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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Extensive coral reef decline in Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam: Acanthaster planci outbreak: the final event in a sequence of chronic disturbances

Konstantin S. Tkachenko https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6423-0177 A B E , Nguyen H. Huan C , Nguyen H. Thanh D and Temir A. Britayev A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A A. N. Severtsov, Institute of Ecology and Evolution Russian Academy of Sciences, 33 Lenisky prospekt, Moscow, 119071, Russia.

B Samara State University of Social Sciences and Education, 65/67 Maxim Gorky Street, Samara, 443099, Russia.

C Nha Trang Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 1 Cau Da Street, Nha Trang, 650000, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

D Vietnam–Russian Tropical Scientific Research and Technological Center, 30 Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, Nha Trang 650000, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

E Corresponding author. Email: konsttkachenko@gmail.com

Marine and Freshwater Research 72(2) 186-199 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF20005
Submitted: 3 January 2020  Accepted: 5 May 2020   Published: 18 June 2020

Abstract

Nha Trang Bay (NTB), located off the south-east coast of Vietnam, is a famous tropical tourist site. In the past, the bay was characterised by flourishing coral reefs but, by the end of 2019, more than 90% of the corals were gone. In addition to chronic and complex anthropogenic effects, there was an extensive outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), the main natural predator of reef-building corals in the Indo-Pacific, among the remnant coral communities in NTB. By 2019, the mean abundance of A. planci in NTB reached 4.2 starfish per 100 m2. Coral surveys conducted on 10 target sites over a 3-year period ending in 2019 revealed that mean coral cover decreased by 64.4% (coral loss varied from 43 to 95%). The greatest declines were in Acropora and Montipora, with 80.6 and 82.3% reductions in the coverage of these taxa respectively. The combination of nutrient enrichment and predator removal is thought to determine the extent of the outbreak of A. planci in the bay. The present trends in environmental conditions in NTB do not indicate a positive outcome for coral reef recovery in in this area in the near future.


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