The correlation of coral cover and reef fish density in the biggest archipelagos located in centre of Indonesia

Live coral cover is a measure of the proportion of reef surface covered by live stony materials
instead of sponges, algae, or other organisms. These stony corals are the main contributors to a
reef's three-dimensional framework structure that provides critical habitat for many organisms.
Therefore, this research aims to determine the relationship between the number of live coral
cover and the presence of reef fish in one of the biggest archipelagos located in centre of
Indonesia. The research method used for the determination of live coral cover was the point
intercept transect, while the reef fish population were measured using the census technique. The
results showed, that the average percentage of live coral cover in all stations including Sarappo,
Lumulumu, and Langkai Island were 43.17, 52, 45.67%, respectively, and were classified into
moderate and good. There were 149 reef fish species in 27 families found in the studied area
during this research. The coral cover was negatively correlated with species diversity and the
abundance of reef fish in archipelagos of Indonesia.