Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 20 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur,

SCLERACTINIAN DIVERSITY OF KG TEKEK, PULAU TIOMAN MARINE PARK

AFFENDI YANG AMRI1, BADRUL HUZAIMI TAJUDDIN1, LEE YOKE LEE2, KEE ALFIAN ABD. ADZIS3 AND YUSRI YUSUF4

1Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur 2WWF-Malaysia, 49, Jalan SS23/15, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor 3Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 4ReefBase, The World Fish Center, Jalan Batu Maung, 11960 Bayan Lepas, Penang Correspondence email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The situated adjacent to Kg. Tekek, Pulau Tioman Marine Park was surveyed during the months of August to October 2004 to document the diversity of hard (scleractinian corals) found there. We did random swims using SCUBA along the reef while taking notes of each coral colony morphology and growth forms. Additional underwater close-up digital photography of corallites on each colony was also done. Coral identification were referenced using Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Compared to a study by Harborne et al. (2000) of the waters around Pulau Tioman which found 183 species, this study found a total of 221 hard coral species from 14 families. The dominant families were (59 species), Faviidae (52 species) and Fungiidae (27 species). In addition seventeen species that are categorised by Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) to be rare worldwide were found in the study area. We believe that the study area is very unique, important as a pool for coral species and needs to be managed with great care.

INTRODUCTION

It is has been well known that coral reefs are shallow water, calcareous structures which support a highly diverse association of marine plants and . Coral reefs are important firstly because of its where coral reefs are usually compared to tropical rainforests due to similar high biodiversity and low nutrient surroundings. Amazingly coral reefs of the world are only ~0.25% of the world’s oceans but has the ability to maintain ~25% of all marine species. Reefs have been estimated to have 1-9 million species of organisms although this high estimate still needs to be confirmed. Malaysia is blessed with high biodiversity where it has been estimated that Malaysia has ~69 coral genera compared to Hawaii ~13 genera and ~52 genera (Bakus, 1994; Birkeland, 1997; Sorokin, 1993). Coral reefs are mainly distributed between the tropics of Capricorn (30oS) and Cancer (30oN). They are highly dependant on sea temperatures >18oC and needs adequate sunlight. Hermatypic corals also known as scleractinian (hard) corals are the most important component in any ecosystem. Hard corals are the main builders of reefs due to its symbiotic dinoflagellates (). Zooxanthellae enhances the ability of hard corals to secrete calcium carbonate which makes up its skeleton and ultimately the coral reef framework (Bakus, 1994; Birkeland, 1997; Sorokin, 1993) . Malaysian reefs are mostly fringing reefs along the mainland or around islands. At present there are five marine park areas where coral reefs are protected and under the jurisdiction of the Marine Parks Section of the Ministry of the Natural Resources and the Environment (MNRE). The park areas encompasses 40 islands and the main islands are Pulau Payar, Pulau Redang, Pulau Tinggi, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Labuan. There are nine islands within Pulau Tioman Marine Parks which is in Pahang state. The largest of the islands is P. Tioman with the size of 13,420 hectares and is also the largest island off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was gazetted as a marine park in 1994 under the Fisheries Act, 1985. This is due to the fact that our coral reefs are considered to be a national heritage which needs to be protected and conserved. Burke, L. et al. (2002) had estimated that the coral reef area in South East Asia region is about 100,000 km2 which is equivalent to 34% of the world total and has 600-800 hard coral species. Malaysia has about 4,006km2 of the coral reefs in the region. They also estimated that 90% of coral reefs in , , , Phillipines, , and Spratly Islands face destruction and 85% of the coral reefs in Malaysia and are threatened. The main threat in the region is where it causes 64% of the reefs to be threatened, 56% goes to the threat of blast and cyanide fishing use and finally 37% goes to the threat of sedimentation and pollution from coastal development and changes in land use. As Pulau Tioman is in a Marine Park then the main threat would be careless development of the island. This is also emphasized by Burke et al. (2002) where for Peninsular Malaysia it was identified that the main threat is by development whereas for East Malaysia it is by blast and cyanide fishing.

