Long-term change of herbivorous fish population after the 2010 coral bleaching event at tourism sites in the Gulf of Thailand

Coral reefs are the highest biodiversity ecosystems contributing lots of goods and services to human. The coral bleaching event in 2010 was a major cause of coral mortality and they are consequently covered by macroalgae.... [ view full abstract ]

Coral reefs are the highest biodiversity ecosystems contributing lots of goods and services to human. The coral bleaching event in 2010 was a major cause of coral mortality and they are consequently covered by macroalgae. Herbivorous reef fish play an important role in controlling abundance of macroalgae on coral reefs and promote coral recruitment. This study aimed to monitor the long-term change of herbivorous reef fish population during 2014 – 2016 at seven study sites, which have high potential for ecotourism development, in Chumphon National Park, Chumphon Province, the Western Gulf of Thailand. The results showed that there were 10 species of coral reef fish including parrotfish and damselfish. The highest density of herbivorous reef fish was found in the year 2014 (143 individuals per 250 square meters) and the lowest one was recorded in the year 2016 (55 individuals per 250 square meters). Our result clearly showed that herbivorous reef fish made available substrates for coral recruitment which is very a very important factor for coral reef recovery. Measures for conservation of herbivorous reef fish are very importance to promote the sustainability of coral reef ecosystems and support ecotourism development. This study highlights the importance of reef fish monitoring data for both coral reef conservation and tourism management.