Scleractinian corals (Fungiidae, Agariciidae and Euphylliidae) of Pulau Layang-Layang, Spratly Islands, with a note on Pavonamaldivensis (Gardiner, 1905).

Zarinah Waheed,Sancia E T Van Der Meij,Francesca Benzoni,Bert W Hoeksema,Tullia Isotta Terraneo

doi:10.3897/zookeys.517.9308

Abstract

Layang-Layang is a small island part of an oceanic atoll in the Spratly Islands off Sabah, Malaysia. As the reef coral fauna in this part of the South China Sea is poorly known, a survey was carried out in 2013 to study the species composition of the scleractinian coral families Fungiidae, Agariciidae and Euphylliidae. A total of 56 species was recorded. The addition of three previously reported coral species brings the total to 59, consisting of 32 Fungiidae, 22 Agariciidae, and five Euphylliidae. Of these, 32 species are new records for Layang-Layang, which include five rarely reported species, i.e., the fungiids Lithophyllon ranjithi, Podabacia sinai, Sandalolitha boucheti, and the agariciids Leptoseris kalayaanensis and Leptoseris troglodyta. The coral fauna of Layang-Layang is poor compared to other areas in Sabah, which may be related to its recovery from a crown-of-thorns seastar outbreak in 2010, and its low habitat diversity, which is dominated by reef slopes consisting of steep outer walls. Based on integrative molecular and morphological analyses, a Pavona variety with small and extremely thin coralla was revealed as Pavona maldivensis. Since specimens from Sabah previously identified as Pavona maldivensis were found to belong to Pavona explanulata, the affinities and distinctions of Pavona maldivensis and Pavona explanulata are discussed.

Highlights

Pulau [island] Layang-Layang is a small island standing 2 m high on the southeast rim of a reef known as Swallow Reef (Hancox and Prescott 1995)
The coral fauna of Layang-Layang is poor compared to other areas in Sabah, which may be related to its recovery from a crown-of-thorns seastar outbreak in 2010, and its low habitat diversity, which is dominated by reef slopes consisting of steep outer walls
For oceanic Layang-Layang with its steep reefs walls, an additional factor for its lower species richness as compared to nearby continental reef areas such as Kota Kinabalu and Kudat could be the lack of habitat heterogeneity, which would be important for supporting species diversity (Done 1982, Best et al 1989; Cornell and Karlson 1996, 2000, Karlson and Cornell 1998, Hoeksema 2007, 2012c)

Summary

Introduction

Pulau [island] Layang-Layang is a small island standing 2 m high on the southeast rim of a reef known as Swallow Reef (Hancox and Prescott 1995). In the 1980s, reclamation work was carried out to accommodate a military base, and in the 1990s the island was further extended to construct an airstrip, a resort and a seawall. For the latter developments, coral and sand were mined from the lagoon for building material. At subsequent independent surveys from 1996 to 1999 in four outer reef sites, mean live coral cover was 73% at 5 m and 58% at 10 m depth (Pilcher and Cabanban 2000)

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