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 21 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

At the study site of Kampung Tekek, Pulau Tioman the development of infrastructure has been very extensive if compared to other parts of the island. There are numerous buildings including jetties, a government clinic, schools, houses, resorts and even duty free shops. Significant development has been seen at Kg. Tekek recently that might have been due to P. Tioman being declared a duty free island in September 2002. There is also a small airport in Kg. Tekek and plans for a marina to be built at the study site and an additional 2km airport on the waters southwest of the island has met with serious disputes by the locals and other stakeholders. We had chosen the reef adjacent to Kg. Tekek to be studied as we are concerned that it would be jeopardized with all the present and future development nearby. In addition because little is known about the reef and its biological importance to the marine environment and the island as a whole, we might end up losing important species and a unique reef ecosystem which is part of our national heritage without us even knowing about its existence. Therefore the objectives of this study were: 1) To document the diversity of the hard corals adjacent to Kg. Tekek, P. Tioman 2) To find out if the hard corals found at the study site is unique 3) To ascertain the importance of the hard corals found From the resolution/joint communiqué of the meeting of minds from various countries in the “Islands & Reefs: Towards Conservation & Sustainable Management” held in Kuala Lumpur of August of 2003, it was recognized that a) reefs are one of the most complex ecosystems in the world and are very sensitive to external environmental stress b) reef and island ecosystems are interdependent and are important habitats for many species of plants and animals, including endangered species, which depends on islands and reefs for food, protection and use as breeding grounds c) reefs and islands are a major tourists’ destination for their natural beauty: the water clear, the beach pristine and the underwater life luxuriant d) reefs and mangroves are crucial to the fishing industry

METHODOLOGY

The reef situated adjacent to Kg. Tekek, Pulau Tioman Marine Park (Figure 1) was surveyed during the months of August to October 2004 to document the diversity of hard corals. We did random swims using SCUBA along the reef while taking notes of each coral colony morphology and growth forms. Additional underwater close-up digital photography of corallites on each colony was also done (Appendix 2). Coral species identification and global status were primarily referenced using Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Other references used were of published material for identifying Malaysian hard corals (Betterton, 1981; Pillai & Scheer, 1974; Searle, 1956; Wood & Tan; 1987). References were also made to literature on Pulau Tioman reefs which had either a species list or coral reef status (Aikanathan & Wong, 1994; Ching & Spring,1995; De Silva et al.,1980; Hendry, 2000; Ridzwan, 1994). Additional data on the reef profile, soft corals, sponges, fire corals and blue corals are also given. Kg Tekek study site

Figure 1: Map showing the location of the study site of Kg Tekek, Pulau Tioman and Harborne et al. (2000) study sites (T7 Batu Malang, T8 Teluk Juara, T9 Pulau Gut, T10 Pulau Tokong Bahara, T11 Pulau Seri Buat, T12 Teluk Kadar and T13 Pulau Renggis). Map taken from Harborne et al. (2000).

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 22 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The reefs adjacent to Kg Tekek extends from about 5m from the shoreline to about 60-70m out until the reef

Number of scleractinian coral species within families

70

59 60 52 50

40

30 27

21 21 20 Number of species 12

10 7 6 44 2211 0

Faviidae Fungiidae Mussidae Agaricidae Oculinidae Acroporidae Merulinidae Euphyllidae Siderastrea Pocilloporidae Astrocoeniidae Dendrophyllidae Family

