Assessment of Life Form and Adaptive Capacity of Coral Reef Ecosystem in Tanjung Tiram Waters, Southeast Sulawesi.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> The coastal areas of Southeast Sulawesi are households of rich coastal ecosystems, which provide precious ecosystem services for society, but recent conditions might be suffered by various natural and anthropogenic pressures. This study aimed to elucidate the life forms and adaptive capacity of the coral reefs ecosystem in the Tanjung Tiram waters, as one of the potential tourist places in Southeast Sulawesi. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Observation of the life form and adaptive capacity of coral reefs was carried out using the LIT (line intercept transect) method. The adaptive capacity components of the coral reef ecosystem were assessed including: (1) Coral reef dimensional index (IDCR), (2) Coral cover (%), (3) Dominance of life forms, (4) Number of life form species, (5) Number of reef fish species, (6) Depth of coral reefs and (7) Distance of coral reef ecosystems from residential areas. <b>Results:</b> The life forms of coral reefs consist of <i>Acropora</i> and non-<i>Acropora</i> corals. Adaptive capacity components of coral reefs showed different categories, such as the coral reef dimensional index belonging to the "Low" category, while mostly other adaptive capacity parameters including coral cover, the coral life forms and the number of coral fish belong to the "Moderate" category except for the number of life-form species of coral reefs is in the high category. The distance of the coral reef ecosystem is very near to human settlements of Tanjung Tiram Village and thus coral reef ecosystems are affected by human activities. <b>Conclusion:</b> Overall, the adaptive capacity of the coral reef ecosystem in Tanjung Tiram waters was a moderate category, thus, efforts must be made such as by coral transplantation, conservation, etc., to increase the coral reefs' adaptive capacity in the coastal regions of Southeast Sulawesi.

Heavy metal bioaccumulation in mangrove ecosystem at the coral triangle ecoregion, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.

This study aimed to determine the role of mangroves as a biofilter of heavy metals. The concentrations of heavy metals, namely copper, mercury, cadmium, zinc, and lead, in the mangroves Rhizophora apiculata, Ceriops tagal, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Lumnitzera racemosa, Xylocarpus granatum, Sonneratia alba, and Bruguiera parviflora at RAWN Park were determined using a Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. High concentrations of Cu (83.85µgg-1) and Hg (0.52µgg-1) were found in the tissues of L. racemosa, while high concentrations of Cd (10.81µgg-1), Zn (70.41µgg-1), and Pb (1.36µgg-1) were found in the tissues of B. gymnorrhiza, B. parviflora and C. tagal, respectively. The translocation and bioaccumulation factors of heavy metals by mangroves showed a variety of trends, which indicated the different partitioning and uptake capability of heavy metals in the tissues of various mangrove species. Thus, maintaining high diversity of mangroves is crucial to ensure the health and productivity of coastal zones.

Chemical induction of rapid and reversible plastid filamentation in Arabidopsis thaliana roots.

Plastids assume various morphologies depending on their developmental status, but the basis for developmentally regulated plastid morphogenesis is poorly understood. Chemical induction of alterations in plastid morphology would be a useful tool for studying this; however, no such chemicals have been identified. Here, we show that antimycin A, an effective respiratory inhibitor, can change plastid morphology rapidly and reversibly in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the root cortex, hypocotyls, cotyledon epidermis and true leaf epidermis, significant differences in mitochondrial morphology were not observed between antimycin-treated and untreated tissues. In contrast, antimycin caused extreme filamentation of plastids in the mature cortices of main roots. This phenomenon was specifically observed in the mature root cortex. Other mitochondrial respiratory inhibitors (rotenone and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone), hydrogen peroxide, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine [a nitric oxide (NO) donor] and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea did not mimic the phenomenon under the present study conditions. Antimycin-induced plastid filamentation was initiated within 5 min after the onset of chemical treatment and appeared to complete within 1 h. Plastid morphology was restored within 7 h after the washout of antimycin, suggesting that the filamentation was reversible. Co-applications of antimycin and cytoskeletal inhibitors (demecolcine or latrunculin B) or protein synthesis inhibitors (cycloheximide or chloramphenicol) still caused plastid filamentation. Antimycin A was also effective for plastid filamentation in the chloroplast division mutants atftsZ1-1 and atminE1. Salicylhydroxamic acid, an alternative oxidase inhibitor, was solely found to suppress the filamentation, implying the possibility that this phenomenon was partly mediated by an antimycin-activated alternative oxidase in the mitochondria.