Search

Indonesia is the country with the largest archipelago in the world, with a total of seventeen thousand islands. The term 'maritime nation' has actually been surging through stories of local wisdom (culture), but during the colonial period, the term lost its original significance and Indonesia came to be treated as if it were an agrarian country. This paper shows that Indonesian maritime society contains various inherited values of religiosity, including myths, legends, folklore, and oral traditions about marine cosmology. Folklore, myths, and legends have an important position in society, not only referring to cultural traditions but also containing religious or theological values that are closely related to the identity of the Indonesian nation. This paper studies the mythical figure of Nyi Roro Kidul who is considered the sea guardian. The legend surrounding the figure of Nyi Roro Kidul can serve as an important trope to develop a contextual Javanese eco-pneumatology [Holy Spirit] and help address some of the contemporary ecological issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) today exhibits the highest marine biodiversity, which has been evolving since the early Miocene. The existence of this high palaeobiodiversity is attested to by the presence of many fossil invertebrates; however, the region's fossil fish record is sparse and understudied, which is also the case for cartilaginous fishes. Elasmobranch fossils are dominantly represented by shark and ray teeth in the geological record and can give a quick overview of the composition of the fauna. The first IAA elasmo fossils, shark teeth were described from Java (Indonesia) at the end of the 19th century, and until today, most of the publications are known from this island. In the early and middle of the 20th century, remarkable fossils were also reported from the islands of Madura (NE Java) and Sulawesi, some with detailed taxonomical descriptions. In addition, only sporadic reports on fossil occurrences exist elsewhere from the IAA, but these lack any detailed taxonomic accounts. In 2019 our research group reported a late Miocene elasmobranch fauna from Brunei (Borneo), which is now the most diverse known shallow water fossil assemblage from the entire IAA. This fauna was described from a single fossiliferous outcrop, called Ambug Hill. However, several new localities have been discovered and studied over the years, as a result the number of fossils increased, and their age range extended. Here we provide an overview of these new sites and their elasmobranch fossils, and describe remains from ten taxa among, of which eight are new to the IAA fossil record (Chiloscyllium sp., cf. Hemitriakis sp., Paragaleus sp., Carcharhinus borneensis, C. limbatus, Lamiopsis sp., Scoliodon sp., Rhinobatos sp.). The overall north Bornean elasmo assemblage is then compared with other IAA occurrences. An extended fauna list is given based on literature review and preliminary investigation of the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre collection in Leiden (The Netherlands) where most of the fossil fishes of the early explorations are stored. These assemblages are also briefly summarized, and attention is drawn to some of the unique and thus far unreported taxa (e.g., Dalatias licha). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of plastic pollution in the marine environment is a matter of great concern. Our research presents pioneering findings on sub-surface microplastics in the Indonesian archipelagic waters. Data on microplastic presence in sub-surface water in the Indonesian Archipelagic Water is crucial for expanding our understanding of microplastic distribution from the surface to the bottom layers of the ocean, a research area that has been relatively overlooked. We discovered microplastic particles at 5 m depth below the surface through simultaneous pump method. The highest concentration of microplastics was discovered in Ambon, followed by North Java and North Sulawesi. In contrast, the lowest abundance of microplastics was detected in the Maluku Sea. These findings are consistent with prior studies establishing a relationship between human activity-as indicated by population density-and microplastic pollution. However, our results indicate that levels of microplastics in Ambon were significantly higher than those found in other sampled areas, particularly compared to North Java, which boasts the highest population density in Indonesia. This disparity is likely due to a faster seawater flushing rate and shorter water residence time in North Java relative to Ambon. The origins and pathways through which these microplastics are introduced into Indonesian archipelagic waters remain uncertain. Based on particle composition (52.73% fibers and 51.38% size <500 µm), it appears that they may result from either larger plastic items being broken down during transportation over long distances by prevailing currents from input from coastal areas or as a byproduct of local activities. Additional research is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of microplastic in water columns. This includes investigating the fate of microplastics and examining their impact on marine organisms within this treasured ecosystem. Moreover, it is important to develop methods for mapping the worldwide distribution of microplastics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]