Ecoregions

Marine ecoregions are imaginary lines with the smallest scale in the marine ecoregions of the world (MEOW) system.

"Areas of relatively homogeneous species composition, clearly distinct from adjacent systems. The species composition is likely to be determined by the predominance of a small number of ecosystems and/or a distinct suite of oceanographic or topographic features. The dominant biogeographic forcing agents defining the eco- regions vary from location to location but may include isolation, upwelling, nutrient inputs, freshwater influx, temperature regimes, ice regimes, exposure, sediments, currents, and bathymetric or coastal complexity."

At least there are 232 ecoregions in the world (see Spalding, 2007). Sponge ID only present data from twelve (12) marine ecoregions of Indonesia.

Sulawesi Sea/ Makassar Strait

Kajian taksonomi spons di eko-region Sulawesi Sea/Makassar Strait sudah dilakukan sejak Tahun 1899 [lihat referensi]. Berdasarkan data WPD setidaknya terdapat 89 spesies Demospongiae (yang terdiri dari 53 genus, 33 suku, 12 ordo). Checklist fauna spons di wilayah ini masih dilakukan kajian dan update berkala karena adanya penambahan data catatan baru dari setiap kajian terkini.