Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, in partnership with the Ministry of National Education, offers students chances to participate in MBKM activities, including the 2023 innovative research program. One of the student teams taking part in the 2023 MBKM innovative research activity is a Biology Education Department team made up of three students and one of their teachers.
This team is made up of students from different classes, led by Wihekan Paramitha and Regita Dinanti from the 2021 batch, and Dina Amalia from the 2022 cohort, who were joined by Rio C. Handziko. This student team collected data on coral reefs and reef fish in the waters around Bangsring, Banyuwangi, East Java. Furthermore, the data gathering results, particularly those related to reef fish, are packaged in the form of a book that can be utilized as a learning tool by visitors to Bangsring Beach. This collection includes 50 different reef fish that are iconic of the Bangsring beach waters.
Wihekan, the team leader, stated that the decision to choose Bangsring waters as the research location was made after consulting with Mr. Rio Handziko, his companion. Mr. Rio, who also holds an open water diving certification from Scuba School International, stated that Bangsring waters are one of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the island of Java that is directly managed by the local fishing community, which was the primary factor in selecting the location.
Data collecting lasted five days, from December 2 to December 6, 2023, and was aided by colleagues from the fishermen organization that manages Bangsring as an MPA. Mr. Rio Handziko delivered a class session that covered the general characteristics of coral reefs, such as their life forms and the morphological traits of the coral fish family and genus. The class session also included preparing for gathering data on coral reefs and reef fish using scientific data collection methodologies. On the second day, the focus was on attempting to collect coral reef data in Bangsring waters at depths of 1 to 1.5 meters and a line intercept length of 50 meters.
On the third day, the focus of coral reef data collection shifted to depths between 6 and 12 meters; on the same day, coral fish data collecting was also conducted. Mr. Rio Handziko, an MPA manager, collected data by diving with the assistance of colleagues from Brawijaya University and local fishermen. The data collection was successful in gathering around 220 varieties of coral fish and 7 types of coral reefs based on the life form of coral reefs. Of the 220 varieties of coral fish recorded, 50 were chosen as icons of the Bangsring waters and assembled into a coral fish catalog to help visitors learn about the Bangsring coastal waters. Mr. Rio, a lecturer in Marine Biology, also stated that this research and its findings could help to improve marine literacy among Bangsring visitors and contribute to UNY's SDGs #14 efforts.