Effect of land use and vessel traffic on water quality and macrobenthic communities in the east gate of Java, Indonesia

Indonesia is an archipelagic country that relies heavily on maritime transportation. Among its five main islands, Java serves as a central hub for this transportation. As maritime transportation has developed, land use in coastal areas has changed, transforming intact vegetation into settlements and other uses. This vessel traffic, combined with land use changes, may impact water quality and macrobenthic communities. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of land use and vessel traffic on water quality and macrobenthic communities, particularly in eastern East Java. This area experiences considerable vessel traffic from Kalimantan, Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands, and Papua. Simultaneously, its coastal areas have been transformed from intact vegetation into fishponds and settlements. Fifteen sites were selected for this study, with five sites representing each land use type. The results indicate decreasing water dissolved oxygen and pH levels and increasing temperature along the gradient from vegetated areas to fishponds and urban developments. Likewise, macrobenthic biomass declined along this gradient. Vessel traffic also contributed to the reduction in macrobenthic abundance. This study enhances our understanding of the relationships among land use, vessel traffic, and macrobenthic communities, highlighting the importance of coastal management that regulates coastal development and limits land use conversion and vessel traffic.