Biodiv Sci ›› 2011, Vol. 19 ›› Issue (5): 505-510.  DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1003.2011.06055

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Structure and diversity of scleractinia coral communities along the west seashore of Xuwen County

Hui Huang1,2,*(), Yuyang Zhang1,2, Jiansheng Lian1,2, Xiubao Li1,2, Feng You1,2, Jianhui Yang1,2, Xinming Lei1,2, Chenglong Zhang1,2   

  1. 1Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Sanya, Hainan 572000
    2Key Laboratory of Marine Bio-resources Sustainable Utilization, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, CAS, Guangzhou 510301
  • Received:2011-03-30 Accepted:2011-08-04 Online:2011-09-20 Published:2011-10-08
  • Contact: Hui Huang

Abstract:

We surveyed the community structure, species diversity and distribution of scleractinia coral off the shore of Xuwen County, Guangdong Province from May to June of 2008. A total of 57 species of scleractinia coral were documented from 25 sampling stations. Fewer than 30 species of coral were observed at any one station. The average Shannon-Wiener index of scleractinia coral diversity was 1.79 and the average Pielou index was 0.42. The dominant coral species within the study site were Goniopora duofasciataTurbinaria peltata and Cyphastrea serailia, particularly G.duofasciata. The average coverage of scleractinia coral was 12.1%, ranging in 0-38% (mostly in 10-20%). The scleractinia coral communities in our study site showed a patchy spatial distribution.

Key words: the west seashore of Xuwen County, scleractinia coral, species diversity, coverage