Copper (Cu) Content in Porites lutea at South Java Sea: Case Study at Pantai Kondang Merak, Malang, Indonesia

摘要

The reef flat area in Pantai Kondang Merak is similar to others that are influenced by the high and low tide. Coral in this area should deal with high water temperature during low tide and should withstand exposure to air. These conditions lead to coral stress. Another stressor is heavy metals such copper. Annual band in Porites lutea can be a bioindicator to investigate the heavy metal contaminations as resulted from the human and natural activity. To measure heavy metal copper in the coral skeleton, we used ICP-OES (iCAP 7400 Series). Heavy metal was absorbed by coral tissue and is bind in their aragonite. This research showed 7 years of the heavy metal sample in coral banding were 9.3; 9.223; 10.09; 10.67; 8.7 and 10.37 mg/Kg (KM1). While in sample 2 (KM2) the concentration of copper was 12.98; 12.5; 15.023; 15.27; 19.811; 28.229 mg/kg. The average of heavy metal KM2 (19.157 mg/kg) is higher than KM1 (0.765 mg/kg). From these data, we can know the amount of heavy metal in South Java Sea from the past or sclerochronology.