Reefs in Thailand.....
Jan Korrubel
korrubelj at science.unp.ac.za
Thu Feb 24 05:30:00 EST 2000
Dear Coral-Listers,
I recently had the opportunity to go to Thailand for a workshop and =
conference, and inbetween the two, managed a quick get away down to the =
Phi Phi Islands. I did the obligatory day trip around PP Don and PP Ley =
hoping to find gin-clear waters and tropical fish the likes I have never =
seen before......I was disappointed.
Visibility ranged 7 to 10m, and the reefs, well, they were pretty much =
blasted to smithereens. Hardly any sign of upstanding staghorn corals - =
fields of fragments everywhere. Huge _Porites_ mounds cleaved and =
upturned. Some places were better - many plates of fungi coral in some =
areas. Around nearby Koh Mai Phai (the so called "Bamboo Island"), there =
was an impressive area of 'cabbage' coral that I thought was remarkably =
intact considering what I saw everywhere else. Fish life was generally =
scarce and poor in "content" - parrotfish and damsels were the most =
abundant. Noticeably lacking were lobsters, and also sea cucumbers. =
Quite a few _Diadema_ and I also logged a solitary COT starfish.
The islands of the area fall under Had Nopparat Marine National Park - =
anyone have info on when the park was instigated? There were some signs =
of staghorn re-growth - from my (limited) guesstimations, it looks like =
about 2-3 years worth of growth.
I'd very much like to get some more background info - if anybody has a =
reference list of papers and articles pertaining to reefs in Thailand, I'd =
be most appreciative if you would share it with me.
TIA,
------------------------
Jan L. Korrubel
Centre for Environment and Development
University of Natal
Private Bag X01
3209 Scottsville
Pietermaritzburg
South Africa
Tel: +27-33-2606223 (int.) / 033-2606223 (nat.)
Fax: +27-33-2606118 (int.) / 033-2606118 (nat.)
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