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Langkawi Corals Hit By Deadly Disease
Coral reefs in Langkawi are not only 'stressed†but may become 'a thing of the past†if nothing is done to control the spread of the deadly orange band disease, which has affected some 20% of the reefs there.
Marine biologist Affendi Yang Amri, said the microbe-based disease was a real threat to the reefs as it could spread very fast.
'We are sure that the corals in Langkawi are stressed by the sediments. The disease may have been caused by microbe sediments in the area,†he said.
The problem, he said, needed to be addressed soon before it got to a serious stage as the 'corals might just die off because of the disease.â€
He said the disease, which originated in the Caribbean, spreads in a ring fashion. The disease would first surface as a thin white rim, about one to two millimetres wide before expanding into a pink Porolitho ring, with a green overgrowth of algae.
'We might have a problem in future if no one controls the disease,†Affendisaid, adding that coral diseases had gained very little attention from local scientists. He said there were many reasons as to what may have caused the high stress levels among Langkawi corals – 50% of which were live corals.
'The death of corals is mainly because of sediments but it can also be caused by divers who step on the corals or just pick them apart.
'The surface water temperature has also increased from 29°C to 31°C, which is not good as it`s too warm for the corals,†he said.
Affendi said they discovered the coral condition by chance when they conducted a post-tsunami impact assessment reef survey in the Langkawi archipelago and Pulau Perak from Jan 28 until last week.
The seven-member team included researchers from Universiti Malaya, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Malaysian Society of Marine Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and the World Fish Centre.
The survey showed that there was hardly any damage to the corals by the tsunami.
Kuala Lumpur 8/2/2005
