Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T17:26:17.978Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biodiversity of scleractinian corals in the reefs of Qeshm and Larak Islands of the Persian Gulf, in association with environmental variables

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2014

Mahdi Moradi ,
Reza Malekzadeh-Viayeh  and
Javad Eshaghi-Rad
Mahdi Moradi*
Affiliation:
The Persian Gulf Marine Biotechnology Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran
Reza Malekzadeh-Viayeh
Affiliation:
Artemia and Aquatic Research Institute, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
Javad Eshaghi-Rad
Affiliation:
Department of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Moradi, Marine Biotechnology Research Center, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Diversity of hard corals is investigated on the reefs of two Iranian islands, Qeshm and Larak, located in the Persian Gulf. The corals were sampled and photographed and their percentage cover was estimated by diving in June 2008 and February 2009. Thirty-eight coral species belonging to 20 genera and nine families were identified, of which three species are new records from the Gulf. Coral diversity was higher in Larak Island, and in total, Acroporidae and Faviidae were the most diverse coral families. Acropora (83%) had the highest percentage cover in Larak Island, while the maximum percentage cover in Qeshm Island was for Porites (52.96%). Canonical correspondence analysis distinctly plotted the study sites against environmental variables. Salinity and pH were the most effective variables on the coral diversity, and had positive correlations with the frequency of several species including Pocillopora damicornis, Platygyra acuta and Acanthastrea maxima, while they had negative correlation with another group of other corals, including Plesiastrea devantieri, Acropora downingi and Psammocora digitata (P < 0.01). Water clarity had positive correlations with some coral species, including Cyphastrea serailia and Coscinaraeamonile, and negative correlations with other species such as Leptastrea transversa and Acropora arabensis. Diversity of a number of corals mainly Porites lutea and Cyphastrea chalcidicum had high affinity with the water temperature. The results of this study supported the existence of diversified coral communities in Iranian islands, while showing that their spatial and temporal distribution can be affected by environmental variables.

Keywords

coral reefsdiversityenvironmental factorsPersian Gulf
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 94 , Issue 5 , August 2014 , pp. 907 - 916
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Baird, A.H. and Marshall, P.A. (2002) Mortality, growth and reproduction in scleractinian corals following bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series 237, 133–141.Google Scholar
Barnes, R. (1987) Invertebrate zoology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Basson, P.W., Burchard, J.E., Hardy, J.T. and Price, A.R.T. (1977) Biotopes of the Western Arabian Gulf. Dhahran: Aramco Ltd.Google Scholar
Beger, M. and Possingham, H.P. (2008) Environmental factors that influence the distribution of coral reef fishes: modeling occurrence data for broad-scale conservation and management. Marine Ecology Progress Series 361, 1–13.Google Scholar
Bellwood, D.R., Hughes, T.P., Connolly, S.R. and Tanner, J. (2005) Environmental and geometric constraints on Indo-Pacific coral reef biodiversity. Ecology Letters 8, 643–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benzoni, F., Pichon, M., Al Hazeem, S. and Galli, P. (2006) The coral reefs of the Northern Arabian Gulf: stability over time in extreme environmental conditions? In Proceedings of 10th International Coral Reef Symposium. Okinawa, Japan, pp. 969–975.Google Scholar
Burchard, J.E. (1979) Coral fauna of the western Arabian Gulf. Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: ARAMCO Dhahran, Environmental Affairs Division, 28 pp.Google Scholar
Burt, J., Bartholomew, A. and Usseglio, P. (2008) Recovery of corals a decade after a bleaching event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Marine Biology 154, 27–36.Google Scholar
