Yuri Yakovlevich Latypov

A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, FEB-RAS, Vladivostok, 690059, Russia
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Marine Science, 2013, Vol. 3, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/ijms.2013.03.0004
Received: 02 Dec., 2012    Accepted: 11 Jan., 2013    Published: 11 Jan., 2013

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Latypov, 2013, Barrier and Platform Reefs of the Vietnamese Coast of the South China Sea, International Journal of Marine Science, Vol.3, No.4 23-32 (doi: 10.5376/ijms.2013.03.0004)

The composition and spatial distribution of the coral communities of the barrier reefs of Giang Bo, Ly Son island and the platform reef at Bach Long Vi Island were described in detail for the first time for Vietnamese waters. In common, more 260 species of corals and their accompanying species of macrobenthos were found. Acroporids, poritids, and mussids among the scleractinian corals dominated. Monospecific aggregations of Alcyonarian Sinularia and Lobophytum and the hydroid Millepora were rather numerous. Based on its geomorphological characteristics, coral species diversity and zonal distribution, the reefs of entire area are comparable with ribbon and platform reefs on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and to the barrier reefs of the Philippines and Indian Ocean.

Coral reef; Species composition; Structure; Vietnam