A Study of Marine Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Observation and Monitoring Mechanisms in Taiwan

Yi-Che Shih^1,2*

• ¹Institute of Marine Technology and Affairs, College of Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
• ²National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Tainan County, Taiwan

The study provides a detailed analysis of marine biodiversity observation and monitoring mechanisms in Taiwan to offer policy insights for the development of the country’s marine biodiversity. The research methodology focused on analyzing existing statistical information and models using both primary and secondary sources, including bibliographic databases containing journals, proposed models, policy briefs, and white papers, as well as cited references. The first dataset covered plankton assemblages in western Taiwan coastal waters, consisting of quarterly surveys of environmental factors and plankton populations across eight transects from 1993 to 2021. The second dataset focused on fish assemblages in rocky tide pools on the northern coast, comprising fish community compositions collected from three sampling stations across four seasons by counting anesthetized fishes. The third dataset addressed fish assemblages in rocky tide pools on the southern coast, collected from two sampling stations. The pH ranged from 7.1 to 8.4, matching coastal water conditions, though a few metrics showed exceptional levels, including salinity (8.1‰) and total suspended solids (877 mg × l−1). Chlorophyll-a values, indicating algal biomass, peaked in the third quarter each year, while the first quarter reported the lowest average at 0.53 ± 0.57 (range: 0.02–4.21). The most abundant species in northern coastal waters included Bathygobius fuscus, Abudefduf vaigiensis, and Istiblennius spp., namely I. dussumieri and I. lineatus. Long-term temporal variations in the number of individuals for these species at each station were documented. The findings highlight the individual component models of the Taiwan Marine Environment Monitoring Service (TwMEMS), which focus on tsunami monitoring, preprocessing of surface elevation data, and swell warning analysis. Marine biodiversity observation and monitoring mechanisms are shown to be valuable tools for determining long-term patterns in the ecology of marine species and the intertidal ecosystem along Taiwan’s coastlines.