Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues ...

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges

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Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

SCLERACTINIAN CORAL DIVERSITY OF KG TEKEK, PULAU TIOMAN MARINE PARK AFFENDI YANG AMRI1, BADRUL HUZAIMI TAJUDDIN1, LEE YOKE LEE2, KEE ALFIAN ABD. ADZIS3 AND YUSRI YUSUF4 1

Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur WWF-Malaysia, 49, Jalan SS23/15, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 3 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 4 ReefBase, The World Fish Center, Jalan Batu Maung, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang Correspondence email: [email protected]

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ABSTRACT The reef situated adjacent to Kg. Tekek, Pulau Tioman Marine Park was surveyed during the months of August to October 2004 to document the diversity of hard corals (scleractinian corals) found there. We did random swims using SCUBA along the reef while taking notes of each coral colony morphology and growth forms. Additional underwater close-up digital photography of corallites on each colony was also done. Coral species identification were referenced using Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Compared to a study by Harborne et al. (2000) of the waters around Pulau Tioman which found 183 species, this study found a total of 221 hard coral species from 14 families. The dominant families were Acroporidae (59 species), Faviidae (52 species) and Fungiidae (27 species). In addition seventeen species that are categorised by Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) to be rare worldwide were found in the study area. We believe that the study area is very unique, important as a pool for coral species and needs to be managed with great care. INTRODUCTION It is has been well known that coral reefs are shallow water, calcareous structures which support a highly diverse association of marine plants and animals. Coral reefs are important firstly because of its biodiversity where coral reefs are usually compared to tropical rainforests due to similar high biodiversity and low nutrient surroundings. Amazingly coral reefs of the world are only ~0.25% of the world’s oceans but has the ability to maintain ~25% of all marine species. Reefs have been estimated to have 1-9 million species of organisms although this high estimate still needs to be confirmed. Malaysia is blessed with high biodiversity where it has been estimated that Malaysia has ~69 coral genera compared to Hawaii ~13 genera and Maldives ~52 genera (Bakus, 1994; Birkeland, 1997; Sorokin, 1993). Coral reefs are mainly distributed between the tropics of Capricorn (30oS) and Cancer (30oN). They are highly dependant on sea temperatures >18oC and needs adequate sunlight. Hermatypic corals also known as scleractinian (hard) corals are the most important component in any coral reef ecosystem. Hard corals are the main builders of reefs due to its symbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae). Zooxanthellae enhances the ability of hard corals to secrete calcium carbonate which makes up its skeleton and ultimately the coral reef framework (Bakus, 1994; Birkeland, 1997; Sorokin, 1993) . Malaysian reefs are mostly fringing reefs along the mainland or around islands. At present there are five marine park areas where coral reefs are protected and under the jurisdiction of the Marine Parks Section of the Ministry of the Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE). The park areas encompasses 40 islands and the main islands are Pulau Payar, Pulau Redang, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Labuan. There are nine islands within Pulau Tioman Marine Parks which is in Pahang state. The largest of the islands is P. Tioman with the size of 13,420 hectares and is also the largest island off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was gazetted as a marine park in 1994 under the Fisheries Act, 1985. This is due to the fact that our coral reefs are considered to be a national heritage which needs to be protected and conserved. Burke, L. et al. (2002) had estimated that the coral reef area in South East Asia region is about 100,000 km2 which is equivalent to 34% of the world total and has 600-800 hard coral species. Malaysia has about 4,006km2 of the coral reefs in the region. They also estimated that 90% of coral reefs in Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, Phillipines, Vietnam, China and Spratly Islands face destruction and 85% of the coral reefs in Malaysia and Indonesia are threatened. The main threat in the region is overfishing where it causes 64% of the reefs to be threatened, 56% goes to the threat of blast and cyanide fishing use and finally 37% goes to the threat of sedimentation and pollution from coastal development and changes in land use. As Pulau Tioman is in a Marine Park then the main threat would be careless development of the island. This is also emphasized by Burke et al. (2002) where for Peninsular Malaysia it was identified that the main threat is by development whereas for East Malaysia it is by blast and cyanide fishing.


