Assessing coral communities on underwater pinnacles as new marine protected areas at Ko Tao, Surat Thani Province
Keywords:
coral communities, underwater pinnacle, tourism, management, Ko Tao, Surat Thani, ThailandAbstract
High biodiversity of coral reefs promotes a variety of ecosystem services. However, continuing marine and coastal development have negative impacts on coral reefs and their associated ecosystems. Developing and improving marine ecotourism through evaluating dive sites and zoning marine and coastal areas are effective strategies for reducing damages at popular dive sites. This study evaluated the potential of the underwater pinnacles at Ko Tao, Surat Thani Province to be dive sites. Several important physical and biological factors and criteria were used to assess the potential of ecotourism development expert opinions. Six coral communities at Ko Tao including Hin Samran, Hin Tung Ku, Hin Chumphon, Hin Khao, Hin Wong, and Hin Kong Sai Daeng were investigated. The result revealed that two underwater pinnacles, Hin Chumphon and Hin Khao presented a high potential for ecotourism dive sites. At Hin Chumphon, twenty-seven scleractinian corals were observed with a high percentage of live coral cover (42.78%). The dominant corals were massive coral (Porites lutea), honeycomb coral (Diploastrea heliopora), galaxy coral (Galaxea astreata), and brain coral (Platygyra sisensis). Marine species that are attractive to divers include giant clam (Tridacna squamosa), nudibranch (Phyllidia sp.), pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion), blue ring angelfish (Pomacanthus annularis), blue-barred parrotfish (Scarus ghobban) etc. As with Hin Khao, seventeen species of corals were found with 38.13% live coral cover. The dominant corals were massive coral (Porites lutea), honeycomb coral (Diploastrea heliopora), and table coral (Acropora hyacintus). Marine species that are attractive to divers include sea whip (Junceella fragilis), ribbontail stingray (Taeniura lymma), pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion), batfish (Platax orbicularis), yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus), etc. Our results showed that the diversity of attractive marine organisms and the facilities to travel led to high scores in the evaluation processes for the study sites. This study modifies assessment methods and identifies potential underwater pinnacles at Ko Tao that can be established as new marine protected areas under the Act on the promotion of Marine and Coastal Resources Management, B.E. 2558 (2015).
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