Research
New Records of Five Species of Scleractinian Corals to Indian Waters from Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Oligotropic waters of Andaman and Nicobar archipelago harbor a rich diversity of faunal communities.Scleractinian corals are recorded from this group of islands are highly diverse in comparison with the other reef areas of India. Five species of hermatypic corals viz. Acroporalovelli Veron and Wallace, 1984 and Acropora willisae Veron and Wallace, 1984 belonging to Acroporidae family, Myceto- phyllia lamarckiana Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 and Isophylliasinuosa (Ellis and Solander, 1786)under Mussidae family and Porites cumulates Nemenzo, 1955 of Poritidae family are recorded for the first time in Indian waters from Andaman group of islands. The range distribution of this five species increases the Indian scleractinian database upto 611 species,of which 579 species from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The present paper dealt with the morphological characteristics of these four newly recorded species of scleractinians with their distribution and conservational status.
Report of Newly Recorded Eight Scleractinian Corals from Middle and South Andaman Archipelago, India
Eight species of scleractinian corals viz. Acropora azurea Veron, and Wallace 1984 belongs to the family Acroporidae, Favia vietnamensis Veron, 2000 belongs to the family Faviidae, Turbinaria irregularis Bernard, 1896 under the family Dendrophylliidae, Psammocora vaughani Yabe and Sugiyama, 1936 and Coscinaraea wellsi Veron and Pichon, 1980 belong to the family Siderastreidae, Halomitra meierae Veron and Maragos, 2000 under the family Fungiidae, Lobophyllia flabelliformis Veron, 2000 and Mussismilia braziliensis (Verrill, 1867) belong to the Mussidae family are reported as new distributional record to Indian waters from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This present paper deals with the taxonomical features, occurrence and status evaluation of these eight newly recorded species along with their previous distribution.
Scleractinian Corals of Loha Barrack Crocodile Sanctuary, Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Loha Barrack Crocodile Sanctuary is the only protected area out of 96 for conserving crocodiles in its natural habitat at the western side of South Andaman region of Andaman and Nicobar Islands which is surrounded by Bay of Bengal. More than 91% of the sanctuary is covered by marine ecosystem. A total of 146 species of scleractinian corals under 49 genera and 14 families were reported during the present study. The maximum number of 34 species was found under the family Fungiidae which is the nucleus of scleractinian corals reef ecosystem. On the basis of then present study, more conservatory measures can be drawn on scleractinian corals in this sanctuary along with the target animal i.e. crocodile.
Scleractinian Diversity Of Ritchieas Archipelago, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Ritchie’s Archipelago, being the part of South Andaman, shows a variety of marine biodiversity in each of its thirteen islands. These islands show a great deal of scleractinian life on its continental shelf in a fringing pattern. The study will help up to get a summarized data of scleractinian diversity of this archipelago. The will be to take conservatory measure for the proper sustainable development of coral reef of the islands. A Total of 168 species of scleractinian corals were recorded during the study period from the study areas. Shannon –Weaver Diversity index (H¯) of Scleractinian corals ofthe islands was recorded between 4.718 and 6.556, indicating very high coral diversity of those places. Similarity index (S) was also ranges from 29.41% to 73.89%, suggeststhe existence of species strong links between islands. Ritchie’s Archipelago is a group of islands which shows a variety of scleractinian corals. high level of species co-existence which harbours with the other associated faunal communities for their survival. The diversity of scleractinian corals in the Ritchie’s Archipelago is discussed in detail in this paper.
