The Condition and Community Structure of Coral Reefs in Pathew District, Chumphon Province

Abstract

The studying along coral reefs in Pathew District, Chumphon Province were conducted in 2002-2004. The objective of this study was to investigate condition of coral reefs and coral community structure. Manta-tow technique and Line intercept method (English et al., 1994) were used in this study. The result showed that condition of the reefs varied. Most of reefs around islands were in very good condition, whereas reefs along shoreline were in very poor condition. In conclusion, the reef condition was very poor and still in same condition compared to the result in 2000-2001. The major components of coral community were branching form, Pocillopora damicornis and massive form, Porites lutea. The cause of degraded condition are discussed and considered the possibility of reef restoration.