Figure 2: Diagram showing the reef profile of Kg Tekek reef. slope where it drops down to about 10m before it levels out to a sandy area (Figure 2). From our observations coral diversity and density are higher on the southern side of the study site compared to the northern side. Branching corals such as Porites cylindrica is to be found in massive numbers and covering wide areas within the survey area. Massive corals such as Porites lobata, Porites rus and Porites lutea dominate the area and has immense colony growth in the area with heights and width up to 2-3m. Sometimes up to 10 of these colonies are found to be growing next to each other. Large table corals (e.g. cytherea) were found to be up to 5.3m in diameter and massive corals (e.g. Porites lutea) up to 2-3m in height and diameter were found. This indicates the corals are very old as typically corals grow very slowly sometimes at 0.1cm per year. Generally the coral density and diversity is very high within 0-50m from the deeper ends of the survey area that is the reef slope. Nearer to the shoreline the corals are sparsely distributed and low in diversity where the dominant coral species was Pocillopora damicornis. The diversity of hard corals were found to be very high with up to 221 species from 54 genera and 14 families identified (Appendix 1). In addition there were 6 species that have yet to be identified. There were also soft corals (5 sp), sponges (3 sp), fire corals (2 sp), (1 sp) and zoanthids. Furthermore 17 species of hard corals which have been categorized as ‘rare’ by Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) were identified. However it is noted that since this study used a non-destructive method of sampling it would be necessary to collect some of the hard coral specimens before this list could be officially confirmed. The dominant hard coral families in the study site were Acroporidae (59 species), Faviidae (52 species) and Fungiidae (27 species) while the other families were Agaricidae, Poritidae, Mussidae, Merulidae, Pectiniidae, Euphyllidae, Pocilloporidae, Oculinidae, Siderastrea, Astrocoeniidae and Dendrophyllidae respectively (Figure 3).

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 23 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kg Tekek Reef Profile

 

0.00     

  

  -2.00 

 

 

-4.00 

  

  

  -6.00 



Depth (m) 

 

-8.00 

 

 

-10.00   

  

  -12.00 

5   10 15  20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 Distance from shore (m) 90 95 100 105

Figure 3: Number of scleractinian coral species within families in the reef adjacent to Kg Tekek, Pulau Tioman

Number of scleractinian coral species at various Pulau Tioman sites

250

221

200

150

105 100 96 84 82 75 Number of Species 70 68

50

0 (T7) Batu (T8) Teluk (T9) Pulau Gut (T10) Pulau (T11) Pulau (T12) Kadar (T13) Pulau Kg Tekek Reef Malang Juara Tokong Bahara Seri Buat Bay Renggis Site

Figure 4: Number of scleractinian coral species at various Pulau Tioman sites by Harborne et al. (2000) compared to this study at Kg Tekek Reef.

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 24 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

