Assessing coral growth at the coral nurseries in Chumphon Province, the western Gulf of Thailand
Keywords:
reef flat, artificial reef, coral transplantation, thermal adaptation, Gulf of ThailandAbstract
Corals on shallow reef flats with 0.5-1.5 meters in depth in the Western Gulf of Thailand have a high potential for coral reef restoration projects. Those corals are tolerance and adaptation for survival in high environmental fluctuations such as temperatures and salinity, and sediment accumulation. This study aims to assessing the coral growth after 1 year transplant at coral nursery. We were selected 3 types of coral dominant species in nursery plots at Rangajew Island Coral fragments taken from parent colonies in shallow areas of the flatland had higher growth rates than coral fragments taken from steep slopes. The growth rates of knoll coral (Porites lutea), cauliflower (Pocillopora acuta) and ring coral (Dipsastraea favus) from the shallow areas of the flatland area increased by 3.51, 17.40 and 1.43 during the 8-month period. The growth rates of coral fragments in the slope zone increased by an average of 2.20, 10.73 and 1.20 square centimeters, respectively. The growth rates of coral fragments taken from parent colonies in shallow areas of the flatland area showed higher growth rates than coral fragments taken from sloping zones. Pocillopora acuta and flower-flowered coral Pavona decussata from the shallow area of the coral reef flat showed a mean growth rate of 3.10, 13.03 and 4.12 square centimeters, respectively, during the 8-month period. with average growth rates of 2.60, 7.20 and 3.75 square centimeters, respectively.
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