Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in Tambelan Archipelago, Indonesia

Coral reefs ecosystem is one of favorable sites as habitat of most of marine organismsincluding benthic foraminifera. Foraminiferal assemblages are regularly used as bio-indicators ofenvironmental feasibility for reefs. Hence, the objective of the present study was to recognize theforaminiferal assemblages in the Tambelan Archipelago as a baseline data for monitoring ofenvironmental changes and to plan conservation strategies. The survey was conducted on November2010 at 12 sampling sites around Tambelan Archipelago. A total of 5582 specimens of benthicforaminifera belonging to Order Astrorhizida, Textulariida, Miliolida, and Rotaliida were recorded. Most ofcollected species were recognized as symbiotic-bearing foraminifera; the most common of them whereAmphistegina sp. and Calcarina sp. that counted more than 1000 specimens.