Presence and Toxicity of 2,4-D Herbicide in Coral Galaxea fascicularis of Java Coast, Indonesia

The increasing use of herbicides in agriculture sectors have received great attention with respect to their potential toxic effect on reef-building corals of Indonesia. One chlorinated compound, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetat (2,4-D), has been widely used as a herbicide and has become a substantial environmental pollutant. Contamination of 2,4-D was assessed in stressed or dead coral tissues of Galaxea fascicularis from the coastal waters of Java Sea. Controlled tolerance experiment testing 2,4-D was performed on this coral. The effects of 2,4-D on coral mortality were investigated. Comparison of the residue levels in coral tissues showed that the highest presence of 2,4-D concentrations was detected in a sample collected from Jepara coastal waters. While small amounts of a contaminant 2,4-D can still lead to detectable in West Java and East Java coastal waters. Contamination of 2,4-D was not found in coral samples collected from Karimunjawa islands. The toxicity of 2,4-D on corals showed that short duration (48 h) laboratory test demonstrated dramatic effects on sloughing and death of coral. The LC50-96 was determined to be 18.82 mg L-1 2,4-D. These results demonstrated the possibility that 2,4-D herbicide could act and lead to coral mortality in the Java coastal waters.