Editors J R Bhatt J K Patterson Edward D J Macintosh B P Nilaratna Coral reefs in India status threats and conservation measures Editors J R Bhatt J K Patterson Edward D J Macintosh B P Nilaratna Produced by the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) India 20, Anand Lok, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi - 110 049 with financial support from Norad and Sida © 2012 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ISBN 978-2-8317-1262-8 Citation: conservation measures / ed. by Bhatt, J.R., Patterson Edward, J.K., Macintosh D.J. and Nilaratna, B.P.,Coral IUCN India. x, 305pp + colour photographs. Includes scientific articles, bibliography and indices reefs 1. Coral status and conservation in 2. Coral associates 3. India Reproduction, recruitment and restoration 4. Coral environment and threats. - status, threats and All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the IUCN and MFF. The designation of geographical entities in this book, and presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) or the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) Initiative or Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN or the MFF Initiative or MoEF, nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement. Available from : IUCN India Office Cover : J.K. Patterson Edward Front : Photos by SDMRI Back : Coral assemblage Design and LayoutPhoto by : SDMRI J.R. Bhatt and J.K. Patterson Edward Res tredo Caorl(Aro cpo ra Aocr pora n bilios) and intermedia sgea r ass Acrop o r a on f (Th laa sia ish house froosam hchiempri i ) Typeset and Printed by Acropora cytherea Star fish Acror po a Sea cucumber cyth erea and biva lv e Rehana Offset Printers, Srivilliputtur-626125, TamilNadu, Phone : 04563-260383, E-mail : [email protected] Honey comb Squirrel Softoa c r l moray eel fish Snuliraa i sp. Seag r a s s Fvaia sp bed Gorgonia n and Porites sp. Ptgla yyra sp. Ssnapper Coral recr uit (Acropora s.p ) CONTENTS Foreword i Acknowledgment ii Preface iii Theme I: Coral status and conservation Conservation and management of coral reefs in India: An overview J.R.Bhatt, Ritesh Kumar and J. K. Patterson Edward 1 Status of coral reefs and conservation measures in the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park R. Sundararaju, H. Malleshappa, S.Shenbagamoorthy and J.K. Patterson Edward 19 Current status of coral reefs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands C.Raghunathan, R. Rajkumar and Ramakrishna 29 Status of coral reefs of Lakshadweep C.N. Abdul Raheem 37 Status of recruitment and age estimation of selected genera of corals in Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat C.N. Pandey 45 Biodiversity of octocorals K. Padmakumar and R. Chandran 53 Status of soft corals (Alcyonacea) in the Gulf of Mannar, Southeast coast of India G. Sivaleela, K. Venkataraman and C. Suresh Kumar 71 Participatory marine biodiversity conservation - a step forward in the Gulf of Mannar region, Southeast coast of India V.K.Melkani 79 Theme II: Coral associates Mangrove ecosystem in India: biodiversity, threat, conservation and management J. R. Bhatt and T. S. Nayar 91 Seagrasses of India: present status and future needs for effective conservation T. Thangaradjou and K. Sivakumar 117 Biodiversity and resources of dominant groups of crustaceans in Gulf of Mannar S.Ajmal Khan 125 Density estimation of Tridacna maxima in Lakshadweep Archipelago Deepak Apte, Idrees Babu and Sutirtha Dutta 147 Status of ornamental reef fishes of the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Southeastern India G. Mathews, V. Deepak Samuel and J.K.Patterson Edward 155 Reef fish diversity of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bay of Bengal D.V.Rao 165 Reef fish spawning aggregation - pilot study from Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India Jamila Patterson and J.K. Patterson Edward 179 Marine turtles in India: research and conservation Kartik Shanker, Naveen Namboothri and B.C. Choudhury 187 Current status of dugong (Dugong dugon) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands C.N.Pandey, Ketan Tatu and Yashpal Anand 207 A note on community led whale shark conservation along the Gujarat Coast J.R. Bhatt and Pradeep Khanna 215 Theme III: Reproduction, recruitment and restoration Studies on the reproduction and recruitment of corals of Tuticorin coast in the Gulf of Mannar K. Diraviya Raj and J.K. Patterson Edward 217 Coral restoration in the Gulf of Mannar, Southeastern India J.K.Patterson Edward and G. Mathews 231 Theme IV: Coral environment and threats Diseases of corals with particular reference to Indian reefs J.Ravindran and Chandralata Raghukumar 239 Observation and outbreak of coral diseases in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay of Mandapam area T. Thinesh and J.K. Patterson Edward 247 Climate Change impacts and adaptation intervention