Abundance and diversity of marine flora and fauna of protected and unprotected reefs of the Koh Rong Archipelago, Cambodia

Savage, Jessica M., Osborne, Patrick E. and Hudson, Malcolm D. (2013) Abundance and diversity of marine flora and fauna of protected and unprotected reefs of the Koh Rong Archipelago, Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History, 2013 (2), 83-94.

Abstract

Marine protection is advancing rapidly in Cambodia and an example of a privately managed no-take protected area can be found in the Koh Rong Archipelago. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of the Song Saa reserve for conserving species and to identify suitable survey methodologies for effective monitoring and management. Sites within, near and geographically isolated from the marine protected area were surveyed using Reef Check monitoring protocols, with additional monitoring techniques used for comparison. Species abundance and diversity were analysed using a one-way ANOVA. Results indicated significant variation in the density of invertebrates (F2,27 = 4.16, P = 0.027), particularly long-spined sea urchins (Diadema sp.), but no other statistically significant differences were detected among the study sites. Analysis of different survey methodologies found that the Reef Check techniques detected significantly higher species diversity and abundance than photo-quadrats and static point counts, but this analysis did not consider the precision and resolution of the data collected. This assessment was conducted only six years after the Song Saa marine protected area was established, which was not long enough to expect significant changes in species composition. However this study offered the opportunity to analyse the progress of the marine protected area and establish baseline data for future reference.

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Contributors

Author: Patrick E. Osborne

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