Carpenter, K.E., Harrison, P.L., Hodgson, G., Alsaffar, A.H. and Alhazzeem, H. (1997) The corals and corals reefs of Kuwait. Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research and Environment Public Authority.Google Scholar
Coles, S.L. (1988) Limitations of reef coral development in the Arabian Gulf: temperature or algal competition. In Proceeding of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium, Townsville, Australia 8–12 August 1988, Volume 3, pp. 211–216.Google Scholar
Coles, S.L. (1996) Corals of Oman. Thorns, UK: Keech, Samdani and Coles.Google Scholar
Coles, S.L. (2003) Coral species diversity and environmental factors Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman: a comparison to the Indo-Pacific region (Atoll Research Bulletin No. 507). Washington, DC: National Museum of Natural History/Smithsonian Institution.Google Scholar
Coles, S.L. and Fadlallah, Y.H. (1991) Reef coral survival and mortality at low temperatures in theArabian Gulf: new species-specific lower temperature limits. Coral Reefs 9, 231–237.Google Scholar
Cróquer, A., Villamizar, E. and Noriega, N. (2002) Environmental factors affecting tissue regeneration of the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis (Faviidae) at Los Roques National Park, Venezuela. Revista Biologia Tropical 50, 1055–1065.Google Scholar
Cuevas, D., Sherman, C., Ramírez, W. and Hubbard, D. (2008) Environmental factors controlling community structure, morphology and linear extension of Mid-Holocene reef corals from Cañada Honda, Southwestern, Dominican Republic. In Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Ft Lauderdale, FL, pp. 21–25.Google Scholar
Downing, N. and Roberts, C. (1993) Has the Gulf war affected coral reef of the north-western Gulf? Marine Pollution Bulletin 27, 149–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fatemi, M.R. and Shokri, M.R. (2001) Iranian coral reefs status with particular reference to Kish Island, Persian Gulf. International Coral Reef Initiative Indian Ocean Regional Workshop, Mozambique, pp. 26–28.Google Scholar
Goreau, T.J. and Hayes, R.L. (1994) Coral reef bleaching and ocean hot spots, Ambio 23, 176–180.Google Scholar
Guinotte, J.M., Buddemeier, R.W. and Kleypas, J.A. (2003) Future coral reef habitat marginality: temporal and spatial effects of climate change in the Pacific basin. Coral Reefs 22, 551–558.Google Scholar
Hill, J. and Wilkinson, C. (2004) Methods for ecological monitoring of coral reefs. Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, 116 pp.Google Scholar
Hodgson, G. (1999) A global assessment of human effects on coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin 38, 345–355.Google Scholar
Hueerkamp, C., Glynn, P.W., D'Croz, L., Maeté, J.L. and Colley, S.B. (2001) Bleaching and recovery of five eastern Pacificcorals in an el niño-related temperature experiment. Bulletin of Marine Science 60, 215–236.Google Scholar
Iranian Islands Geography (2002) Qeshm, Larak, Hormuz, Hengam Islands. Tehran: The Geographical Organization of Iranian Army. 560 pp.Google Scholar
IRODC (2004) Iranian Oceanographic Data Center. Available at: http://www.inio.ac.ir/ (accessed 5 November 2013).Google Scholar
IUCN (2011) Red list of threatened species. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org (accessed 7 March 2014).Google Scholar
Jongman, R.H.G., Ter Braak, C.J.F. and Van Tongeren, O.F.R. (1995) Data analysis in community and landscape ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kavousi, J., Seyfabadi, J., Rezai, H. and Fenne, D. (2011) Coral reefs and communities of Qeshm Island, the Persian Gulf. Zoological Studies 50, 276–283.Google Scholar
Kinsman, D.J.J. (1964) Reef coral tolerance of high temperatures and salinities. Nature 202, 1280–1282.Google Scholar
Maghsoudlou, A. (2008) Hard corals of the Iranian coastal waters of the Persian Gulf. Tehran: Iranian National Center for Oceanography Publishers, pp. 1–3.Google Scholar
