|
Vol. 52, 2013
Acropora
distribution patterns in the northern and northeastern Persian Gulf
Mohammad
Reza Rahmani1,2,3*, Hassan Rahimian1, Mahnaz
Ardalan2, Shashank Keshavmurthy4, Silvia Fontana4,5,
Carden C Wallace6 and Chaolun Allen Chen4,5,7*
1Faculty
of Biology, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran
14155-6453, Iran
2University of Environment, Standard Square, Karaj
31746-118, Iran
3Environment and Sustainable Development Research
Centre, Standard Square, Karaj 31746-118, Iran
4Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica,
Nangang, Taipei 115, Taiwan
5Taiwan International Graduate Program
(TIGP)-Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei 115, Taiwan
6Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville, Queensland
4810, Australia
7Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan
University, Taipei 106, Taiwan
Abstract
Background: Acropora species
distribution patterns at Larak, Farur, and Khark Islands along the
Iranian coast were investigated from October 2008 to November 2009
based on a previous study conducted on the taxonomy of Acropora by examining 1,169
colonies.
Results: The analysis showed that the species
diversity and evenness were low at the three islands, but the total
percentage cover of Acropora was relatively high at Larak (38.52%) with
lower cover at Khark (24.01%). The Acropora
community at Larak Island was significantly dissimilar to those at
Farur and Khark Islands, whereas the latter two possessed similar
community structures. Chlorophyll a
differences of Larak with Farur and Khark Islands coincided with Acropora community differences
among these islands.
Conclusions: Relatively high coral
coverage found at the islands off the Iranian coast suggests important
implications for coral reef resilience and mitigation (e.g., assisted
migration) in response to changing environmental conditions, not only
for the Persian Gulf but also for the world's coral reefs under the
impacts of climate change.
Key words: Coverage; Island; Species
composition; Abundance.
*Correspondence: E-mail: rahmani@coe.ac.ir;
cac@gate.sinica.edu.tw
|
