Comparison of Early Succession and Scleractinian Recruitment Between Artificial Live Rocks and Terracotta Tiles

Autor: Shahbudin Saad, Mohd Azrul Naim, Yusof Muhammad Hamizan, Muhammad Faiz Mohd Hanapiah, Mohd Fikri Akmal Khodzori
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ocean Science Journal. 56:317-325
ISSN: 2005-7172
1738-5261
Popis: Previous studies indicated that artificial live rock (ALR) has the potential to be used as a substrate for coral juveniles. The present study reported a potential of ALR as an ideal substrate for future artificial reef structure. This study was conducted at three sampling sites, namely Teluk Salang, Teluk Bakau and Teluk Sanggit in Tioman Island, Pahang, Malaysia. The total of 96 samples of ALR (n = 48) and terracotta tiles (n = 48) were deployed and periodically retrieved with three-month interval for 15 months. Retrieved settlement plates were analyzed to compare the total abundance of epibionts and coral density between ALR and tiles. Results showed that ALR plates exhibited a significantly higher total benthic abundance compared to terracotta tile [Independent T-Test; t (22) = 2.650, p = 0.015]. On average, a total of 82.8 ± 5.2% of benthic organisms covered ALR’s surfaces compared to terracotta tiles with 62.5 ± 5.6%. The number of coral spats was significantly higher on ALR by 60.7 ± 10.7% compared to terracotta tiles [Mann–Whitney U Test; U = 10.5, p = 0.003]. In addition, there was a significant difference between sites in the abundance of epibionts as determined by one-way ANOVA [F (2,21) = 11.945, p
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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