Maina, J., McClanahan, T.R., Venus, V., Ateweberhan, M. and Madin, J. (2011) Global gradients of coral exposure to environmental stresses and implications for local management. Plos ONE 6, e23064. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023064.Google Scholar
Marubini, F. and Atkinson, M.J. (1999) Effects of lowered pH and elevated nitrate on coral calcification. Marine Ecology Progress Series 188, 117–121.Google Scholar
McCune, B. and Mefford, M.J. (1999) PC-ORD 4.0 for Windows. Multivariate analysis of ecological data. Glenenden Beach, OR: MjM Software.Google Scholar
Moradi, M., Kamrani, E., Shokri, M.R., Ranjbar, M.S. and Askari, M. (2010) First record of two hard coral species (Faviidae and Siderastreidae) from Qeshm Island (Persian Gulf, Iran) Nusatara Bioscience 21, 34–37.Google Scholar
Nejatkhah, P., Rezai, H. and Dehgani, H. (2010) Identification and estimation of frequencies of stony corals of in tidal zone in Hengam island, Persian Gulf. Journal of Marine Biology, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz Branch 2, 27–37.Google Scholar
Nicolas, J.P., Simon, W., Shaker, H.A. and Shokri, M.R. (2000) Status of coral reefs in the Arabian/Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea region (Middle East). In Wilkinson, C. (ed.) Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN). Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine Science, pp. 35–54.Google Scholar
Porter, J.W., Lewis, S.K. and Porter, K.G. (1999) The effect of multiple stressors on the Florida Keys coral reef ecosystem: a landscape hypothesis and a physiological test. Limnology and Oceanography 443, 941–949.Google Scholar
Pous, S.P., Carton, X. and Lazure, P. (2004) Hydrology and circulation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman—results from the GOGP99 Experiment: 1. Strait of Hormuz. Journal of Geophysical Research 109, 1–31.Google Scholar
Price, A.R.G. (1993) The Gulf: human impact and management initiatives. Marine Pollution Bulletin 27, 17–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rachello-Dolmen, P.G. and Cleary, D.F.R. (2007) Relating coral species traits to environmental conditions in the Jakarta Bay/Pulau Seribu reef system, Indonesia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 73, 816–826.Google Scholar
Ridd, P.V. (2007) A critique of a method to determine long-term decline of coral reef ecosystems. Energy and Environment 18, 783–796.Google Scholar
Riegl, B.M., Purkis, S.J., Al-Cibahy, A.S., Abdel-Moati, M.A. and Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2011) Present limits to heat-adaptability in corals and population-level responses to climate extremes. PLOS ONE 6, e24802. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024802.Google Scholar
Riegl, B. (1999) Corals in a non-reef setting in the southern Arabian Gulf (Dubai, UAE): fauna and community structure in response to recurring mass mortality. Coral Reefs 18, 63–73.Google Scholar
Riegl, B. and Purkis, J.S., (2012) Coral reef of the Gulf. Adaptation to climatic extremes. Dordrecht: Springer-Verlag, pp. 187–224.Google Scholar
RPS (2009) Effects of a desalination plant discharge on the marine environment of Barrow Island. Prepared for Chevron Australia Pty Ltd. Report No: N09504, Rev. 2. Available at: http://www.rpsgroup.com.au (accessed 5 November 2013).Google Scholar
Sabine, L. and Thomas, H. (2008) Environmental impact and impact assessment of seawater desalination. Desalination 220, 1–15.Google Scholar
Sale, P.F., Feary, D.A., Burt, J.A., Bauman, A.G., Cavalcante, G.H., Drouillard, K.G., Kjerfve, B., Marquis, E., Trick, C.G., Usseglio, P. and Lavieren, H.V. (2011) The growing need for sustainable ecological management of marine communities of the Persian Gulf. Ambio 40, 4–17.Google Scholar
Sale, P.F., Van Lavieren, H., Ablan Lagman, M.C., Atema, J., Butler, M., Fauvelot, C., Hogan, J.D., Jones, G.P., Lindeman, K.C., Paris, C.B., Steneck, R.S. and Stewart, H.L. (2010) Preserving reef connectivity: a handbook for Marine Protected Area managers. Hamilton, Ontario: Connectivity Working Group, Coral Reef Targeted Research & Capacity Building for Management Program, UNU-INWEH, 78 pp.Google Scholar
Samimi-Namin, K., Rezai, H. and Kabiri, K. (2009) Unique coral community in the Persian Gulf. Coral Reefs 28, 27.Google Scholar