In year 2000 the Coral Conservation Ltd (Harborne et al., 2000) did a survey for the Marine Parks and found 183 species of hard corals in the waters of Pulau Tioman (Figure 1 and 4) and had commented that this was the highest compared to other Marine Parks in the East Coast of their study. Pulau Tioman Marine Park was also the only area in their study which they found Pocillopora eydouxi, P.meandrina, Stylophora pistillata, Montipora confusa, gracilis, Psammocora nierstraszi, Coscinaraea hahazimaensis, clavus, Leptoseris papyracaea, Diaseris distorta, Heliofungia actiniformis, Oxypora crassispinosa, Pectinia alcicornis, Favia maxima, F. veroni, Goniastrea retiformis, Trachyphyllia geoffroyi, yaeyamaensis, Rhizopsammia verrilli, and possibly planulata,, Leptoseris scabra and Acropora austera. Previously Montipora confusa and Oxypora crassispinosa were thought to be found only in the Phillipines while Coscinaraea hahazimaensis only in . In this study we also managed to find M.confusa in the study site. Therefore this indicates that Pulau Tioman reefs are special and needs more research and good management. Harborne et al. (2000) had also identified to a total of 221 sp. from 66 genera of hard corals from Pulau Redang, Pulau Tioman and Pulau Tinggi Marine Parks. Pachyseris foliosa which was thought to be found only in the Phillipines were found by them in other marine parks except P. Tioman. Nevertheless in this study we found P. foliosa in the study site. If compared to the species list of this study that identified 221 species in only a small area of the island and compared to the study done by Harborne et al. (2000) which identified 183 sp. then this indicates that the reef adjacent to Kg Tekek is very unique and important as a pool for coral species (Appendix 1, Figure 4). Nonetheless we realise that the difference in methods might have brought about this difference where they had done only an hour dive time of sampling for each site whereas we did multiple dives and longer sampling times. Harborne et al. (2000) stated that 323 sp. of hard corals have been identified from Malaysia while Chou (2000) reported that the list is standing at >350sp. Nevertheless as Malaysia sits within the global epicentre of biodiversity Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000) has predicted that Malaysia has >550 sp. of hard corals. Therefore more extensive and intensive work needs to be done in hard coral diversity surveys and identification to determine the correct number of species in Malaysian waters. The importance of hard corals and reefs as a whole is in its biodiversity value, fisheries industry as a nursery for juvenile fish, ecotourism, coastal protection, biopharmaceutics, biocompounds, education and research. The economical value of reefs have been estimated to be: a) Ecotourism - , AUD 1.5 billion per year - Caribbean USD 8.9 billion per year b) Fisheries - 1km2 could yield ~15 tons of seafood per year c) Total value of reefs per hectare per year as estimated by Costanza et al. (1997) in Nature was USD 6,075. This is an underestimate as they did not take into account the value of erosion control, water regulation etc. d) A case in a US court awarded cost of restoration and lost of tourism totaling to USD 2,833 per m2 We would like to reiterate the suggestion from Harborne et al. (2000) that sanctuary zones be set up within Marine Park areas. From the results of this study it is especially important for the reef of Kg Tekek to be sanctuary zones. ‘Good areas’ with a unique coral reef such as the study site is important in facilitating recovery of nearby ‘poor’ areas via production of coral and fish larvae.

CONCLUSION

From the study it was found that the diversity of the hard corals are very high in the study area. Important species which has rare status, amazingly large, massive and very old coral colonies are also present. Thus we believe that the study area is very unique, important as a pool for coral species and needs to be managed with great care.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Marine Park Unit of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Pulau Tioman Marine Park staff members especially Abang Manap and finally Mr Ujang for his companionship and logistics support. We are also grateful to Eco Divers Tioman (Michelle and Jeffrey) for their help during the study period.

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 25 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