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At the study site of Kampung Tekek, Pulau Tioman the development of infrastructure has been very extensive if compared to other parts of the island. There are numerous buildings including jetties, a government clinic, schools, houses, resorts and even duty free shops. Significant development has been seen at Kg. Tekek recently that might have been due to P. Tioman being declared a duty free island in September 2002. There is also a small airport in Kg. Tekek and plans for a marina to be built at the study site and an additional 2km airport on the waters southwest of the island has met with serious disputes by the locals and other stakeholders. We had chosen the reef adjacent to Kg. Tekek to be studied as we are concerned that it would be jeopardized with all the present and future development nearby. In addition because little is known about the reef and its biological importance to the marine environment and the island as a whole, we might end up losing important species and a unique reef ecosystem which is part of our national heritage without us even knowing about its existence. Therefore the objectives of this study were: 1) To document the diversity of the hard corals adjacent to Kg. Tekek, P. Tioman 2) To find out if the hard corals found at the study site is unique 3) To ascertain the importance of the hard corals found From the resolution/joint communiqué of the meeting of minds from various countries in the “Islands & Reefs: Towards Conservation & Sustainable Management” held in Kuala Lumpur of August of 2003, it was recognized that a) reefs are one of the most complex ecosystems in the world and are very sensitive to external environmental stress b) reef and island ecosystems are interdependent and are important habitats for many species of plants and animals, including endangered species, which depends on islands and reefs for food, protection and use as breeding grounds c) reefs and islands are a major tourists’ destination for their natural beauty: the water clear, the beach pristine and the underwater life luxuriant d) reefs and mangroves are crucial to the fishing industry METHODOLOGY The reef situated adjacent to Kg. Tekek, Pulau Tioman Marine Park (Figure 1) was surveyed during the months of August to October 2004 to document the diversity of hard corals. We did random swims using SCUBA along the reef while taking notes of each coral colony morphology and growth forms. Additional underwater close-up digital photography of corallites on each colony was also done (Appendix 2). Coral species identification and global status were primarily referenced using Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Other references used were of published material for identifying Malaysian hard corals (Betterton, 1981; Pillai & Scheer, 1974; Searle, 1956; Wood & Tan; 1987). References were also made to literature on Pulau Tioman reefs which had either a species list or coral reef status (Aikanathan & Wong, 1994; Ching & Spring,1995; De Silva et al.,1980; Hendry, 2000; Ridzwan, 1994). Additional data on the reef profile, soft corals, sponges, fire corals and blue corals are also given. Kg Tekek study site

Figure 1: Map showing the location of the study site of Kg Tekek, Pulau Tioman and Harborne et al. (2000) study sites (T7 Batu Malang, T8 Teluk Juara, T9 Pulau Gut, T10 Pulau Tokong Bahara, T11 Pulau Seri Buat, T12 Teluk Kadar and T13 Pulau Renggis). Map taken from Harborne et al. (2000).


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RESULTS & DISCUSSION The reefs adjacent to Kg Tekek extends from about 5m from the shoreline to about 60-70m out until the reef

Number of scleractinian coral species within families 70 60

59

Number of species

52

50 40 30

27 21

21

20 12

10

7

6

4

4

2

2

1

1

Ac ro po rid ae Fa vi id ae Fu ng iid ae Ag ar ic id ae Po rit id ae M us si da e M er ul in id ae Pe ct in iid ae Eu ph yl lid ae Po ci llo po rid ae O cu lin id ae Si de ra st re As a tro co en iid D en ae dr op hy llid ae

0

Family

Figure 2: Diagram showing the reef profile of Kg Tekek reef. slope where it drops down to about 10m before it levels out to a sandy area (Figure 2). From our observations coral diversity and density are higher on the southern side of the study site compared to the northern side. Branching corals such as Porites cylindrica is to be found in massive numbers and covering wide areas within the survey area. Massive corals such as Porites lobata, Porites rus and Porites lutea dominate the area and has immense colony growth in the area with heights and width up to 2-3m. Sometimes up to 10 of these colonies are found to be growing next to each other. Large table corals (e.g. Acropora cytherea) were found to be up to 5.3m in diameter and massive corals (e.g. Porites lutea) up to 2-3m in height and diameter were found. This indicates the corals are very old as typically corals grow very slowly sometimes at 0.1cm per year. Generally the coral density and diversity is very high within 0-50m from the deeper ends of the survey area that is the reef slope. Nearer to the shoreline the corals are sparsely distributed and low in diversity where the dominant coral species was Pocillopora damicornis. The diversity of hard corals were found to be very high with up to 221 species from 54 genera and 14 families identified (Appendix 1). In addition there were 6 species that have yet to be identified. There were also soft corals (5 sp), sponges (3 sp), fire corals (2 sp), blue coral (1 sp) and zoanthids. Furthermore 17 species of hard corals which have been categorized as ‘rare’ by Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) were identified. However it is noted that since this study used a non-destructive method of sampling it would be necessary to collect some of the hard coral specimens before this list could be officially confirmed. The dominant hard coral families in the study site were Acroporidae (59 species), Faviidae (52 species) and Fungiidae (27 species) while the other families were Agaricidae, Poritidae, Mussidae, Merulidae, Pectiniidae, Euphyllidae, Pocilloporidae, Oculinidae, Siderastrea, Astrocoeniidae and Dendrophyllidae respectively (Figure 3).


