Demographic composition of juvenile corals on shallow reef flats and reef slopes in Mu Ko Ang Thong National Park, the Western Gulf of Thailand
Keywords:
juvenile corals, reef flats, reef slopes, Gulf of ThailandAbstract
Coral reefs are crucial marine ecosystems where located diverse coral associations with different life-history strategies. In this research, we quantified how the population of juvenile coral (<50 mm) was influenced benthic coral structure in shallow reef flat and reef slope area. The purpose of this research is to examine the composition and abundance of juvenile corals on natural substrates in shallow reef flats and reef slopes at Mu Ko Angthong, the Western Gulf of Thailand, in 2019. Quadrat 16x16 cm2 were applied randomly to observe juvenile corals on available substrates through SCUBA diving. The visible juvenile corals were counted and identified at the genus level. Juvenile corals on the shallow reef flats (9.09-26.05 individuals m-2) were higher than those on reef slopes (3.59-18.63 individuals m-2) in all study sites, except for Ko Sam Sao (E). Observations of Those juvenile corals have founded 12 genera. The highest densities of juvenile corals were recorded at Ko Sam Sao (E) and Ko Sam Sao (N), both on the shallow reef flats and reef slopes. The finding indicated that the shallow reef flats might play a potential resource for active coral restoration projects in Thailand.
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