Title
The Coral Triangle Initiative: what are we missing? A case study from Aceh
Author(s)
Edi Rudi ;Stuart J. Campbell ;Andrew S. Hoey ;Nur Fadli ;Matthew Linkie ;Andrew H. Baird
Published
2012
Publisher
ORYX
Abstract
The Coral Triangle Initiative is an ambitious
attempt to conserve the marine biodiversity hotspot known
as the Coral Triangle. However, the reef fauna in many
nearby regions remains poorly explored and, consequently,
the focus on the Coral Triangle risks overlooking other areas
of high conservation significance. One region of potential
significance, Aceh, Indonesia, has not been visited by coral
taxonomists since the Dutch colonial period. Here we
document the species richness of scleractinian corals of
Pulau Weh, Aceh. We also compare the species richness of
the genus Acropora at 3–5 sites in each of nine regions in
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Although dominated by
widespread Indo-Pacific species, the coral fauna of Pulau
Weh is also the eastern and western boundary for many
Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean species, respectively. We
identified a total of 133 scleractinian species, of which three
have been previously recorded only in the western Indian
Ocean and five are presently undescribed. The mean species
richness of the Acropora at Pulau Weh is similar to regions
within the Coral Triangle. This high species richness plus
the high proportion of endemics suggests that the Andaman
Sea is of similarly high conservation value to the Coral
Triangle. We suggest that an international initiative similar
to the Coral Triangle Initiative is required to conserve this
region, which includes the territorial waters of six countries.
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PUB14647