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Kg Tekek Reef Profile 0.00

-2.00

Depth (m)

-4.00

-6.00

-8.00

-10.00

-12.00 5

10 15 20 25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

Distance from shore (m)

70

75

80

85

90

95

100 105

Figure 3: Number of scleractinian coral species within families in the reef adjacent to Kg Tekek, Pulau Tioman

Number of scleractinian coral species at various Pulau Tioman sites 250 221

Number of Species

200

150

100

96

105 84 70

68

(T10) Pulau Tokong Bahara

(T11) Pulau Seri Buat

75

82

50

0 (T7) Batu Malang

(T8) Teluk Juara

(T9) Pulau Gut

(T12) Kadar Bay

(T13) Pulau Renggis

Kg Tekek Reef

Site

Figure 4: Number of scleractinian coral species at various Pulau Tioman sites by Harborne et al. (2000) compared to this study at Kg Tekek Reef.


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In year 2000 the Coral Cay Conservation Ltd (Harborne et al., 2000) did a survey for the Marine Parks and found 183 species of hard corals in the waters of Pulau Tioman (Figure 1 and 4) and had commented that this was the highest compared to other Marine Parks in the East Coast of their study. Pulau Tioman Marine Park was also the only area in their study which they found Pocillopora eydouxi, P.meandrina, Stylophora pistillata, Montipora confusa, Astreopora gracilis, Psammocora nierstraszi, Coscinaraea hahazimaensis, Pavona clavus, Leptoseris papyracaea, Diaseris distorta, Heliofungia actiniformis, Oxypora crassispinosa, Pectinia alcicornis, Favia maxima, F. veroni, Goniastrea retiformis, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, Euphyllia yaeyamaensis, Rhizopsammia verrilli, Millepora tenera and possibly Goniopora planulata,, Leptoseris scabra and Acropora austera. Previously Montipora confusa and Oxypora crassispinosa were thought to be found only in the Phillipines while Coscinaraea hahazimaensis only in Japan. In this study we also managed to find M.confusa in the study site. Therefore this indicates that Pulau Tioman reefs are special and needs more research and good management. Harborne et al. (2000) had also identified to a total of 221 sp. from 66 genera of hard corals from Pulau Redang, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Tinggi Marine Parks. Pachyseris foliosa which was thought to be found only in the Phillipines were found by them in other marine parks except P. Tioman. Nevertheless in this study we found P. foliosa in the study site. If compared to the species list of this study that identified 221 species in only a small area of the island and compared to the study done by Harborne et al. (2000) which identified 183 sp. then this indicates that the reef adjacent to Kg Tekek is very unique and important as a pool for coral species (Appendix 1, Figure 4). Nonetheless we realise that the difference in methods might have brought about this difference where they had done only an hour dive time of sampling for each site whereas we did multiple dives and longer sampling times. Harborne et al. (2000) stated that 323 sp. of hard corals have been identified from Malaysia while Chou (2000) reported that the list is standing at >350sp. Nevertheless as Malaysia sits within the global epicentre of biodiversity Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) has predicted that Malaysia has >550 sp. of hard corals. Therefore more extensive and intensive work needs to be done in hard coral diversity surveys and identification to determine the correct number of species in Malaysian waters. The importance of hard corals and reefs as a whole is in its biodiversity value, fisheries industry as a nursery for juvenile fish, ecotourism, coastal protection, biopharmaceutics, biocompounds, education and research. The economical value of reefs have been estimated to be: a) Ecotourism - Great Barrier Reef, Australia AUD 1.5 billion per year - Caribbean USD 8.9 billion per year b) Fisheries - 1km2 could yield ~15 tons of seafood per year c) Total value of reefs per hectare per year as estimated by Costanza et al. (1997) in Nature was USD 6,075. This is an underestimate as they did not take into account the value of erosion control, water regulation etc. d) A case in a US court awarded cost of restoration and lost of tourism totaling to USD 2,833 per m2 We would like to reiterate the suggestion from Harborne et al. (2000) that sanctuary zones be set up within Marine Park areas. From the results of this study it is especially important for the reef of Kg Tekek to be sanctuary zones. ‘Good areas’ with a unique coral reef such as the study site is important in facilitating recovery of nearby ‘poor’ areas via production of coral and fish larvae. CONCLUSION From the study it was found that the diversity of the hard corals are very high in the study area. Important species which has rare status, amazingly large, massive and very old coral colonies are also present. Thus we believe that the study area is very unique, important as a pool for coral species and needs to be managed with great care. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank the Marine Park Unit of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Pulau Tioman Marine Park staff members especially Abang Manap and finally Mr Ujang for his companionship and logistics support. We are also grateful to Eco Divers Tioman (Michelle and Jeffrey) for their help during the study period.


