Current status of coral reefs in Tioman Island, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

IntroductionCoral reefs are important ecosystems that provide goods and services to marine tropical and subtropical regions (Moberg and Folke, 1999). In Peninsular Malaysia, coral reefs are found in several localities off the west coast, south coast, and east coast of the peninsula (Affendi and Rosman, 2012). The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia has extensive development of coral reefs with a total of 323 scleractinian coral species identified (Harborne et al., 2000). The most recent report on the status of hard coral diversity increased this list to 431 species in this region (Affendi and Rosman, 2012). This figure represents approximately 75% of the total number of 571 coral species identified in the South China Sea (Huang et al., 2015).Although coral reefs provide various important ecosystem services to human populations, their health status has been declining due to human intervention together with detrimental impacts of climate change and ocean acidification (Wilkinson, 2008;Jordan et al., 2010;Unsworth et al., 2010). Reef Check Malaysia reported that the coral coverage in several reefs of the east coast region was exposed to high rates of sedimentation resulting from construction and land reclamation activities (Reef Check Malaysia, 2008). These pressures affect reef diversity and distribution by reducing light availability. In addition, tourism activities may also be a major impact causing a decrease in live coral coverage (Jonsson, 2003;Toda et al., 2007). Trampling action by inexperienced snorkelers and scuba divers may have a negative impact that can cause partial mortality of corals (Zakai and Chadwic-Furman 2002;Toda et al., 2007). Besides the natural and anthropogenic factors, the lack of a comprehensive database is impeding conservation efforts towards coral reef ecosystems. Therefore, management action based on comprehensive studies of marine biodiversity should be performed to ensure the conservation and sustainability of coral reef ecosystems.Several studies about coral species diversity were conducted at Tioman Island by Harborne et al. (2000) at seven reef sites, i.e. Batu Malang, Juara Bay, Gut, Tokong Bahara, Seri Buat, Tulai, and Renggis Islands; by Affendi et al. (2007) at several reef sites from Paya to Genting villages; and by Amri et al. (2008) at one reef site in Tekek Bay. The most recent study of generic coral diversity was done by Toda et al. (2007) at three reef sites, i.e. Manggo, Tulai and Renggis Reefs, at this island. It is an important task to keep up-to-date list of corals and perform a continuous evaluation of the status of coral diversity and reef conditions at Tioman Island.This present study describes the generic diversity and distribution of corals at 13 reef sites in the east coast, west coast, and isolated areas of Tioman Island. The classification of coral morphology class score and the coral condition for each reef site were also determined. Data

Community Structure of Coral Reefs in Pulau Mertang, Johor, Malaysia

“…The live coral coverage (LCC) OF Pulau Mertang is lower compared to Pulau Tioman (66.36% in 2017) as reported by Reef Check Malaysia (2018), but it was higher than the LCC for Pulau Seri Buat (48.2%) (Harborne et al 2000) and the average LCC for Malaysia (42.5%) (Reef Check Malaysia 2018). However, the diversity is low when compared to other nearby reefs in the region, such as Pulau Tioman with 57 genera from 17 families (Shahbudin et al 2017). Nevertheless, the dominant genera (Acropora and Montipora) found at Pulau Mertang is generally consistent with the dominant genera (Acropora and Montipora) for Tioman and Seri Buat reefs (Harborne et al 2000;Kamarumtham et al 2016;Shahbudin et al 2017;Toda et al 2007).…”

“…However, the diversity is low when compared to other nearby reefs in the region, such as Pulau Tioman with 57 genera from 17 families (Shahbudin et al 2017). Nevertheless, the dominant genera (Acropora and Montipora) found at Pulau Mertang is generally consistent with the dominant genera (Acropora and Montipora) for Tioman and Seri Buat reefs (Harborne et al 2000;Kamarumtham et al 2016;Shahbudin et al 2017;Toda et al 2007).…”

Reef Foraminifera As Bioindicator Of Coral Reef Health in Pulau Tioman, Pahang, Malaysia

“…Pulau Tioman is surrounded by numerous coral reefs area with approximately 57-59 genera of hard coral distributed around the island (Shahbudin et al, 2016). Accropora, Montipora and Porites are among the most common coral genera reported from Pulau Tioman (Toda et al, 2007;Shahbudin et al, 2017). The sheltered west coast of Pulau Tioman (Fig.…”

“…1) made such area suitable for snorkeling and diving activities compared to the west side of the island. Therefore, the east coast of Pulau Tioman receives more tourist visits and much more developed with numerous resorts and housing area that are distributed along the coast (Shahbudin et al, 2017).…”

“…Coral reef provides goods and services to marine tropical and subtropical regions (Moberg and Folke, 1999). Globally, coral reef ecosystem has been threatened and many have already been lost due to climate change and human intervention (Shahbudin et al, 2017).…”