Contact: akbar.reza@ugm.ac.id
University website Academic Staff (ugm.ac.id)

As a marine ecologist, my research addresses fundamental questions regarding the structure and functioning of tropical coastal ecosystems (reefs, mangroves, seagrasses) and the interactions that support or erode their diversity and resilience. My work primarily focuses on an community/ecosystem/landscape/seascape perspective with broad research question is how interactions (interspecific-intraspecific interaction and physicochemical factors) shape ecosystem functioning, how human pressure can alter this pattern in the long term, and how we can conserve, rehabilitate, and restore perturbed ecosystems to ensure their sustainability.

Our research adopts a systems thinking approach to investigate ecological connectivity, emphasizing the importance of understanding the interrelationships between tropical coastal ecosystems, including their connections with terrestrial ecosystems. Furthermore, we utilize a socio-ecological system framework to comprehensively analyze the interconnectedness between ecosystems and human well-being. By incorporating systems thinking and a socio-ecological approach, we aim to manage these ecosystems more wisely and sustainably, recognizing their intricate relationships and broader impacts on human societies.

I graduated from James Cook University, Australia, for my master’s degree, majoring in Marine Biology and Ecology under the supervision of Prof. Mia Hoogenboom, with a thesis titled “Plastic Contamination in Coral Reef Ecosystems: A Case Study in Kepulauan Seribu National Park, Indonesia,” fully funded by LPDP Indonesia. My bachelor’s degree was from the Faculty of Biology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, with my undergraduate thesis titled “Diversity, Distribution, and Abundance of Scleractinian Reefs in District-Based MPA Olele, Gorontalo, Indonesia,” supervised by Assoc. Prof. Retno Peni Sancayaningsih (in memoriam). She also supervised me in a Community Empowerment Project titled “Community Empowerment Program in Bone Bolango Regency, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia: Concerning Unique Local Biodiversity Conservation,” which was awarded as an Outstanding Flagship Project at the 9th Global RCE Conference in Okayama, Japan, in 2014.

MEMBERS

MUHAMAD TASYLAN (Graduate Student Majoring Ecology and Conservation – 2021)

Coral Reef and Reef Fish Communities at Tanjung Beach, Muna Regency, Southeast Sulawesi

FARHAN WALI BACHTIER (Undergraduate Student Majoring Environmental Biology – 2023)

The Abundance of Macrobenthos in Gunungkidul Yogyakarta

Currently working as Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) Facilitator at Coral Triangle Center