Cytotoxicity of marine invertebrate as an environmental biomarker in the marine protected area of Banda Island

Research in the field of ecology showed that the well-preserved coral reef in conservation regions is an ideal place for invertebrates to produce their active compounds. This study aims to obtain the information about the cytotoxicity of sponges, soft corals and ascidians that were collected from Banda Island water. The cytotoxicity information of those marine invertebrates were used as a benchmark in studying the conservation system that have been applied in Banda Island water. Five species of marine invertebrates (Sarcophyton sp., Nephthea sp., Hyrtios sp., Stylissa sp., and Polycarpa sp.) were collected (five replicates) from conservation area at Wali Beach, Solomon Village, Banda Island. The cytotoxic screening was conducted on ethanol extract of overall samples. The results showed that Stylissa sp. is the most potential organism since the ethanol extract of Stylissa sp. had the highest cytotoxic activity among the other samples. However, the overall cytotoxicity value of organism that was collected from Banda Island water is low. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) comparison of the cytotoxicity value among invertebrates from Banda Island water and other marine conservation revealed that environmental condition of Banda Island water was in good and low level. Therefore, the conservation system should be optimized in order to keep the sustainability of the genetic resources in Banda Island water.