The Influence of Water Quality Variability on Habitat Status and Its Designation in the Ujungnegoro Marine Conservation Area, Indonesia

Abstract

Coastal conservation areas contribute to ecosystem services, including provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting functions. Environmental imbalances can disrupt these functions, creating an ecological burden through pollution from estuarine runoff and anthropogenic activities resulting from spatial complexity. This study aims to evaluate water quality variability and determine the status of waters and assimilation capacity in the management zone of the Ujungnegoro Marine Conservation Area, Indonesia, during the dry season. This study used water quality standard suitability analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), pollution index, pollution load, and assimilation capacity assessment conducted at 10 sampling points in August 2024. The results showed that the water quality in the estuary area is the most affected, among the studied sites. Karang Maeso, as the Core zone, receives the highest pollution load, particularly in terms of lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), temperature, and total suspended solids (TSS), which are less than ideal for coral reef ecosystems. Revealing slightly to moderately pollution status. The highest pollution load is found at the Sambong estuary, recording total suspended solids (TSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) at 381,076, 458,79, 337,897, 2,030, 1,386, and 0.015mg/L tons/month, respectively. Most pollutant load parameters have exceeded capacity except for cadmium (Cd) at the mouths of the Buntu and Sono rivers, which remain below capacity. Based on the assessment results during the dry season, a strategy is needed to improve the resilience of coastal ecosystems and support the establishment of coral reef rehabilitation areas in critical areas. Further research is also needed for temporal monitoring over several seasons to understand effective pollution dynamics and adaptive strategies.