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REFERENCES Aikanathan, S. and Wong, E.F.H. (1994). Marine park management conceptual plan for Peninsular Malaysia. Department of Fisheries Malaysia and WWF-Malaysia. Bakus, G.J. (1994). Coral Reef Ecosystem. A.A. Balkema (New Delhi). 232 pp. Betterton, C. (1981). A guide to the hard corals of Peninsular Malaysia (excluding the genus Acropora). Malayan Nature Journal 34: 171-336. Birkeland, C. (1997). Life and Death of Coral Reefs. Chapman & Hall (New York). 536 pp. Burke, L., Selig, E. & Spalding, M. (2002). Reefs at Risk in South East Asia. World Resources Institute (Washington, DC 200002, USA). 73 pp. Ching, L.L. and Spring, N. (1995). The concepts and analysis of carrying capacity: A management tool for effective planning. Part III Case Study: Pulau Tioman. Unpublished WWF-Malaysia report. Chou L.M. (2000). Status of South East Asia Coral Reefs – Status update: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in C. Wilkinson ed., Status of Coral Reefs of the World (2000). Australian Institute of Marine Science (2000) 121pp. Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de-Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R.V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Sutton, P. & vandenBelt, M. (1997). The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253-260. De Silva, M.W.R.N., Betterton, C. and Smith, R.A. (1980). Coral reef resources of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In: Coastal Resources of East Coast Peninsular Malysia (Eds: Chua, T.E. and Charles, J.K.). Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Harborne, A., D. Fenner, A. Barnes, M. Beger, S. Harding and T. Roxburgh (2000). Status Report on the Coral Reefs of the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Coral Cay Conservation Ltd, London, SW19 2JG, UK. 89 pp. Hendry, H.J. (2000). Update on the status of the coral reef ecosystems and management of the Pulau Tioman Marine Park, Peninsular Malaysia. Unpublished report to WWF-Malaysia. Pillai, C.S.G. and G. Scheer. (1974). On a collection of scleractinia from the Strait of Malacca. Proceedings of the 2nd International Coral Reef Symposium 1: 445-464. Ridzwan, A.R. (1994). Status of coral reefs in Malaysia. Pages: 49-56. In: Wilkinson, C.R., Suraphol Sudara and Chou, L.M (Eds). Proceedings of the Third ASEAN-Australia Symposium on Living Coastal Resources. Volume 1: Status reviews. Australian Institute of Marine Science. Searle, A.G. (1956). An illustrated key to Malayan hard corals. Malayan Nature Journal 11: 1-26. Sorokin, Y.I. (1993). Coral Reef Ecology. Springer-Verlag (Berlin). 465 pp. Veron, J.E.N. & Stafford-Smith, M. (2000). Corals of the World. Volumes 1-3 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. 1,382pp. Wood, E.M. and Tan, B.S. (1987). The coral reefs of the Bodgaya Islands (Sabah: Malaysia) and Pulau Sipadan. 3. Hard corals. Malayan Nature Journal 40: 189-224.


