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International Journal of Marine Science 2013, Vol.3, No.4, 23-32
http://ijms.sophiapublisher.com
23
Research Report Open Access
Barrier and Platform Reefs of the Vietnamese Coast of the South China Sea
Yu.Ya. Latypov
A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, FEB-RAS, Vladivostok, 690059, Russia
Corresponding author email: ltpv@mail.ru
International Journal of Marine Science, 2013, Vol.3, No.4 doi: 10.5376/ijms.2013.03.0004
Received: 02 Dec., 2012
Accepted: 11 Jan., 2013
Published: 16 Jan., 2013
Copyright:
©
2013 Latypov, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Latypov, 2013, Barrier and Platform Reefs of the Vietnamese Coast of the South China Sea, International Journal of Marine Science, Vol.3, No.4 23-32 (doi:
10.5376/ijms. 2013.03.0004)
Abstract
The composition and spatial distribution of the coral communities of the barrier reefs of Jiang Bo, Re Island and the
platform reef at Bach Long Vi Island were described in detail for the first time for Vietnamese waters. In common, more 260 species
of corals and their accompanying species of macrobenthos were found. Acroporids, poritids, and mussids among the scleractinian
corals dominated. Monospecific aggregations of Alcyonarian
Sinularia
and
Lobophytum
and the hydroid
Millepora
were rather
numerous. Based on its geomorphological characteristics, coral species diversity and zonal distribution, the reefs of entire area are
comparable with ribbon and platform reefs on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and to the barrier reefs of the Philippines and
Indian Ocean.
Keywords
Coral reef; Species composition; Structure; Vietnam
Continuous attention has been paid to the coral
communities of Vietnam since the research of Serene
(1937) and Dawydoff (1952). Since 1980s, Russian,
Japanese and Vietnamese scientists, including those
under the aegis of the WWF (Ken, 1991; Latypov,
1982, 1987, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2011; Vo and Hodgson,
1997; Yet, 1997; WWF, 1994), have systematically
studied Vietnamese reefs. Various types of reef, their
communities and the biology of several inhabitants
(Latypov, 1986, 1993, 2000; Sakai et al., 1986; Vo et
al., 1997) were described during that period; however,
the barrier reefs and platform reef of Vietnam were
only briefly noted in Latypov’s monograph (see
Latypov, 2007). During the past ten years we had an
opportunity to repeatedly visit the barrier reefs of
Central (Re Island) and South (Jiang Bo Reef)
Vietnam. In 2007 on the 34
th
cruise of the Research
Vessel “Akademik Oparin” , I was fortunate to visit
and investigate the coral reef of Bach Long Vi Island
situated in the southern part of the Gulf of Tonkin
(20º0
8
′ N, 107º44′ E). Based on its large size (7.5~8.0 km
in length and more than 4.5 km in width), variable
morphology, and the presence of a very small lagoon,
this reef can be classified as the platform reef type.
Barrier and platform reefs are interesting in that they
are not exposed to intense anthropogenic press and
remained in satisfactory or good condition. They have
high species richness and are intense of substrate
covering by living corals. Jiang Bo reef is located in
open bay and is under the influence of winds from all
directions. Due to the almost constant waves, it
difficult to access for small fishing boats and easily
equipped with divers. Re island is more than 15 miles
from the coast and large settlements. The population
of a small village on the island is occupied mainly the
cultivation of garlic. Therefore, the Island Reef is not
subject to severe human impacts. Bach Long Vi Island
is located in the open part of the Gulf of Tonkin. It
dispersed a small garrison of the Vietnamese army.
For this reason, the approach to the island closer than
two miles prohibited. Reefs of the island, the most
preserved of all Vietnamese reefs in its natural state.
Taking into account the insufficiency of information,
we gave detailed descriptions of the coral
communities of these reefs, which significantly
complemented the general characteristics of the
structural organization and spatial distribution of the
population of Vietnamese reefs.
1 Results and Discussion
1.1 Jiang Bo Reef
The south–north transects (Figure 1). The bottom area
adjoining to the reef base at a depth of 17 m was a
flat platform with silt–sand sediments with debris of