Biodiversity Assessment of Corals Species Present in Mangrove Ecosystems of Silo-Siloan Islet, Clarin, Bohol

This study governs the population status of corals in Silo-siloan Islet. The main focused of the study were identifying species composition, abundance and diversity of coral species. The sampling was done by sight-seeing and snorkeling in a belt transect covering an area of 100 square meters. Coral species were observed in two sampling sites wherein Site A was located within the mangrove ecosystem while Site B was located outside the mangrove ecosystem. The biodiversity index of the two sites was analyzed using Shannon and Simpson Diversity Indices. Results showed that there were 18 identified coral species in the area namely: Acropora splendida, Acropora insignis, Acropora loricata, Porites cylindrica, Psammocora digitata, Millepora alcicornis, Pocillopora verrucosa, Leptoria phrygia, Porites brighami, Echinopora lamellosa, Turbinaria reniformis, Turbinaria peltata, Pavona frondifera, Fungia fungites, Pectinia lactuca, Sarcophyton elegans, Favites halicora and Cycloseris patelliformis. Among the 18 coral species, the most abundant species was Pocillophora verrucosa with 37% abundance. It was observed that most abundant species of corals preferred to thrive in shallow areas and are dependent on irradiance. Shannon diversity index showed that between two sample sites highest diversity index was observed in Site A with 1.8, while Site B had a 1.6 diversity index. However, Simpson Diversity showed that Site B had more dominant coral species than Site A. The result showed the association of mangrove ecosystem to corals. The high diversity of corals within the mangrove ecosystem had shown their greater resiliency towards climate change. Hence, there is a need to conduct further monitoring of water quality for the preservation and sustainability of these unique association of marine ecosystems.