Bunaken Island, Indonesia

1. Meilina Safitri
Sma Negeri 8 Pekanbaru

2. The Bunaken National Park is a marine park in
the north of Sulawesi island, Indonesia. The
park is located near the centre of the Coral
Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of
coral as well as many fish, mollusc, reptile and
marine mammal species. The park is
representative of Indonesian tropical water
ecosystems, consisting of seagrass plain, coral
reef, and coastal ecosystems.

3. The Bunaken National Marine Park was formally
established in 1991 and is among the first of
Indonesia’s growing system of marine parks. it
covers a total surface area of 890.65 hectares, 97% of
which is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the
park is terrestrial, including the five islands of
Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and
Siladen. Although each of these islands has a special
character, it is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts
most naturalist.

6. A very rich coral ecosystem covers most of Bunaken National
Park, dominated by fringing reef and barrier reef corals. There
are about 390 species of coral recorded in the waters of the
park. The seaweeds that can be found here include Caulerpa,
Halimeda, and Padina species, while the dominant seagrasses,
in particular in the islands of Montehage and Nain, are
Thalassia hemprichii, Enhallus acoroides, and
Thalassodendron ciliatum. The park is also abundant in
different species of fish, marine mammals and reptiles, birds,
molluscs and mangrove species.

7. The waters of Bunaken National Marine
Park are extremely deep (1566 m in
Manado Bay), clear (up to 35-40 m
visibility), refreshing in temperature (27
to 29⁰C) and harbor some of the highest
levels of biodiversity in the world. It has a
high diversity of corals, fish, echinoderms
or sponges.

8. Notably, 7 of the 8
species of giant
clams that occur in
the world, occur in
Bunaken. It also
claims to have
seven times more
genera of coral
than Hawaii, and
has more than 70%
of all the known
fish species of the
Indo-Western
Pasific.

9. Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken
National Marine Park is such a treasure trove of
biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally
sweep through the park but abundant counter
currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are
believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is
particularly true on the south side of the crescent-
shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the
park.

10. A snorkeler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan
or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly
fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels,
wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish
with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow
them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most
diverse but least known group of fish in the
park.

11. On land, the islands are rich in species of palm,
sago, woka, silar and coconut. Among the animal
species that live on the land and the beaches are
Celebes Crested Macaque, Timor Deer, and
Sulawesi Bear Cuscus. The mangrove forest of the
park contains, among others Rhizophora and
Sonneratiaspecies. This forest is also rich in
species of crab, lobster, mollusc, and sea birds as
gulls, herons, sea doves, and storks.

12. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki
/bunaken
http://www.north-
sulawesi.org/bunaken.html

13. Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you