INDIAN CORAL REEFS: DIVERSITY, ANTHROPOGENIC INFLUENCES AND CONSERVATION MEASURES

India is a country well known for its Biodiversity rich ecosystems. The coral reef ecosystems are indeed very unique and are home to a multitude of organisms. Currently there are 5 major reefs in India that include Gulf of Kutchch, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman and Nicobar islands and minor reefs are distributed along the intertidal regions of Ratnagiri, Malvan and Redi, South of Bombay, west of Mangalore and the Hermatypic corals along the shore are reported from Quilon in the Kerala Coast to Enayem in Tamil Nadu. But these rich abodes are facing a number of anthropogenic threats and the current status of the Indian reefs is also discussed in this review.