Affiliations: Biology Faculty, Jenderal Soedirman University,
Purwokerto 53122, Central Java, Indonesia | Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Fahrenheitstrasse
6, 28359 Bremen, Germany | Center for Tropical Coast and Marine Studies,
Diponegoro University, Tembalang, Semarang 50275, Indonesia
Abstract: Segara Anakan is a mangrove-fringed shallow coastal lagoon in south
central Java, Indonesia, which is of high ecological and economic value because
of its richness and diversity in living natural resources. The economic demands
of a growing population, however, strongly alter environmental conditions which
affect the ecology of the living resources and ultimately the ecological
balance and economic potential of the region. Preliminary results of recent
investigations in conjunction with available information from the past decades
indicate an increasing deterioration of environmental conditions, particularly
through high riverine sediment inputs in the western part of the lagoon, oil
pollution in the eastern part and inputs of effluents from agriculture
particularly in the western part of the lagoon. The destruction of mangroves
mainly through illegal logging leads to habitat changes which affect the
ecology of organisms, particularly of economically important species. Benthic
organisms are as diverse as in other tropical regions. Abundances are extremely
high in the central lagoon, but lower by two orders of magnitude in the eastern
part which is affected by the effluents of an oil refinery. Developing measures
for the sustainable management of the lagoon's living resources requires an
integrated understanding of ecosystem functions and their changes related to
human activities and climate change. The multidisciplinary German-Indonesian
SPICE (Science for the Protection of Indonesian Coastal Marine Ecosystems)
research programme is designed to obtain the necessary information in high
temporal and spatial resolution.
Keywords: Mangroves, rivers, lagoon, Indonesia, environmental change, benthos, biogeochemistry, human impact
