Assessment of the Holothuria atra (Echinodermata: Holothurians) habitat based on the antibacterial effectiveness approach at Karimunjawa, Central Java Province, Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract. Sulardiono B, Anggoro S, Rudiyanti S, Rahman A. 2019. Assessment of the Holothuria atra (Echinodermata: Holothurians) habitat based on the antibacterial effectiveness approach at Karimunjawa, Central Java Province, Indonesia. Ocean Life 3: 11-17. Sea cucumber Holothuria atra lives in shallow marine benthic habitats and in its life cycle depends on the quality of its environment. Bacteria in the body of sea cucumbers come from the bioaccumulation of bacteria in the sediment that they exposed to through the process of absorption of sediments as a deposit feeder. To inhibit bacterial growth in the body, sea cucumbers release bioactive compounds as antibacterial. The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of sea cucumber inhibition ability of sea cucumber H. atra as an antibacterial in the waters of Karimunjawa. A total of 15 individual sea cucumbers were taken from the waters of Menjangan Besar and 20 individuals from the Alang-alang waters, then cleaned and dissected to take the part of the body wall. The body wall samples obtained from each observation station was as much as 1 kg, which was then sliced into small pieces and preserved in 96% ethanol, and and the bioactive compound was extracted by maceration method. Antibacterial activity test was carried out by disc diffusion method on paper discs (10mm) and using the media of EMBA (Ethylene Methyl Blue Agar) (Merck) for E. coli bacteria and BPA (Baird Parker Agar) for S. aureus bacteria. The obtained antibacterial test results were based on the measurements of the formed clear zone diameter, so that it can be known the effectiveness status of the antibacterial sea cucumbers of each observation station. The results of the study show that the antibacterial effectiveness of sea cucumber H. atra in the Menjangan Besar waters is higher than in the Alang-alang waters. The increase of sea cucumber bioactive compounds in the waters of Menjangan Besar shows that the waters are suitable for the development zone of sea cucumber cultivation