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A Study of Coral Reef Fishes Along a Gradient of Disturbance in the Langkawi Archipelago, Malaysia

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A Study of Coral Reef Fishes Along a Gradient of Disturbance in the Langkawi Archipelago, Malaysia A Study of Coral Reef Fishes along a Gradient of Disturbance in the Langkawi Archipelago, Malaysia Karin Andersson Arbetsgruppen för Tropisk Ekologi Minor Field Study 83 Committee of Tropical Ecology Uppsala University, Sweden November 2002 Uppsala A Study of Coral Reef Fishes along a Gradient of Disturbance in the Langkawi Archipelago, Malaysia Karin Andersson Undergraduate Thesis in Biology Examensarbete i biologi, 20 poäng HT 2002 Department of Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Sweden Supervisors: Prof. Göran Milbrink and Dr. Bo Tallmark, Uppsala University Mr Muhamad Nasir Abdul Salam, World Wide Fund for Nature, Malaysia ABSTRACT The coral reefs in the Langkawi archipelago, Malaysia, are threatened by human disturbance, mainly sediment run-off from land and fishing. The coral reefs are important as many organisms, among them the coral reef fishes, are depending on them for survival. They are also economically important as a tourist attraction and as a breeding ground for commercially important fishes. My aims were to investigate if there are any differences in the fish communities between sites with different human disturbance and to see which substrate variables that are best correlated with the fish community. I also looked at the possibility to use butterflyfishes as indicator organisms of the health of the coral reefs in the area. At four sites with different levels of human disturbance, an inventory study of the coral reef fishes, using the Fish Visual Census method, as well as their substratum, using the Line Intercept Transect method, was carried out. There are significant differences between sites with low and high disturbance concerning both fish abundance and number of fish families. The abundance of fish and the number of families were significantly correlated with the live coral cover. The fishes are dependent on the live coral cover for food and shelter. No correlation was found between the fishes and the substrate diversity or the cover of the branching coral Acropora, which is probably because of the very sparse distribution of this genus in the area. The abundance of butterflyfish and the number of species were higher at the sites with little disturbance and the abundance of butterflyfish was also correlated to the live coral cover. This makes them useful as bioindicators in the area. The reefs at the Langkawi archipelago are threatened by the intensive human activities in the area. The live coral cover decreases with increasing disturbance, mostly sedimentation from construction work on the main island. The degradation of the corals affects the coral reef fishes negatively. If nothing is done to minimise the flow of sediment into the sea, this will lead to even more damaged reefs in the area in the future. Keywords: Langkawi, Pulau Payar marine park, coral reef, coral reef fish, butterflyfish, Chaetodontidae, bio-indicators 2 FOREWORD This study is part of the project “Vision of a blue environment, conservation planning for the Langkawi archipelago” and is initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Malaysia (WWFM). The aim is to conduct a survey and a research study of the area, especially the marine and coastal zone, and to encourage integrated planning and responsible actions for the overall conservation of the Langkawi archipelago. The fieldwork was carried out together with Dagmar Jonsson who has also written a report on the data we collected (Jonsson, 2002). Her report is focused on the coral community, while this study focus on the coral reef fishes and their response to the human disturbance. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction..............................................................................................................................5 Coral reefs...........................................................................................................................5 Coral reef fishes..................................................................................................................5 Marine reserves...................................................................................................................6 Factors affecting reef fish communities .............................................................................6 Butterflyfishes as indicator organisms................................................................................6 Description of the area........................................................................................................7 Aim .....................................................................................................................................8 Methods.....................................................................................................................................8 Site descriptions..................................................................................................................8 Pulau Payar..................................................................................................................8 Pulau Singa Besar........................................................................................................9 Teluk Datai ..................................................................................................................9 Pulau Rebak Besar.......................................................................................................9 Field methods......................................................................................................................9 Data analysis.....................................................................................................................11 ANOVA-tests ............................................................................................................11 Multivariate analysis .................................................................................................12 Correlation tests.........................................................................................................12 Results .....................................................................................................................................12 Comparison of fish families between sites .......................................................................12 Abundance.................................................................................................................13 Number of families....................................................................................................15 Diversity ....................................................................................................................16 Comparison of butterflyfishes between sites....................................................................17 Abundance.................................................................................................................18 Number of species .....................................................................................................19 Feeding categories.....................................................................................................20 Multivariate analysis of fish families ...............................................................................22 Correlation tests................................................................................................................23 Correlation between fishes and substrate ..................................................................23 Correlation between fishes and weather and water conditions .................................24 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................24 Differences between and within sites ...............................................................................24 Comparisons with previous studies ..................................................................................25 Marine reserves.................................................................................................................25 Correlations between fish communities and the coral reef...............................................26 Butterflyfishes as indicator organisms..............................................................................27 Conclusions.............................................................................................................................28 Acknowledgement..................................................................................................................29 References...............................................................................................................................30 Appendix I ..............................................................................................................................33 Appendix II.............................................................................................................................37 4 INTRODUCTION Coral reefs have existed on the planet for hundreds of millions of years. They have the greatest diversity per unit area of any marine ecosystem. Many animals depend on the reefs for food and shelter and the coral reefs are among the most productive systems in the marine environment. The corals are sensitive to a number of natural and human induced disturbances that today seem to be challenging their continued survival. Coral reefs The coral reef is primarily built up of hermatypic i.e. reef building corals.
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