REFERENCES

Aikanathan, S. and Wong, E.F.H. (1994). Marine park management conceptual plan for Peninsular Malaysia. Department of Fisheries Malaysia and WWF-Malaysia. Bakus, G.J. (1994). Coral Reef Ecosystem. A.A. Balkema (New Delhi). 232 pp. Betterton, C. (1981). A guide to the hard corals of Peninsular Malaysia (excluding the genus Acropora). Malayan Nature Journal 34: 171-336. Birkeland, C. (1997). Life and Death of Coral Reefs. Chapman & Hall (New York). 536 pp. Burke, L., Selig, E. & Spalding, M. (2002). Reefs at Risk in South East Asia. World Resources Institute (Washington, DC 200002, USA). 73 pp. Ching, L.L. and Spring, N. (1995). The concepts and analysis of carrying capacity: A management tool for effective planning. Part III Case Study: Pulau Tioman. Unpublished WWF-Malaysia report. Chou L.M. (2000). Status of South East Asia Coral Reefs – Status update: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillipines, Singapore, and Vietnam in C. Wilkinson ed., Status of Coral Reefs of the World (2000). Australian Institute of Marine Science (2000) 121pp. Costanza, R., d'Arge, R., de-Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., O'Neill, R.V., Paruelo, J., Raskin, R.G., Sutton, P. & vandenBelt, M. (1997). The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387: 253-260. De Silva, M.W.R.N., Betterton, C. and Smith, R.A. (1980). Coral reef resources of the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In: Coastal Resources of East Coast Peninsular Malysia (Eds: Chua, T.E. and Charles, J.K.). Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. Harborne, A., D. Fenner, A. Barnes, M. Beger, S. Harding and T. Roxburgh (2000). Status Report on the Coral Reefs of the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. Coral Cay Conservation Ltd, London, SW19 2JG, UK. 89 pp. Hendry, H.J. (2000). Update on the status of the coral reef ecosystems and management of the Pulau Tioman Marine Park, Peninsular Malaysia. Unpublished report to WWF-Malaysia. Pillai, C.S.G. and G. Scheer. (1974). On a collection of from the Strait of Malacca. Proceedings of the 2nd International Coral Reef Symposium 1: 445-464. Ridzwan, A.R. (1994). Status of coral reefs in Malaysia. Pages: 49-56. In: Wilkinson, C.R., Suraphol Sudara and Chou, L.M (Eds). Proceedings of the Third ASEAN-Australia Symposium on Living Coastal Resources. Volume 1: Status reviews. Australian Institute of Marine Science. Searle, A.G. (1956). An illustrated key to Malayan hard corals. Malayan Nature Journal 11: 1-26. Sorokin, Y.I. (1993). Coral Reef Ecology. Springer-Verlag (Berlin). 465 pp. Veron, J.E.N. & Stafford-Smith, M. (2000). Corals of the World. Volumes 1-3 Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville. 1,382pp. Wood, E.M. and Tan, B.S. (1987). The coral reefs of the Bodgaya Islands (Sabah: Malaysia) and Pulau Sipadan. 3. Hard corals. Malayan Nature Journal 40: 189-224.

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 26 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Appendix 1: List of scleractinian (hard) coral species found at the reef adjacent to Kg. Tekek, P. Tioman. Global status is following Veron & Stafford-Smith (2000). Species in blue are considered to be at a ‘rare’ status globally. Hard Coral Hard Coral Hard Coral No. Family Genus Species Global Status 1 Acroporidae Acropora abrolhosensis common 2 Acroporidae Acropora aculeus Uncommon except in Central Indo-Pacific 3 Acroporidae Acropora akajimensis Common locally but usually rare 4 Acroporidae Acropora aspera Sometimes common 5 Acroporidae Acropora austera usually uncommon 6 Acroporidae Acropora awi common 7 Acroporidae Acropora bruggemanni common 8 Acroporidae Acropora cerealis common 9 Acroporidae common but conspicous 10 Acroporidae Acropora digitifera Sometimes common 11 Acroporidae Acropora elseyi common 12 Acroporidae Acropora florida common 13 Acroporidae Acropora formosa common and frequently dominant species 14 Acroporidae Acropora gemmifera common 15 Acroporidae Acropora grandis common 16 Acroporidae Acropora humilis Usually common, sometimes dominant 17 Acroporidae Acropora hyacinthus common 18 Acroporidae Acropora insignis Uncommon 19 Acroporidae Acropora kirstyae usually uncommon 20 Acroporidae Acropora latistella Common 21 Acroporidae Acropora listeri Uncommon 22 Acroporidae Acropora loripes Common in Central Indo-Pacific 23 Acroporidae Acropora lutkeni common 24 Acroporidae Acropora microcladus usually uncommon 25 Acroporidae Acropora micropthalma common & maybe dominant in shallow water 26 Acroporidae Acropora millepora common 27 Acroporidae Acropora nasuta common 28 Acroporidae Acropora nobilis common 29 Acroporidae Acropora pectinatus uncommon 30 Acroporidae Acropora pinguis Uncommon except in Central 31 Acroporidae Acropora prostrata uncommon 32 Acroporidae Acropora retusa Uncommon except in South Africa 33 Acroporidae Acropora rosaria sometimes common 34 Acroporidae Acropora samoensis Usually uncommon 35 Acroporidae Acropora secale common 36 Acroporidae Acropora sekiseiensis common in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan 37 Acroporidae Acropora selago Sometimes common 38 Acroporidae Acropora subulata Common Uncommon except in & Western 39 Acroporidae Acropora tenuis Pacific 40 Acroporidae Acropora valenciennesi common 41 Acroporidae Acropora vaughani Uncommon 42 Acroporidae Acropora yongei common 43 Acroporidae Anacropora reticulata rare 44 Acroporidae Montipora crassituberculata usually uncommon 45 Acroporidae Astreopora gracilis sometimes common 46 Acroporidae Astreopora listeri usually uncommon 47 Acroporidae Astreopora myriopthalma most common Astreopora 48 Acroporidae Astreopora ocellata Usually rare 49 Acroporidae Montipora confusa Uncommon but distinctive

