad quality at station 2, and medium quality at station 3, with an average low quality across all water bodies. Although most residents of Hatu Beach Village have at least a high school education and are aware of the problems associated with polluting marine ecosystems, a certain number of people continue to engage in polluting behaviours like washing their clothes in rivers, keeping livestock near water sources, and practicing open defecation. Additionally, there is also a disagreement related to the efficiency of the government, villages, and NGOs in addressing the current issues, which can affect those who do not yet comprehend and/or indulge in activities with potential pollution in the watersheds of Hatu village beach waters.

Kata Kunci : Kata Kunci : Maluku, Makroalga, Bioindikator, Kualitas Air , Pemahaman Masyarakat. Keywords : Maluku, Makroalgae, Bioindicator, Water Quality, Public Understandings