Community structure and spatial patterns in hard coral diversity of Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, India

Lakshadweep Island cluster is the single atoll reef formation in India, which is reported to be facing climate abnormalities since the past few decades. Scleractinian corals form the structural framework of any coral reefs and are very important in the existence of atoll reef systems. In the present study an attempt was made to investigate the hard coral diversity, live/dead coral cover, as well as health status of reef system surrounding Agatti Island in the Lakshadweep Sea, adopting the Line Intercept Transect (LIT) method. Seventy one species were recorded from the island, of which 37 were new to the reef. Acropora formosa (Dana, 1846) with a total cover of 18.3% showed maximum abundance followed by Porites lutea (14.8%) and Porites lichen (10.7%). Percentage live coral cover was recorded as fair (48.6%) and coral mortality index (0.29) indicated that the reef is in the borderline between healthy and sick state. Proper management measures should be adopted to increase the coral cover of the reef area and to prevent further destruction of the reef.