Judul: Morfologi dan filogeografi of Clavularia inflata Schenk, 1896 Schenk, 1896 (Karang Lunak: Stolonifera) in daerah pesisir Indonesian
Abstrak: The Coral Triangle is recognized as the center of the world’s marine biodiversity, with species richness declining gradually from this region to the east across the Pacific Ocean and west across Indian Ocean. This region covers many countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei, East Timor (Timor Leste), Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. There are around 96 genera and 23 families of soft coral in the Indo-Pacific. In Indonesia around 219 species, 28 genera, and 4 families of soft corals have been recorded. Clavularia is spread widely throughout the Indian and Pacific Ocean, stretching from the Red Sea and East Africa across the Indo-Pacific, reaching as far east as Micronesia. Clavularia is stoloniforous zooxanthellae soft coral, each one of the polyps is connected to the base. Polyps are pink to brownish gray and about 30 mm in diameter. Stolons are brown to dark red, and are often covered with algae or sponges. Genetic connectivity is the key of conservation because it plays important roles in maintaining populations and the potential for restoring damage to the marine environment. The connectivity patterns of sessile animals are affected by reproduction and larval spread. The stage of pelagic larvae is the initial stage of life for recruitment, so that it can maintain its population from extinction. Besides, the pattern of genetic connectivity can help in designing management plans for marine protected areas, which in turn can help to preserve biodiversity. Genetic connectivity between coral reefs is often overlooked when designing an area, but it is very important to ensure the continuity of populations or protection of biodiversity. This study aimed to confirm the identity of 25 colonies collected from 13 Indonesian coral reef location putatively identified as Clavularia inflata using molecular tools, and to describe them morphologically to verify defining characteristics and describe their morphological plasticity. Specimens were morphologically described based on their sclerite characteristics and compared between sites. All specimens were confirmed as Clavularia inflata by molecular identification using mitochondrial DNA with the mtMuts gene. Sclerite observations were divided into four parts for each colony, namely pinnules (finger-like extensions along the tentacless sides), crowns (tentacles covering the upper side of polyps, located between tentacles and calyx), calyx (the middle part of polyps), and stolons (branching between polyps). The form of sclerites found in Clavularia inflata comprised various forms such as rods, fingers, sticks, and brackets. The shortest size sclerites were found in the pinnule. These sclerites had a variety of sclerites such as grains with various geometric shapes such as platelet or finger biscuit shape. In the crown, the form of sclerites found was spindle-shaped sclerites (oval shaped with a shaft in the middle) with a curved shape. The middle part of the polyp (the calyx) is mostly covered by rod-shaped sclerites. Morphometric measurements of Clavularia inflata showed specimens from Kepulauan Seribu, Jakarta had the largest pinnule, calyx, and stolon compared to other locations. The maximum mean length of pinnule, calyx, and stolon were 145.1±19.27 µm, 1605.6±30.58 µm, and 749.5±52.8 µm, respectively. The maximum mean length of crown was 672,6±39.58 µm, found in Maluku
Keyword: Alcyonacea, Coral triangle, Molecular taxonomy, Phylogeography, Population genetics