Relationship between adult abundance and successive coral recruitment density in the Tioman Island Marine Park, Malaysia

It is important to understand coral recruitment as coral reefs are regionally in decline. Thepattern and magnitude of coral recruitment strongly influence conservation options andmanagement efforts. This study revealed a relationship between adult abundance and coralrecruitment patterns at four reef sites in the Tioman Island Marine Park, Malaysia. The coral coverpercentage was assessed using a video transect method and coral recruitment was estimatedusing settlement plates deployed at each reef site. Family Acroporidae dominated the coralcover percentage at most reef sites, while recruitment densities were dominated by acroporidsand pocilloporids. The present evidence indicates a positive correlation between adults ofAcroporidae and acroporid recruits (r = 0.94, p u003c 0.01) suggesting that reef recovery may bedependent on the local larval pool.