W.N.W Saelan

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Faculty Member

University of Vienna, Department of Palaeontology, Graduate Student

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Faculty Member

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1) Foraminifera - Ecology and applications.
2) Oceanography - Sediment accretion rate in mangroves.
3) South China Sea - Malacca Straits - Deepwater Sarawak.

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Rokiah Suriadi

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

P.Geol. Abdullah Sulaiman, FIGM

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Fachri Ardiansyah

Jans Lalita

Barbilina pam

Pondicherry Central University

Simon Troelstra

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Zainal A . Muchlisin

Universitas Syiah Kuala Banda Aceh

Haileyesus Negga

Maria Byrne

The University of Sydney

Catia Barbosa

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Papers by W.N.W Saelan

Reef Foraminifera as Bioindicators of Coral Reef Health: Low Isles Reef, Northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The Journal of Foraminiferal Research, 2008

Pulau Tioman is a famous tourist island off Peninsular Malaysia with beautiful coral reefs. This ... more Pulau Tioman is a famous tourist island off Peninsular Malaysia with beautiful coral reefs. This study aims to assess the health of the coral reefs surrounding Pulau Tioman based on the application of the Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring Index (FI). Ten sampling sites around Pulau Tioman were studied with a total of 30 samples. Eight orders, 41 families, 80 genera, and 161 species of benthic foraminifera were identified. The agglutinated type of foraminifera constituted 2-8% of the total assemblages. Calcareous hyaline and porcelaneous groups represented 79% and 19% of the total assemblages, respectively. Symbiont-bearing taxa were the most common foraminifera. The results indicate that most of the sampling sites are conducive for coral reef growth with good recoverability from future stress to the ecosystem. However, several areas with higher coastal development and tourism have reduced water and sediment quality. Therefore, the limit on the number of visitors and tourists should be revised to enable coral growth and health. The FI values in this study showed a positive correlation with good water qualities and a negative correlation with organic matter enrichment. The FI is a good measure to assess the health of a coral reef and can be applied to other reef ecosystems around Malaysia. The coral reef ecosystem is among the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world that plays a vital role in shaping the balance of environmental processes over the past 200 million years 1. Coral reefs provide goods and services to marine tropical and subtropical regions 2. Globally, coral reef ecosystems are threatened or have disappeared due to climate change and human intervention 3. On a larger scale, elevated sea temperatures and ocean acidification caused by climate change have challenged the natural resilience of tropical reefs 4. Local stressors from human activities, such as coastal development and pollution, reef predatory practices, and diseases, usually reduce the potential of reef recovery from the ill effects of climate change 4-6. Because coral reef ecosystems provide various natural environmental services, their ability to survive the global climate anomaly is important. Consequently, understanding the health status of local individual reefs is important to ensure that the coral reef survives and recovers from likely mass mortality events 4. Benthic foraminifera can successfully be used to monitor the potential recovery of the reef ecosystem 7-9. Benthic foraminifera have been proven to be excellent indicators of sediment quality, heavy metal pollution, organic pollution, and water quality 10-13. Many taxa of Unicellular foraminifera are abundant in reef ecosystems; some of these taxa have similar ecological requirements as those of reef building corals 11. The development of the Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring (FORAM) Index (FI) by Hallock et al. 11 has enabled continuous monitoring of the health of coral reefs. The FI was developed as a low-cost monitoring tool to indicate whether the quality of water surrounding a reef ecosystem can support reef growth 11. This index was first applied in the Western Atlantic reef 11 and has subsequently been applied widely in other regions, including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia 7,8 , reefs in Brazilian waters 14 , and the Saronikos Gulf, Greece 15. The reliability, simplicity, and cost effectiveness of the FI has made it a suitable indicator for the monitoring of coral reef. Monitoring the environmental health of the surrounding reef is very important for natural park management authorities to safeguard the coral ecosystems and maintain their ecological importance in Pulau Tioman.

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Distribution of Benthic Foraminifera in the Coral Reefs Ecosystem of Pulau Bidong, Terengganu, Southern South China Sea

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Journal of Undergraduate Research

A study on the distribution of benthic foraminiferal species in the surface sediments of coral re... more A study on the distribution of benthic foraminiferal species in the surface sediments of coral reefs was carried out in Pulau Bidong in the southern South China Sea (SCS). Samples were collected at 12 sites around Pulau Bidong at water depths ranging from 5 m to 30 m. Live (rose bengal stained) and optimally preserved empty tests of benthic foraminifera were analysed based on their chamber and apertural characteristics observed under binocular microscope (Leica Zoom 2000). The results revealed that 32 genera of benthic foraminifera were found in the coral reefs sediments. Amphistegina was the most abundant genus with relative abundance of 68% and frequently recorded at depths of between 10-15 m and 25-30 m. Other common genera that were found were Calcarina, Elphidium, Heterolepa, Heterostegina, Quinqueloculina, Peneroplis and Triloculina. These genera showed depth distribution preference in the shallow water zone (5 m depth). The highest diversity index (2.3) and number of taxa (26...

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Evaluating performance of foraminifera stress index as tropical-water monitoring tool in Strait of Malacca

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Depth distribution of benthic foraminifera in the middle and deeper sublittoral to uppermost bathyal zones northwest of Okinawa, Japan

Distribution of dominant species of porcelaneous foraminifera is related to depth in the sublitto... more Distribution of dominant species of porcelaneous foraminifera is related to depth in the sublittoral and uppermost bathyal around Okinawa, Japan. Depth is a composite factor that influences physical factors, i.e., temperature, salinity, substrate caused by hydrodynamics and illumination. Depth distribution of optimally preserved porcelaneous tests demonstrate optima in the middle sublittoral, deeper sublittoral and uppermost bathyal zones. Optimal depth distribution of the tests in the middle and deeper sublittoral zones is related to dependence on either coarse sand, medium sand or no dependence on specific substrate type. Optimal depth distribution of the tests in the uppermost bathyal zone is related to dependence on fine and very fine sand. Porcelaneous tests have shown partial agreement between the depth distribution and dependence on substrate type. Life position of the porcelanous foraminifera is influenced by test dominance in percentages of silt and clay. Dominance in the high percentages of silt and clay is reflected in infaunal life position. Dominance in the low percentages of silt and clay is reflected on epifaunal life position. Dominance in medium percentages or no dominance reflects on either epifaunal or infaunal life position. Test dominance in percentages of silt and clay is related to its dependence on substrate type.

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Sub-Surface and Infaunal Foraminifera of Kelantan Delta, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia: Their Potential for Interpretation of Sea Level Change

This paper documents distribution and abundance of benthic foraminifera living in the upper 50 cm... more This paper documents distribution and abundance of benthic foraminifera living in the upper 50 cm of mangrove sediment in the Kelantan Delta, Tumpat, northeast coast of Peninsular Malaysia and uses the results to interpret past environmental change and reconstruct historical trends. Kelantan Delta sedimentary environments consist of bay, mangrove, and estuary. During annual monsoon (November to February), Kelantan Delta is exposed to strong northeasterly waves from the South China Sea. Anthropogenic modifications to the system are substantial. Short cores (50 cm) were taken from three sites (Che Minah, Timun, and Terendak Islands) during field sampling in August 2009. Substrate sediment was dominated by silty mud. Salinity was recorded in situ during field sampling and ranged from 4 to 25 ppt. Lowest salinity was reported in Timun Island where the value ranged between 4 to 5 ppt and heavy rainfall that took place just before the sampling might be responsible for this. Meanwhile sali...

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