Physical Condition of Spawning Habitat for Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys Olivacea) In Coastal Waters of Polewali Mandar Regency, Makassar Strait

Abstract

The olive ridley turtle is one of the potential marine resources that spawn in the MempiePolewaliMandar Coast, Makassar Strait. The increase in the number of turtle hatchlings spawning on the Mampie coast is not accompanied by an increase in the success of the turtle eggs hatching which tends to decrease, this is predicted due to habitat degradation.  This study aims to identify the characteristics of spawning habitats and to assess the population of the sea turtles in the Mampie Coast.The research was conducted from February to March 2019 at 2 observation and measurement stations, namelyMampie Cape and Mampie Beach.   Habitat conditions as observed ecological factors were the length and width of the beach with respect to turtle habitat, beach slope, sand fraction, sand water content, sand temperature, coastal vegetation, threats and disturbance factors in the Mampie Coastal Area, turtle frequency and egg hatching success rate.  The turtle spawning habitat on the Mampie Coast has the characteristics of a beach length of 6 km, a beach width from the lowest low tide coastline to supra littoral 50.20 m - 77.35 m, including the category of a gentle beach, with a slope ranging from 4.00° - 8 ,11°, the sand fraction is dominated by fine sand (0.125 mm – 0.25 mm), the water content of the sand pit where the eggs are laid is in the normal range, which is between 6.45% - 10.15%, the temperature of the sand is between 27.4°C – 34.6°C. The plant vegetation in the two observation sites has different species compositions, namely: in the cape of Mampie there are Spinifexlittoreus, Cyperusrotundus, Clerodendruminerme, Cocosnucifera, Ipomeapescaprae. And on Mampie Beach there are Spinifexlittoreus, Pandanustectorius, Terminaliacatappa, Morindacitrifolia. Meanwhile, threats that affect the turtle spawning process in the Mampie Coast are wild animals such as monitor lizards (Varanussalvator), sand crabs (Ocypodeceratophthalmus), cats (Feliscatusdomesticus), dogs (Canis lupus), red ants (Aechophyllasmaragdina) and other disturbances such as fishing activities, tourists and the construction of embankments around the Mampie Coast.The ANOVA test showed that there was no significant difference in the frequency of turtle laying eggs and the success rate of hatching eggs between Mampie Cape and Mampie Beach.