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Appendix 1: List of scleractinian (hard) coral species found at the reef adjacent to Kg. Tekek, P. Tioman. Global status is following Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Species in blue are considered to be at a ‘rare’ status globally. Hard Coral Hard Coral Hard Coral No. Family Genus Species Global Status 1 Acroporidae Acropora abrolhosensis common 2 Acroporidae Acropora aculeus Uncommon except in Central Indo-Pacific 3 Acroporidae Acropora akajimensis Common locally but usually rare 4 Acroporidae Acropora aspera Sometimes common 5 Acroporidae Acropora austera usually uncommon 6 Acroporidae Acropora awi common 7 Acroporidae Acropora bruggemanni common 8 Acroporidae Acropora cerealis common 9 Acroporidae Acropora cytherea common but conspicous 10 Acroporidae Acropora digitifera Sometimes common 11 Acroporidae Acropora elseyi common 12 Acroporidae Acropora florida common 13 Acroporidae Acropora formosa common and frequently dominant species 14 Acroporidae Acropora gemmifera common 15 Acroporidae Acropora grandis common 16 Acroporidae Acropora humilis Usually common, sometimes dominant 17 Acroporidae Acropora hyacinthus common 18 Acroporidae Acropora insignis Uncommon 19 Acroporidae Acropora kirstyae usually uncommon 20 Acroporidae Acropora latistella Common 21 Acroporidae Acropora listeri Uncommon 22 Acroporidae Acropora loripes Common in Central Indo-Pacific 23 Acroporidae Acropora lutkeni common 24 Acroporidae Acropora microcladus usually uncommon 25 Acroporidae Acropora micropthalma common & maybe dominant in shallow water 26 Acroporidae Acropora millepora common 27 Acroporidae Acropora nasuta common 28 Acroporidae Acropora nobilis common 29 Acroporidae Acropora pectinatus uncommon 30 Acroporidae Acropora pinguis Uncommon except in Central Indian Ocean 31 Acroporidae Acropora prostrata uncommon 32 Acroporidae Acropora retusa Uncommon except in South Africa 33 Acroporidae Acropora rosaria sometimes common 34 Acroporidae Acropora samoensis Usually uncommon 35 Acroporidae Acropora secale common 36 Acroporidae Acropora sekiseiensis common in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan 37 Acroporidae Acropora selago Sometimes common 38 Acroporidae Acropora subulata Common Uncommon except in Red Sea & Western 39 Acroporidae Acropora tenuis Pacific 40 Acroporidae Acropora valenciennesi common 41 Acroporidae Acropora vaughani Uncommon 42 Acroporidae Acropora yongei common 43 Acroporidae Anacropora reticulata rare 44 Acroporidae Montipora crassituberculata usually uncommon 45 Acroporidae Astreopora gracilis sometimes common 46 Acroporidae Astreopora listeri usually uncommon 47 Acroporidae Astreopora myriopthalma most common Astreopora 48 Acroporidae Astreopora ocellata Usually rare 49 Acroporidae Montipora confusa Uncommon but distinctive

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

50 Acroporidae Montipora 51 Acroporidae Montipora 52 Acroporidae Montipora 53 Acroporidae Montipora 54 Acroporidae Montipora 55 Acroporidae Montipora 56 Acroporidae Montipora 57 Acroporidae Montipora 58 Acroporidae Montipora 59 Acroporidae Montipora 60 Agariciidae Gardineroseris 61 Agariciidae Leptoseris 62 Agariciidae Leptoseris 63 Agariciidae Leptoseris 64 Agariciidae Leptoseris 65 Agariciidae Leptoseris 66 Agariciidae Leptoseris 67 Agariciidae Leptoseris 68 Agariciidae Leptoseris 69 Agariciidae Pachyseris 70 Agariciidae Pachyseris 71 Agariciidae Pachyseris 72 Agariciidae Pachyseris 73 Agariciidae Pavona 74 Agariciidae Pavona 75 Agariciidae Pavona 76 Agariciidae Pavona 77 Agariciidae Pavona 78 Agariciidae Pavona 79 Agariciidae Pavona 80 Agariciidae Pavona 81 Astrocoeniidae Palauastrea 82 Dendrophyllidae Turbinaria 83 Euphylliidae Euphyllia 84 Euphylliidae Euphyllia 85 Euphylliidae Euphyllia 86 Euphylliidae Euphyllia 87 Euphylliidae Physogyra 88 Euphylliidae Plerogyra 89 Faviidae Barrabattoia 90 Faviidae Cyphastrea 91 Faviidae Cyphastrea 92 Faviidae Cyphastrea 93 Faviidae Cyphastrea 94 Faviidae Diploastrea 95 Faviidae Echinophyllia 96 Faviidae Echinopora 97 Faviidae Echinopora 98 Faviidae Echinopora 99 Faviidae Echinopora 100 Faviidae Favia 101 Faviidae Favia 102 Faviidae Favia 103 Faviidae Favia 104 Faviidae Favia

