Distribution Modelling of Porites (Poritidae) in Indonesia

Abstract

Porites (Poritidae) is one of the most temperature induced bleaching-resistant coral genera. Therefore, their presence is essential for coral reefs to survive when facing the threat of climate change. Species distribution modelling for Porites corals could provide predictive maps of species distribution in various scenarios, and therefore provided the input for decision support tools. Distribution Model will cover coral reefs in Indonesia, using maximum entropy. Data from field observations collected by TERANGI Foundation since 2002 in various places of Indonesia, Indonesia Institute of Sciences since 1999, specimen data from GBIF, and other various sources were used as the only current input for the analysis. Environmental variables were derived from satellite imageries and oceanographic models, such as HYCOM, LANDSAT 8, MODIS AQUA, and GEBCO. Genera identification were based on Suharsono (2017). The results found that the model was well-performed with AUC value of 0.9747 and if compared to the null distribution, it was considered statistically significant (AUC = 0.7348). Jackknife analysis indicated that the environmental variables with the biggest contributions were substrate type, bathymetry, and mean of chlorophyll A concentration.