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 27 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

50 Acroporidae Montipora danae Common 51 Acroporidae Montipora delicatula uncommon 52 Acroporidae Montipora digitata Common 53 Acroporidae Montipora florida common 54 Acroporidae Montipora foliosa Common 55 Acroporidae Montipora hispida Uncommon except in Great Barrier Reef 56 Acroporidae Montipora meandrina common in red sea, rare in PNG 57 Acroporidae Montipora millepora Common but inconspicous 58 Acroporidae Montipora monasteriata common 59 Acroporidae Montipora verrucosa Sometimes common 60 Agariciidae Gardineroseris planulata usually uncommon 61 Agariciidae Leptoseris foliosa Uncommon 62 Agariciidae Leptoseris gardineri Uncommon 63 Agariciidae Leptoseris hawaiiensis uncommon 64 Agariciidae Leptoseris mycetoseroides Sometimes common 65 Agariciidae Leptoseris papyracea Usually uncommon but may be dominant 66 Agariciidae Leptoseris scabra Usually uncommon 67 Agariciidae Leptoseris tubulifera Uncommon 68 Agariciidae Leptoseris yabei Uncommon but conspicious 69 Agariciidae Pachyseris foliosa uncommon 70 Agariciidae Pachyseris gemmae rare 71 Agariciidae Pachyseris common 72 Agariciidae Pachyseris speciosa common 73 Agariciidae Pavona cactus common 74 Agariciidae Pavona clavus common 75 Agariciidae Pavona decussata common 76 Agariciidae Pavona duerdeni uncommon but conspicous, rare in red sea 77 Agariciidae Pavona explanulata common 78 Agariciidae Pavona frondifera generally common 79 Agariciidae Pavona maldivensis Sometimes common 80 Agariciidae Pavona venosa Uncommon but distinctive 81 Astrocoeniidae Palauastrea ramosa Sometimes common in Equatorial regions 82 Dendrophyllidae Turbinaria stellulata usually uncommon 83 Euphylliidae seldom common 84 Euphylliidae Euphyllia divisa Seldom common, but conspicuous 85 Euphylliidae uncommon 86 Euphylliidae Euphyllia paraglabrescens rare 87 Euphylliidae Physogyra liechtensteini common 88 Euphylliidae Plerogyra sinuosa usually uncommon 89 Faviidae Barrabattoia amicorum uncommon 90 Faviidae Cyphastrea agassizi uncommon 91 Faviidae Cyphastrea chalcidicum common 92 Faviidae Cyphastrea ocellina rare 93 Faviidae Cyphastrea serailia common 94 Faviidae Diploastrea heliopora sometimes common 95 Faviidae Echinophyllia orpheensis usually uncommon 96 Faviidae Echinopora gemmacea usually uncommon 97 Faviidae Echinopora horrida uncommon 98 Faviidae Echinopora mammiformis common 99 Faviidae Echinopora pacificus usually uncommon 100 Faviidae Favia danae usually uncommon 101 Faviidae Favia favus common 102 Faviidae Favia helianthoides uncommon 103 Faviidae Favia maritima rare 104 Faviidae Favia mathaii sometimes common

