ENDEMIC BANGGAI CARDINALFISH (Pterapogon kauderni) HABITAT BEFORE THE TSUNAMI STRUCK PALU BAY

Earthquake and tsunami struck Palu bay on September 28, 2018, and has affected the entire coast. BCF habitat on Palu bay was lost by the tsunami. BCF depends on its habitat for survival. Banggai cardinalfish is a paternal mouthbrooder with direct development, without pelagic phase and sedentary movement. If habitat extinction occurs, there is a small chance for the population to recover naturally. The BCF spread was naturally uneven, although on a relatively uniform habitat. This research aimed at determining BCF biodiversity in the Gulf of Palu and examined the distribution of BCF in Palu bay. The Determination of BCF population was done by visual census through Fish Belt Transect method and Swim Survey method, besides the conditions and habitat composition were done by using Point Intercept Transect (PIT) method. Surveys were carried out by2 times observations with 5 meters width and the transect length in a repeat was 25 meters. The results obtained the living habitat of P. kauderni on both observation locations consist of hard corals, anemones, and sea urchins. The diversity index obtained indicated that the diversity and community stability were low, while uniformity index indicated that the distribution between individual types of reasonably uniform. In contrast, the dominance index showed that the size of the adults was more dominating on the habitat on both of the observation locations. These findings would be a reference for habitat restoration of Banggai cardinalfish (BCF) post-disaster.Gempa dan tsunami melanda teluk Palu, 28 September 2018, seluruh pantai terkena dampak gempa dantsunami. Habitat Banggai Cardinalfish (BCF) di Teluk Palu hilang akibat tsunami, BCF bergantung padahabitatnya untuk bertahan hidup. Banggai cardinalfish adalah jenis ikan paternal mouthbrooder denganperkembangan secara langsung, tanpa fase pelagis dan gerakan menetap. Jika terjadi kepunahan habitat,kecil kemungkinan populasi tersebut dapat pulih secara alami. Penyebaran BCF secara alami tidak merata,meskipun pada habitat yang relatif seragam. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahuikeanekaragaman hayati BCF di Teluk Palu; mengkaji sebaran BCF di teluk Palu. Penentuan populasi BCFsecara sensus visual dengan metode Fish Belt Transect dan metode swim survey, kondisi dan komposisihabitat menggunakan metode Point Intercept Transect (PIT). Survei dilakukan sebanyak 2 kali pengamatandengan lebar 5 meter dan panjang transek secara ulangan yaitu 25 meter. Hasil yang diperoleh habitat hidupP. kauderni pada kedua lokasi pengamatan terdiri dari karang keras, anemon dan bulu babi. Indekskeanekaragaman yang diperoleh menunjukkan bahwa keanekaragaman dan stabilitas komunitasnyarendah, untuk indeks keseragaman menunjukkan bahwa sebaran antar individu jenis cukup seragam,sedangkan indeks dominansi menunjukkan bahwa ukuran dewasa lebih mendominasi pada habitat dikedua lokasi pengamatan. Pengamatan ini akan menjadi acuan restorasi habitat Banggai Cardinalfish (BCF)pasca bencana. Kata kunci: Banggai cardinalfish, ikan endemik, Pterapogon kauderni, Teluk Pal