Samimi-Namin, K., Risk, M.J. and Hoeksema, B.W. (2010) Coral mortality and serpulid infestations associated with red tide, in the Persian Gulf. Coral Reefs 29, 509.Google Scholar
Schleyer, M.H. and Celliers, L. (2004) Biodiversity on the marginal coral reefs of South Africa: What does the future hold? Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 345, 387–400.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C., Al-Husiani, M., Al-Jamali, F., Al-Yamani, F., Baldwin, R., Bishop, J., Benzoni, F., Dutrieux, E., Nicholas, K.D., Subba, R.V.D., Jones, D.A., Loughland, R., Medio, D., Nithyanandan, M., Pilling, G.M., Polikarpov, I., Price, A.R.G., Purkis, S., Riegl, B., Saburova, M., Samimi-Namin, K., Taylor, O., Wilson, S. and Zainal, K. (2010) The Gulf: a young sea in decline. Marine Pollution Bulletin 60, 13–38.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C.R.C. (1988) Similar trends, different causes: Responses of corals to stressed environments in Arabian seas. In Proceedings of the 6th International Coral Reef Symposium, Australia, Volume 3, pp. 297–302.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C.R.C. (2003) Predicted recurrences of mass coral mortality in the Indian Ocean. Nature 425, 294–297.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C.R.C. and Salm, R.V. (1998) Reef and coral communities of Oman, with a description of a new coral Species (order Scleractinia, genus Acanthastrea). Journal of Natural History 22, 263–279.Google Scholar
Sheppard, C.R.C. and Sheppard, A.L.S. (1991) Corals and coral communities of Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 12, 3–170.Google Scholar
Shojae, F., Kamrani, E., Shokri, M.R., Ranjbar, M.S., Moradi, M. and Hesni, M.A. (2010) New records of three hard coral species from north-east of Larak Island (Gulf, Iran). Marine Biodiversity Records 3, e65. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755267210000515.Google Scholar
Shokri, M.R., Fatemi, S.M.R. and Crosby, M.P. (2005) The status of butterfly fishes (Chaetodontidae) in the northern Persian Gulf, I.R. Iran. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 15, 91–99.Google Scholar
Shokri, M.R., Haeri-Ardakani, O., Sharifi, A., Abdoullahi, P. and Nazarian, M. (2000) Status of coral reefs around Kish Island in the Iranian Persian Gulf. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Extent and Impact of Coral Bleaching in the Arabian Region 5–9 February 2000. Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pp. 1–14.Google Scholar
Tavakoli, E.V. (1998) Coral reefs, the hidden treasures in the Persian Gulf. Published by Kish Free Zone Organization, 29 pp.Google Scholar
USDC (1984) Final environmental impact statement and management plan for the proposed Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Sanctuary Programs Division, US Dept of Commerce, NOAA and Development Planning Office, 198 pp.Google Scholar
Vajed-Samiei, J., Koosha, D., Ghezellou, P. and Shirvani, A. (2013) Some scleractinian corals (Scleractinia: Anthozoa) of Larak Island, Persian Gulf. Zootaxa 36, 101–143.Google Scholar
Veron, J.E.N. (2000) Corals of the world (3 Volumes). Townsville, QLD: Australian Institute of Marine Science.Google Scholar
Wallace, C. (1999) Staghorn corals: a revision of the genus Acropora. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing.Google Scholar
Wells, S. and Hanna, N. (1992) The Greenpeace book of coral reefs. Asheville, NC: Sterling Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Wiedenmann, J., D'Angelo, C., Smith, E.G., Hunt, A.N., Legiret, F.E., Postle, A.D. and Achterberg, E.P. (2013) Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching. Nature Climate Change 3, 160–164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkinson, C. (2008) Status of coral reefs of the world: 2008. Townsville, QLD: Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and Reef and Rainforest Research Centre.Google Scholar
Wu, S.H. and Zhang, W.J. (2012) Current status, crisis and conservation of coral reef ecosystems in China. Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 2, 1–11.Google Scholar