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 28 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

105 Faviidae Favia maxima rare 106 Faviidae Favia pallida most common in East Australia, but less common elsewhere 107 Faviidae Favia rosaria rare 108 Faviidae Favia rotumana uncommon 109 Faviidae Favia rotundata sometimes common 110 Faviidae Favia speciosa most common of faviidae spp. 111 Faviidae Favia stelligera common 112 Faviidae Favia truncatus common in Equatorial regions 113 Faviidae Favites abdita common 114 Faviidae Favites bestae rare 115 Faviidae Favites chinensis uncommon 116 Faviidae Favites complanata sometimes common sometimes common especially in subtropical 117 Faviidae Favites flexuosa regions 118 Faviidae Favites halicora usually uncommon 119 Faviidae Favites micropentagona Uncommon 120 Faviidae Favites pentagona sometimes common 121 Faviidae Favites russelli usually uncommon 122 Faviidae Favites stylifera rare 123 Faviidae Goniastrea aspera Sometimes common and may be a dominant sp 124 Faviidae Goniastrea edwardsi Common 125 Faviidae Goniastrea palauensis usually uncommon 126 Faviidae Goniastrea pectinata Common 127 Faviidae Goniastrea retiformis Common 128 Faviidae Leptastrea pruinosa Uncommon 129 Faviidae Leptastrea purpurea Common 130 Faviidae Leptastrea transversa Uncommon 131 Faviidae Montastrea curta Common 132 Faviidae Montastrea selebrosa rare 133 Faviidae Montastrea valenciennesi usually uncommon 134 Faviidae Platygyra acuta sometimes common 135 Faviidae Platygyra carnosus Uncommon 136 Faviidae Platygyra crosslandi Common 137 Faviidae Platygyra lamellina usually uncommon 138 Faviidae Platygyra pini usually uncommon 139 Faviidae Platygyra sinensis usually uncommon 140 Faviidae Platygyra verweyi usually uncommon 141 Fungiidae Ctenactis albitentaculata sometimes common 142 Fungiidae Cycloseris colini rare 143 Fungiidae Ctenactis crassa usually uncommon 144 Fungiidae Ctenactis echinata Common 145 Fungiidae Cycloseris costulata rare 146 Fungiidae Cycloseris tenuis rare 147 Fungiidae Cycloseris vaughani rare 148 Fungiidae Diaseris distorta uncommon but plentiful when occur 149 Fungiidae Fungia concinna Common 150 Fungiidae Fungia danai Common 151 Fungiidae Fungia fralinae uncommon (juvenile) 152 Fungiidae Fungia fungites Common 153 Fungiidae Fungia granulosa usually uncommon 154 Fungiidae Fungia moluccensis usually uncommon 155 Fungiidae Fungia paumotensis Common 156 Fungiidae Fungia repanda Common 157 Fungiidae Fungia scabra rare

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 29 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

