Browsing by Author "Herath, H. M. T. N. B."

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    Abundance and Diversity of Reef Associated Fish Species in the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Ramawickrama, N. W.; Thilakarathne, E. P. D. N.; Herath, H. M. T. N. B.; Malshani, P. K. T.; Egodauyana, K. P. U. T.
    Reef fishes are important marine fauna that provides benefits to reef ecosystems. Although their ecological role is extremely important for the healthiness of the coral reef ecosystem, marine ornamental fishing industry, coastal food fish industry, tourism industry, and lack of monitoring and caring, severely degrade reef fish stocks in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Since it is highly important to keep up to date scientific records, a survey was conducted in the final quarter of 2019 using fish belt transect method by snorkeling and/or diving over five selected sites; Passikudah, Kayankerni, Adukkuparu, Parrot rock, and Pigeon island as major and most important reefs in Eastern coast. Threats on sites were identified by visual observation and questioner surveying. 289 reef fish species belonging to 41 families were recorded from all five sites. Reef fish species of each site recorded as 41, 131, 31, 103, and 156 respectively. The highest abundance of fish was recorded in the Kayankerni reef, with a greater number of Damselfish and their abundance was increased from shallow (1 m) to deeper (5 m) area while the lowest abundance was recorded in the Adukkuparu reef. The highest biodiversity (0.96), species richness (103), and evenness (0.65) were recorded in the Parrot rock which may due to the highest recorded coral diversity (0.93) and lives coral cover (70%) of the reef. Lowest reef fish diversity (0.68) was recorded in the Passikudah reef which may due to the low coral diversity of the reef (21% live coral cover) but with the highest (51%) algae cover. Marine ornamental fish trade, tourist attraction, invasive species, and pollution were the majorly identified threats to reef fish stocks in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Acanthaster planci and Halimeda sp. are the identified invasive species. Reef fish species and Coral reefs on the eastern coast are in highly threaten level and the Parrot rock and the Kayankerni reefs are recommended to declare as marine national parks. Keywords: Reef fish, Coral reefs, Eastern coast of Sri Lanka, Kayankerni and Pigeon Island
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    Diversity and the Current Status of Coral Reefs in Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2020) Ramawickrama, N. W.; Thilakarathne, E. P. D. N.; Herath, H. M. T. N. B.; Malshani, P. K. T.; Egodauyana, K. P. U. T.
    Coral reefs are highly diverse ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots in the world consisting also of Sri Lankan continental shelf. However, coral reef ecosystems have been changing for the last decades due to natural and human impacts. Therefore, it is important to monitor their current status for conservation and management purposes. Thus, Kayankerni, Passikudah, Pigeon island, Adukkuparu, and Parrot rock reefs which considered major reefs on the Eastern coast of Sri Lanka were surveyed in the final quarter of 2019 by using line intercept transect method. Data were taken by snorkeling or diving over 30 x 50 m transects per site. Threats were quantified by visual observations, water quality analysis, and questionnaire surveying. Live corals at each site were 38%, 21, 59, 12 and 70% respectively. A total of 104 species that belong to 19 coral families were recorded from the Eastern coast while family Acroporidae and Faviidae were dominating. Biodiversity and species richness were highest in Parrot rock reef and lowest in Adukkuparu reef. Massive hard corals which belong to family Poritidae and Muscidae, as well as soft coral family Alcyonidae, were dominated in the Parrot rock reef. The highest percentage of dead coral was in Passikudah reef (79%) and Adukkuparu reef (88%) due to excessive pollution, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices, and overgrowth of Halimeda sp. Pigeon Island, Kayankerni, and Parrot rock reefs are also in danger due to destructive fishing, tourism, and invasive species Acanthaster planci. Marine ornamental fish trade, dynamite fishing, and tourism activities were the identified major human threats for coral reefs in the Eastern coast. Therefore, it is highly recommended that Parrot rock and Kayankerni reefs should be declared as marine national parks, and coral restoration initiatives have to be taken for all the reefs. These reef ecosystems must be regulated from adverse human activities for long term conservation and management. Keywords: Coral Reef Ecosystems, Eastern Coast, Conservation, Pollution