DIVERSITY OF ECHINODERMS (ASTEROIDEA, ECHINOIDEA AND HOLOTHUROIDEA) AT THE OSI ISLAND WATER, WEST OF SERAM, CENTRAL MALUKU

Study of diversity Echinoderms (Asteroidea, Echinoidea and Holothuroidea)  at the beach area of  Osi Island, Central Maluku.  Observation on echinoderms diversity was carried out at the coastal areas in July 2012. The purpose of this study is to get information about the cummunity structure of the echinoderm in the Osi Islands coastal areas, Maluku Tengah. Sampling was conducted by using quadrate transect of 1 m x 1 m. The results of this study showed that there were 16 species of echinoderms, belongs to four species of Asteroidea, five species of Echinoidea and seven species of Holothuroidea. The Holothuroidea were commonly found in the seagrass zone. Based on the data from the three sampling tations, Holothuroidea has the highest density among the other observed biota. The quantitative analysis revealed that the highest diversity and evenness indexes of faunal assemblage was found at tation two (H = 1.117; J = 0.974), while the highest species richness was represented by the Echinoderms from tation one (D = 0.079). Generally, all biota found in this study (14 species) prefer seagrass as microhabitat, nine species occupy sandy areas and eight species inhabit seaweed.Penelitian keanekaragaman jenis fauna ekhinodermata (Asteroidea, Echinoidea dan Holothuroidea) di perairan Pulau Osi, Seram Barat, Maluku Tengah dilakukan pada Juli 2012. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai struktur komunitas fauna ekhinodermata di  perairan Pulau Osi, Maluku Tengah. Pengambilan contoh biota dilakukan dengan menggunakan transek kuadrat ukuran 1m x 1m.  Hasil penelitian diperoleh 16 jenis ekhinodermata yang mewakili empat jenis Asteroidea, lima jenis Echinoidea dan tujuh jenis Holothuroidea. Kelompok teripang atau Holothuroidea merupakan kelompok yang paling menonjol pada tiga stasiun.  Pada  tiga stasiun yang diamati, ternyata kelompok teripang (Holothuroidea) menempati tingkat kekayaan jenis relatif tinggi. Analisa kuantitatif diperoleh nilai indeks keanekaragaman dan indeks kemerataan tertinggi ditemukan di stasiun dua (H = 1,117; J = 0,974) dan nilai indeks kekayaan jenis tertinggi didapatkan pada stasiun satu (D = 0,079). Secara umum ekhinodermata menyukai mikrohabitat lamun (14 jenis), mikrohabitat pasir (9 jenis) dan mikrohabitat rumput laut (8 jenis).&nbsp