Incursion of the killer sponge Terpios hoshinota Rützler & Muzik, 1993 on the coral reefs of the Lakshadweep archipelago, Arabian Sea

Authors

  • Rocktim Ramen Das National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India. and Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara 903-0213, Okinawa, Japan. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9492-9571
  • Chemmencheri Ramakrishnan Sreeraj National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4161-5648
  • Gopi Mohan National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0930-2681
  • Kottarathil Rajendran Abhilash National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4542-8516
  • Vijay Kumar Deepak Samuel National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6441-0127
  • Purvaja Ramachandran National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India.
  • Ramesh Ramachandran National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600025, India.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5790.12.14.17009-17013

Keywords:

Atoll, Black disease, Indian Ocean

Abstract

Our study documents the outbreak of a coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota in the coral reefs of Lakshadweep archipelago and highlights that it has further extended its territory into the isolated atolls of Arabian Sea and maybe a growing threat to the existing coral reefs in the region.

 

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Published

26-10-2020

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 14 (2020)

Section

Short Communications

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