in coastal ecosystems - a community based response Prakash Rao 257 Threats to coral reefs of Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park Deepak Samuel, T. Sivaramakrishnan, G. Mathews and J. K. Patterson Edward 265 Issues relating to water quality changes in the coral reef environment J.D. Jameson 273 A note on bioinvasion of Kappaphycus alvarezii on coral reefs and seagrass beds in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay J.K.Patterson Edward and J.R. Bhatt 281 Photo credits 289 Author index 290 Index 291 O`§Vr ZQamOZ amÁ` _§Ìr (ñdV§Ì n«^ma) Jayanthi Natarajan n`m©daU Ed§ dZ _§Ìmb` ^maV gaH ma ZB© {Xëbr - 110 003 MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS GOVERNMENT OF INDIA NEW DELHI - 110 003 FOREWORD Coral reefs are complex marine ecosystems comparable to rainforests of terrestrial ecosystem in terms of their species diversity. Reefs act as a barrier against waves and reduce erosion; they provide habitat, food and protection to countless marine species and breeding and nursery grounds for many commercially important fish and invertebrate species. Socio- economically coral reefs are sources of employment, income and food to millions of human beings through fishery and tourism based activities. India has four major coral reef area, viz. Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Katchchh, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar lslands with a total reef area of about 2,384 km2 . Coral reefs and their living resources are facing deterioration all over the world and Indian reefs are no exception. Various anthropogenic activities besides natural impacts like coral diseases, cyclones, tsunami and climate change have resulted in destruction of reef areas and their associated living resources. The intrinsic value and high level of dependency of coastal population on reef-associated fisheries call for evolving adequate conservation strategies for the protection and management of coral reef ecosystems. I am happy to present this book on the occasion of the UN Decade on Biodiversity (2011-2020). The current Year is important as it is during 2012 when India hosts COP-11 to the Convention on Biological Diversity. All these, I hope, will go a long way in reaffirming our collective commitment to nurturing all facets of biodiversity. The Ministry is promoting constructive conservation and management initiatives in all the four reef areas through its centrally sponsored schemes and other focused research projects. India had the credit of organizing the 1st International Conference on the Coral Reef System in Mandapam, Tamil Nadu in 1969, but reef research gained momentum only in the last decade. The publication of this book titled “Coral Reefs in India - Status, Threats and Conservation Measures” is timely and I am sure, will be very helpful in strengthening conservation, management and research on coral reefs not only in India but also in many other countries where reefs grow and perpetuate. I congratulate the editors for their editorial ventures and authors for contribution of the articles, both made this endeavour a great success. I wish to put on record the overall guidance and support provided by Shri. M.F.Farooqui, Special Secretary and chairman of National Coordination Body of the MFF (India) Programme and diligent efforts put in by Dr. J.R. Bhatt, Adviser and Dr.B.P. Nilaratna, the then Joint Secretary in this assignment. (Jayanthi Natarajan) i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors thank the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India for supporting the workshop entitled “Coral Reefs of India - Current Status, Threats and Conservation Measures” which was aimed at preparing a benchmark publication on conservation and management of coral reef ecosystems in India. The present book is a product of this workshop. The workshop and this publication have been made possible through generous support from the Mangroves for the Future (MFF) initiative. The Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute (SDMRI) also provided partial financial support for printing this book. We thank IUCN, International Union for Conservation and Nature and Natural Resources, India Office and the MFF Regional Secretariat; especially Dr. J.S. Rawat, Ms. Hanying Li, Mr. Biren Bhuta and Ms. Aditi Mehandiratta for their valuable assistance during the workshop. Thanks are also due to Dr. N.M. Ishwar, MFF (India) Coordinator for his ever willing help in bringing out this publication. We would like to thank all the authors who have contributed to the scientific information on coral reefs through their papers in this book. We are grateful to Professors S. Ajmal Khan, K. Kathiresan and Dr. A. Gopala Krishnan, CAS in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai; Dr. S. Godwin Wesley, Emeritus Professor, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Nagercoil; Dr.