danae delicatula digitata florida foliosa hispida meandrina millepora monasteriata verrucosa planulata foliosa gardineri hawaiiensis mycetoseroides papyracea scabra tubulifera yabei foliosa gemmae rugosa speciosa cactus clavus decussata duerdeni explanulata frondifera maldivensis venosa ramosa stellulata ancora divisa paradivisa paraglabrescens liechtensteini sinuosa amicorum agassizi chalcidicum ocellina serailia heliopora orpheensis gemmacea horrida mammiformis pacificus danae favus helianthoides maritima mathaii

Common uncommon Common common Common Uncommon except in Great Barrier Reef common in red sea, rare in PNG Common but inconspicous common Sometimes common usually uncommon Uncommon Uncommon uncommon Sometimes common Usually uncommon but may be dominant Usually uncommon Uncommon Uncommon but conspicious uncommon rare common common common common common uncommon but conspicous, rare in red sea common generally common Sometimes common Uncommon but distinctive Sometimes common in Equatorial regions usually uncommon seldom common Seldom common, but conspicuous uncommon rare common usually uncommon uncommon uncommon common rare common sometimes common usually uncommon usually uncommon uncommon common usually uncommon usually uncommon common uncommon rare sometimes common

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105 Faviidae 106 Faviidae

Favia Favia

107 Faviidae 108 Faviidae 109 Faviidae 110 Faviidae 111 Faviidae 112 Faviidae 113 Faviidae 114 Faviidae 115 Faviidae 116 Faviidae

Favia Favia Favia Favia Favia Favia Favites Favites Favites Favites

117 Faviidae 118 Faviidae 119 Faviidae 120 Faviidae 121 Faviidae 122 Faviidae 123 Faviidae 124 Faviidae 125 Faviidae 126 Faviidae 127 Faviidae 128 Faviidae 129 Faviidae 130 Faviidae 131 Faviidae 132 Faviidae 133 Faviidae 134 Faviidae 135 Faviidae 136 Faviidae 137 Faviidae 138 Faviidae 139 Faviidae 140 Faviidae 141 Fungiidae 142 Fungiidae 143 Fungiidae 144 Fungiidae 145 Fungiidae 146 Fungiidae 147 Fungiidae 148 Fungiidae 149 Fungiidae 150 Fungiidae 151 Fungiidae 152 Fungiidae 153 Fungiidae 154 Fungiidae 155 Fungiidae 156 Fungiidae 157 Fungiidae

Favites Favites Favites Favites Favites Favites Goniastrea Goniastrea Goniastrea Goniastrea Goniastrea Leptastrea Leptastrea Leptastrea Montastrea Montastrea Montastrea Platygyra Platygyra Platygyra Platygyra Platygyra Platygyra Platygyra Ctenactis Cycloseris Ctenactis Ctenactis Cycloseris Cycloseris Cycloseris Diaseris Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia Fungia

maxima pallida

rare most common in East Australia, but less common elsewhere rosaria rare rotumana uncommon rotundata sometimes common speciosa most common of faviidae spp. stelligera common truncatus common in Equatorial regions abdita common bestae rare chinensis uncommon complanata sometimes common sometimes common especially in subtropical flexuosa regions halicora usually uncommon micropentagona Uncommon pentagona sometimes common russelli usually uncommon stylifera rare aspera Sometimes common and may be a dominant sp edwardsi Common palauensis usually uncommon pectinata Common retiformis Common pruinosa Uncommon purpurea Common transversa Uncommon curta Common selebrosa rare valenciennesi usually uncommon acuta sometimes common carnosus Uncommon crosslandi Common lamellina usually uncommon pini usually uncommon sinensis usually uncommon verweyi usually uncommon albitentaculata sometimes common colini rare crassa usually uncommon echinata Common costulata rare tenuis rare vaughani rare distorta uncommon but plentiful when occur concinna Common danai Common fralinae uncommon (juvenile) fungites Common granulosa usually uncommon moluccensis usually uncommon paumotensis Common repanda Common scabra rare

