What is coral ?

Its a living organism!

An invertebrate(order Scleractinia)
Produce hard limestone (CaCO
3
) skeletons
2 different types:
- Reef Building: Hermatypic
- Solitary: Ahermatypic

Sun Coral Polyps
Coral & Zooxanthellae
Symbiotic - Zooxanthella = dinoflagellate (Symbiodinium
microadriaticum) that lives in the skin of coral.
1-5 x 10
6
cells per cm
2
- Coral provides protection
- Zooxanthella provide food
(94-98% organic carbon) & colour
Living coral & its skeleton
Coral Builds Reefs
Corals can build three types of reefs:
- Fringing: grows close to shore

- Barrier: Also grows close to shore but has a lagoon
separating it from the shore

- Atoll: a ring of coral that surrounds a lagoons, often
grows on a submerged mountain or volcano.
The animal portion of the reef is called a polyp
The polyp absorbs calcium carbonate out of the water - used to build
the reef
http://www.nos.noaa.gov/education/kits/
corals/media/coral04a_240.jpg
Corals are picky
Water depth < 50-90 metres
Salinity : 30 - 36 ppt
Water temperature : 18
o
C
Low sedimentation, clear waters, circulation
Pre-existing hard substrate
Good sunlight
Pollution-free waters

Distribution depend on
environmental condition
World distribution of coral reefs
Sources: IMaRS/USF,
IRD, NASA, UNEP-
WCMC, WorldFish
Center, WRI 2011
Done T (2011)
Corals:
Environmental
Controls on Growth
Distribution of coral reefs in SE Asia
www.reefcheck.org
Marine Area: 614,000 km
2
Coastline: 7,275 km
Reef Area: 4,000 km
2
(4% of total in SEA, 1.27% of total in the world)
More than 75% of reefs are in East Malaysia, Sabah
42 marine parks
Why Coral Reefs
Matter?
The 'Coral Reef Paradox'
Charles Darwin (Coral Reefs published in 1842) noticed
that coral reefs, the most biologically rich areas of the
ocean, occur in some of the most nutrient-poor waters.
They are like oases in a watery desert.

Coral reefs rival rainforests in numbers of species but far exceed them
in diversity ( 4,000 species of fish and 800 species of reef-building
coral have been identified).

Reefs are also economically valuable to the nations in whose waters
they are found: they occupy less than 0.2% of the oceans yet
supply 25% of the fishery catch in developing countries.
Economic value
Coral reefs are the
biggest and most
spectacular structure
made by living
organisms.
Food - a vital protein
source.
Globally 1/5 of all
animal protein
consumed by humans
comes from marine
environments.
Economic value
Threat to Coral reefs
soil erosion &
sedimentation
Sediment introduced into
coastal marine systems via
rivers, with

- larger sediment grain
fractions deposited
within a few km of the
river mouth.

- Fine grains transported
to the ocean.

Rivers deliver 70% of the global sediment to the oceans e.g.;
(million tonnes/year)
Ganges-Brahmaputra: 1670
Yangtze/Chan Jiang: 480
Irrawaddy: 265
Mekong: 160
Taiwan rivers: 185
Papua New Guinea: 110
Sedimentation
Sedimentation Threat to Coral reefs
Approximately 60 % of the
worlds population live
within the coastal zone.

Land clearing continues at
a rate of 1% of the earths
surface per year.
1. Increase turbidity, thereby cutting off light available for
photosynthesis.

2. The soft tissues of the coral may be damaged through abrasion or
impact by sediment particles, especially of sandy grains.

3. Decreased hard coral cover due to high metabolic rate of shedding
sediments & competition with algae and other benthic species.

4. Decreased richness due to mortality of species vulnerable to
competition.

5. Decreased diversity & increased dominance of certain coral species
due to selective survivorship of resistant species (Porites).

Direct impact of sedimentation
Threats can change condition and productivity
Threats
(Pressure)
Change in
Condition
Change in
Productivity
Overfishing
Pollution
Increased
Sediments
and Nutrients
Mangrove
Removal
LCC
Diversity
Coral extent
Coral growth
Fish
Production
Visual appeal
from divers
Shoreline
Protection

Changes in Good/Service
Assumptions required for Fisheries
Productivity for different reef quality levels
Reef Condition

Assumed Maximum Sustained
Fisheries Production (mt/km
2
/yr)
Healthy 4
Moderate 2.3 - 2.9
Poor 0.7 - 1.7
What can I do
Educate yourself and your friends
Become an informed consumer
Become active in reef protection/restoration
organization
http://www.reefrelief.org/
http://www.seacology.org
http://www.projectaware.org

Conclusion
Effective and balanced management plans is vital.

Coastal developments decision makers must be able to link
particular activities on land with deleterious effects on the coral
communities.

Involving the community in the process increases public support
for government management initiatives, increasing compliance
and reducing law enforcement costs.
Thank you