158 Fungiidae Fungia scutaria common & distinctive 159 Fungiidae Heliofungia actiniformis Common 160 Fungiidae Herpolitha limax Common 161 Fungiidae Herpolitha weberi uncommon 162 Fungiidae Lithophyllon undulatum usually uncommon 163 Fungiidae Podabacia crustacea usually uncommon 164 Fungiidae Podabacia motuporensis uncommon 165 Fungiidae Polyphillia talpina common 166 Fungiidae Sandalolitha dentata usually uncommon 167 Fungiidae Sandalolitha robusta common 168 Merulinidae Hydnophora exesa common 169 Merulinidae Hydnophora grandis usually uncommon 170 Merulinidae Hydnophora microconos uncommon 171 Merulinidae Hydnophora rigida sometimes common 172 Merulinidae Merulina ampliata usually common 173 Merulinidae Symphillia radians common 174 Merulinidae Symphillia recta common 175 Mussidae Acanthastrea faviaformis uncommon 176 Mussidae Lobophyllia corymbosa sometimes common 177 Mussidae Lobophyllia flabelliformis usually uncommon 178 Mussidae Lobophyllia hataii uncommon 179 Mussidae Lobophyllia hemprichii frequently dominant 180 Mussidae Lobophyllia pachysepta usually uncommon 181 Mussidae Lobophyllia robusta uncommon 182 Mussidae Scolymia vitiensis usually uncommon 183 Mussidae Symphyllia uncommon 184 Mussidae Symphyllia hassi uncommon 185 Mussidae Symphyllia radians common 186 Mussidae Symphyllia recta common 187 Oculinidae astreata common 188 Oculinidae Galaxea fascicularis common 189 Pectiniidae Echinophyllia aspera common 190 Pectiniidae Echinophyllia orpheensis usually uncommon 191 Pectiniidae Mycedium elephantotus common 192 Pectiniidae Pectinia alcicornis usually uncommon 193 Pectiniidae Pectinia lactuca common 194 Pectiniidae Pectinia paeonia common 195 Pocilloporidae Pocillopora damicornis common 196 Pocilloporidae Pocillopora verrucosa common 197 Pocilloporidae Stylophora pistillata common 198 Pocilloporidae Stylophora subseriata common 199 Poritidae Alveopora minuta rare 200 Poritidae Goniopora columna common 201 Poritidae Goniopora djiboutiensis common 202 Poritidae Goniopora lobata common 203 Poritidae Goniopora minor common 204 Poritidae Goniopora norfolkensis Uncommon except in West Pacific 205 Poritidae Goniopora somaliensis uncommon but conspicous 206 Poritidae Uncommon but conspicious 207 Poritidae Goniopora tenuidens common 208 Poritidae Porites attenuata common 209 Poritidae Porites cumulatus uncommon 210 Poritidae Porites cylindrica common 211 Poritidae Porites evermanni usually uncommon 212 Poritidae Porites horizontalata sometimes common

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 30 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

213 Poritidae Porites latistella uncommon 214 Poritidae Porites lobata most common porites 215 Poritidae Porites lutea common 216 Poritidae Porites monticulosa common in West Indian Ocean 217 Poritidae Porites murrayensis sometimes common 218 Poritidae Porites nigrescens sometimes common 219 Poritidae Porites rus common 220 Siderastrea Psammocora digitata usually uncommon 221 Siderastrea Psammocora haimeana uncommon Unidentified spp. 222 Faviidae Favia sp.? 223 Faviidae Unknown 48 224 Acroporridae ACB 81 225 CB #85 226 CB #86 227 CM #79 Others 1 Helioporidae Heliopora coerulea blue coral 2 Milleporidae Millepora sp.1 fire coral 3 Milleporridae Millepora sp.2 fire coral 4 Alcyoniidae Lobophyton sp soft coral 5 Alcyoniidae Sinularia a soft coral 6 Alcyoniidae Sinularia b soft coral 7 Nephteidae Nephtea sp soft coral branching 8 Sarcophyton soft coral 9 Sponge Cribrochalina sp blue sponge branch 10 Sponge Gelliodes sp green sponge branch 11 Sponge Haliclona sp big sponge barrel 12 Zoanthid Palythoa sp zoanthids

Natural Resource Utilisation and Environmental Preservation: Issues and Challenges 31 Proceedings of Second Regional Symposium on Environment and Natural Resources, Vol:2 22-23 March 2005, Pan Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Appendix 2: Examples of underwater digital photographs taken during the study.

Acropora cytherea colony (table growth form) Acropora cytherea colony (corallite close up)

Acropora loripes colony (corallite close up) Acropora loripes colony (corallite close up)

Diploastrea heliopora colony (corallite close up) Unidentified hard coral colony