Degraded Coral Reefs of Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park in India
Mr.Mohan SharmaAbstract
Coral reefs of the Gulf of Kachchh are in a highly degraded condition, when compared with other three major coral reef regions of India. In correlation with geographical and oceanographical changes, its arid climate and the semi-diurnal tidal amplitudes fluctuations hamper the recovery of the reef. Soft corals may play the alternative key role in maintaining the ecological role in the degraded reef ecosystem in the absence of hard corals. Re-colonization of soft corals on the degraded reefs is among the first steps to make them to recover gradually. Present Line Intercept Transect survey (LIT) conducted in a reef of the Gulf inferred the possibility to recovery of the reefs due to the colonization of soft corals on the bare coral boulders.
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