Topic 2

MARINE BIODIVERSITY BI3108 Marine Ecology

Semester I 2021/22

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)

 Biological diversity or biodiversity refers to the number and variety of life forms
found within a specified geographic region.
 This includes the different plants, animals and microorganisms, the genes they
contain, and the ecosystems they form.
 This living wealth is the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary
history.
 Review the terms: diversity, richness, evenness/relative abundance
 In the ocean: → number of species, genera, familia, phyla; biomass
(Anderson, 2009)
Why is Biodiversity Important ?

Climate – biogeochemical cycling of gases

is controled by living organisms, especially
marine biota. Marine organisms control
carbondioxide and function as a biological
pump.
Knowledge – new marine ecosystems
have been discovered, containing manya
new and endemic species.
Esthetic and cultural values – human
spirit, tourism, recreation
Economics and employment (e.g.,
fisheries, tourism)

(Anderson, 2009): Tyler-Miller, 2012)

Ocean Facts

▪ The Ocean covers > 70% of earth

▪ Over 50% of humans live in the coastal zone and draw
90% of our marine-living resources from this region
▪ Life evolved in the ocean 2.7 billion years before
terrestrial life.
▪ All except one phyla (33) occur in the ocean while only
half exist on land (high phyletic diversity)
▪ 15 phyla are exclusively marine.
▪ Ocean creatures contain a diversity of survival
strategies not found on land so exhibit high functional
diversity.

(Anderson, 2009)
Classification of Living Organisms
https://www.britannica.com/science/Triassic-Period
 Hierarchy in Classification

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 8

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
 Marine species richness
9

 Inventory efforts continue to be conducted

 Current record of species richness
 WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species)
 Census of Marine Life (COML)
 Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)

 Major groups of marine animals
10

1. Porifera: sponges
2. Cnidaria: hard corals, soft corals, hydroids, Portuguese men-of-war, sea anemones,jellyfishes, sea
pens and sea pansies
3. a) Ectoprocta: bryozoans
b) Platyhelminthes: flatworms
c) Annelida: segmented worms
4. Mollusca: snails, limpets, abalone, nudibranchs, scallops, sea hares, mussels, oysters, clams,
periwinkles, octopi and squids
5. Arthropoda: lobsters, shrimps, crabs, barnacles, isopods, copepods and amphipods
6. Echinodermata: crinoids, sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers
7. Chordata: tunicates, salps, sea turtles, sea snakes, sea kraits (close relatives of sea snakes), sharks,
rays, skates, all bony fishes, marine mammals including seals, sea lions, whales, dolphins, sea otters,
manatees and walruses
11
http://www.mesa.edu.au/phyla/
12
http://www.mesa.edu.au/phyla/
13
http://www.mesa.edu.au/phyla/
14
http://www.mesa.edu.au/phyla/
 Geographical Variation in Marine Diversity
15

 Highest biodiversity is found within the

tropics.
 However, the tropics are not uniform in
spesies richness → there is variation in
sponge, coral, bivalve mollusc,
echinoderm, and shorefish species
richness among four main regions:
 Indo-West Pacific

 East Pacific

 West Atlantic

 East Atlantic

 Hotspots of species richness do not always

correlate with hotspots of biomass.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
16
(Speight & Henderson, 2010)
(Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Factors Determining Biodiversity and Species Richness
18

 Sample size and sampling effort

 Body size
 Depth
 Latitude & longitude
 Habitat size
 Habitat complexity
 Disturbance
 Productivity
 Grazing and predation
 Genetics and dispersal

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
 Sample size and sampling effort
19

 The total number of species observed depends on the sampling method and the
effort expended.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Body size
20

 Generally, there is a greater

number of small than larger
species in a habitat (example:
fish).
 The species richness reported
from a sample will be partly
determined by the size range
selected for study.
 All sampling and sorting
methods are to some extent
size-selective, making it
difficult to compare species
richness between samples
collected using different
methods.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Depth
21

For all taxa in the ocean, species richness tends to change with increasing depth.
variation in species richness with depth can occur over short depth gradients (a
few tens of meters) over truly bathyal ranges of thousands of meters.
(https://www.nwf.org/~/media/Content/Screen%20Captures/Kids/Ranger-Rick-Spreads/ocean2-JJ2014.ashx)

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

22
(Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Latitude & Longitude
23

 For most marine animal and plant

groups, biodiversity is greatest
towards the equator and lowest
close to the poles → latitudinal
diversity gradient (LDG)
 However, there are exceptions,
for example:
 Large predators such as sharks and
tuna are found in distinct diversity
hotspots between 20 and 30o N & S.
 Pycnogonid sea spiders are
particularly diverse in Antarctic
waters.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Latitude and Longitude
24

 Example of combination in latitudinal and longitudinal variation: Brachiopods

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
 Habitat Size
25

 In general, biodiversity in an area is

proportional to its habitat size →
example: coral reef.
 The more habitat in terms of
volume, biomass and/or area
covered, the more species will be
present.

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
 Habitat complexity
26

 Even within an extensive habitat,

species diversity is strongly linked to
structural complexity (large areas of a
homogeneous habitat are unlikely to
support large numbers of species).
 Complexity is likely to be linked to the
age of the habitat; a young or new
marine habitat will have to grow to
extend its complexity.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Disturbance
27

 Disturbance of some sort

is an integral feature of
marine ecology → a
whole variety of events as
disturbance.

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC) (Speight & Henderson, 2010)
 Grazing and predation
28

 The interactions of members of higher

trophic levels may influence diversity via
top-down mechanisms.
 Feeding by predators such as starfish, and
grazers such as sea urchin, maintains the
diversity of ecosystems beneath them in
the food chain, by removing large numbers
of individuals from species that would
otherwise dominate and eliminate less
competitive species → reducing diversity.

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
Keystone Species

Feeding activity by
certain keystone
species may control
community structure.

(Molles, 2008)
 Genetics and Dispersal
30

 Spatial genetic variability is

linked to the geographic
distances between
populations or assemblages,
and the ability of a species
to disperse.

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
 Conclusions
31

 A large number of factors can influence

diversity and richness in the ocean, many
of which act together to produce the
observed assemblages.
 The vast scale of the oceans is important
in determining species isolation and
offers large units of habitat.
 Key to understanding marine diversity:
appreciate the huge scale and great age
of marine ecosystems → a hierarchy of
structures at global, regional and local
scales.

(Speight & Henderson, 2010)

BI3018 Ekologi Laut – Program Sarjana Biologi SITH ITB (DNC)
https://www.ecomagazine.com/news/science/first-ever-indonesia-deep-sea-exploration-makes-over-40-new-records