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158 Fungiidae 159 Fungiidae 160 Fungiidae 161 Fungiidae 162 Fungiidae 163 Fungiidae 164 Fungiidae 165 Fungiidae 166 Fungiidae 167 Fungiidae 168 Merulinidae 169 Merulinidae 170 Merulinidae 171 Merulinidae 172 Merulinidae 173 Merulinidae 174 Merulinidae 175 Mussidae 176 Mussidae 177 Mussidae 178 Mussidae 179 Mussidae 180 Mussidae 181 Mussidae 182 Mussidae 183 Mussidae 184 Mussidae 185 Mussidae 186 Mussidae 187 Oculinidae 188 Oculinidae 189 Pectiniidae 190 Pectiniidae 191 Pectiniidae 192 Pectiniidae 193 Pectiniidae 194 Pectiniidae 195 Pocilloporidae 196 Pocilloporidae 197 Pocilloporidae 198 Pocilloporidae 199 Poritidae 200 Poritidae 201 Poritidae 202 Poritidae 203 Poritidae 204 Poritidae 205 Poritidae 206 Poritidae 207 Poritidae 208 Poritidae 209 Poritidae 210 Poritidae 211 Poritidae 212 Poritidae

Fungia Heliofungia Herpolitha Herpolitha Lithophyllon Podabacia Podabacia Polyphillia Sandalolitha Sandalolitha Hydnophora Hydnophora Hydnophora Hydnophora Merulina Symphillia Symphillia Acanthastrea Lobophyllia Lobophyllia Lobophyllia Lobophyllia Lobophyllia Lobophyllia Scolymia Symphyllia Symphyllia Symphyllia Symphyllia Galaxea Galaxea Echinophyllia Echinophyllia Mycedium Pectinia Pectinia Pectinia Pocillopora Pocillopora Stylophora Stylophora Alveopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Goniopora Porites Porites Porites Porites Porites

scutaria actiniformis limax weberi undulatum crustacea motuporensis talpina dentata robusta exesa grandis microconos rigida ampliata radians recta faviaformis corymbosa flabelliformis hataii hemprichii pachysepta robusta vitiensis agaricia hassi radians recta astreata fascicularis aspera orpheensis elephantotus alcicornis lactuca paeonia damicornis verrucosa pistillata subseriata minuta columna djiboutiensis lobata minor norfolkensis somaliensis stokesi tenuidens attenuata cumulatus cylindrica evermanni horizontalata

common & distinctive Common Common uncommon usually uncommon usually uncommon uncommon common usually uncommon common common usually uncommon uncommon sometimes common usually common common common uncommon sometimes common usually uncommon uncommon frequently dominant usually uncommon uncommon usually uncommon uncommon uncommon common common common common common usually uncommon common usually uncommon common common common common common common rare common common common common Uncommon except in West Pacific uncommon but conspicous Uncommon but conspicious common common uncommon common usually uncommon sometimes common

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213 Poritidae 214 Poritidae 215 Poritidae 216 Poritidae 217 Poritidae 218 Poritidae 219 Poritidae 220 Siderastrea 221 Siderastrea Unidentified spp.

Porites Porites Porites Porites Porites Porites Porites Psammocora Psammocora

222 Faviidae

Favia sp.?

223 Faviidae

Unknown

224 Acroporridae

ACB 81

225

CB #85

226

CB #86

227

CM #79

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Others Helioporidae Milleporidae Milleporridae Alcyoniidae Alcyoniidae Alcyoniidae Nephteidae Sarcophyton Sponge Sponge Sponge Zoanthid

latistella lobata lutea monticulosa murrayensis nigrescens rus digitata haimeana

uncommon most common porites common common in West Indian Ocean sometimes common sometimes common common usually uncommon uncommon

48

Heliopora Millepora Millepora Lobophyton Sinularia Sinularia Nephtea

coerulea sp.1 sp.2 sp a b sp

Cribrochalina Gelliodes Haliclona Palythoa

sp sp sp sp

blue coral fire coral fire coral soft coral soft coral soft coral soft coral branching soft coral blue sponge branch green sponge branch big sponge barrel zoanthids

30


31


Appendix 2: Examples of underwater digital photographs taken during the study.

Acropora cytherea colony (table growth form)

Acropora cytherea colony (corallite close up)

Acropora loripes colony (corallite close up)

Acropora loripes colony (corallite close up)

Diploastrea heliopora colony (corallite close up)

Unidentified hard coral colony