Abstract:
Underwater video techniques are more frequently being used in marine
ecology studies. A technique called Coral Video Transect (CVT) was used to quantify
percentage cover of benthic organisms within Sembilan Island Archipelago and Jarak
Island, Malaysia in determining the coral community structure of the West Coast of
Peninsular Malaysia. The survey was conducted in shallow water reef with a mean depth
of 10.4±1.4 m deep. A total of 22 identifid coral genera from 11 families were identifid.
A higher number of coral genera were found within Sembilan Island Archipelago (20
coral genera) as compared to Jarak Island (11 coral genera). The entire reefs were in
‘poor’ condition with mean total percentage coral cover ranging from 2.63%-23.84%.
The reefs were dominated by massive and encrusting coral with decreasing order of
percentage cover as followed; Porites>Tubastrea>Diploastrea>Echinophyllia. The
use of CVT technique to describe the reef status was recommended as it can provide a
permanent record for subsequent studies and for future comparison later on. The data
presented might be useful for resources sustainability or coral reef management in
Malaysia.
