The Most Wonderful Place

Meilina SafitriSma Negeri 8 Pekanbaru

“BUNAKEN ISLAND”

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.

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.

Flora and Fauna

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/bunaken

http://www.north-sulawesi.org/bunaken.html

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