A Baseline Assessment of Coral Reef in Malacca Straits, Malaysia

Coral reefs along the Malacca Straits (MS) are poorly developed mainly due to turbidity and sedimentation. This study describes the health status and community structure of the corals in Cape Rachado, West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (WCPM), utilizing the Coral Video Transect (CVT) technique. All t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocean science journal 2018, 53(2), , pp.275-283
Main Authors: Safuan, Che Din Mohd, Ali, Azizi, Zainol, Zuraini, Ali, Ahmad, Akhir, Mohd Fadzil Mohd, Muslim, Aidy M., Bachok, Zainudin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Area
Community structure
Coral reefs
Corals
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Marine & Freshwater Sciences
Marine invertebrates
Oceanography
Pectinia
Porites
Sediment
Sedimentation
Sedimentation & deposition
Sediments
Straits
Surveying
Turbidity
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:Coral reefs along the Malacca Straits (MS) are poorly developed mainly due to turbidity and sedimentation. This study describes the health status and community structure of the corals in Cape Rachado, West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (WCPM), utilizing the Coral Video Transect (CVT) technique. All the survey transects were categorized as ‘fair’ coral conditions (27.39 ± 5.41%–48.56 ± 18.96%) with the reef floor mainly covered by corals and sediment. Twelve families of coral comprised of 25 distinct genera were identified. Coral communities were differentiated into four clusters with each being predominated by Galaxea , Diploastrea , Fungia and Pectinia respectively. Among all, Pectinia is the most spectacular genera and dominated the survey area. Along the MS, Favia , Favites and Porites are commonly found while Porites and Pectinia dominated the reefs. Low coral cover and diversity was recorded in MS as compared to the reefs in the South China Sea (SCS). The most prominent results include changes in the dominant coral from Porites to Pectinia while some species such as Acropora were absent from the study area. Based on the presented data, the reef in the study area was predominantly occupied by sediment and the coral communities were formed by a species with a high tolerance to turbidity and sedimentation.
ISSN:1738-5261
2005-7172
DOI:10.1007/s12601-018-0021-3