Keanekaragaman Jenis Makroalga yang Ditemukan di Perairan Wula-Waijelu Kabupaten Sumba Timur - Firat Meiyasa; Nurbety Tarigan (Program Studi Pendidikan Biologi, FKIP Universitas Kuningan, 2021)
Abstrak: Makroalga merupakan sumberdaya hayati yang sangat potensial untuk dikembangkan dan tersebar di daerah pesisir intertidal. Makroalga memiliki peranan penting baik dari segi biologis, ekologis maupun ekonomis yang dapat mempertahankan keanekaragaman sumberdaya hayati laut. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengidentifikasi jenis-jenis makroalga yang tersebar di perairan Wula-Waijelu dan mendeskripsikan jenis makroalga yang tersebar di perairan tersebut secara visual dan morfologi. Metode pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan metode eksplorasi dengan menjelajahi seluruh perairan Wula-Waijelu. Kemudian, sampel yang telah ditemukan diidentifikasi menggunakan buku identifikasi makroalga di Laboratorium Terpadu Unkriswina. Selain itu, dilakukan pengukuran kualitas air seperti suhu, oksigen terlarut (DO), dan derajat keasaman (pH). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa kualitas perairan Wula-Waijelu cukup baik, dengan rata-rata suhu sebesar 29.26 oC, pH sebesar 8.1, dan DO sebesar 8.2. Selanjutnya, hasil identifikasi makroalga menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 3 kelas utama yaitu alga hijau 5 spesies (Caulerpa racemosa, Caulerpa cupressoides, Caulerpa lentillifera, Halimeda discoides, Halimeda opuntia, alga merah 2 spesies (Eucheuma cottonii dan Actinotrichia fragilis Forsskål), dan 1 spesies alga cokelat (Sargassum vulgare). Abstract: Macroalgae are a very potential biological resource to be developed and scattered in intertidal coastal areas. Macroalgae have an important role from a biological, ecological and economic perspective that can maintain the diversity of marine biological resources. The purpose of this study was to identify the types of macroalgae scattered in the Wula-Waijelu waters and to describe the types of macroalgae that are scattered in these waters visually and morphologically. The sampling method was carried out by the exploration method by exploring the entire Wula-Waijelu waters. Then, the samples that were found were identified using the macroalgae identification book at the terpadu laboratory of Unkriswina. In addition, water quality measurements such as temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO) and degree of acidity (pH) were carried out. The results showed that the quality of the Wula-Waijelu waters was quite good, with an average temperature was 29.26 oC, pH was 8.1, and DO was 8.2. Furthermore, the identification results of macroalgae show that there are three main classes, namely five species of green algae (Caulerpa racemosa, Caulerpa cupressoides, Caulerpa lentillifera, Halimeda discoides, Halimeda opuntia, two species of red algae (Eucheuma cottonii and Actinotrichia fragilis Forsskål), and one species of brown algae (Sargassum vulgare).