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Species composition and distribution of scleractinians on the reefs of the Seychelles Islands

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Abstract

New data on the species composition and distribution of reef-building corals on some reefs of the Seychelles Islands are presented. The study revealed 236 species belonging to 68 genera, which exceeds the well-known values of scleractinian species composition in this region by almost two times. Representatives of the families Acroporidae, Poritidae, and Faviidae dominated. Settlements of the blue coral Heliopora coerulea and the hydroid Millepora dichotoma were fairly numerous and in aggregate covered up to 40% of the substratum. In its species composition, the coral fauna of the Seychelles reefs makes a single unit with the Indo-Pacific tropical fauna.

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Correspondence to Yu. Ya. Latypov.

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Original Russian Text © Yu.Ya. Latypov, 2009, published in Biologiya Morya.

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Latypov, Y.Y. Species composition and distribution of scleractinians on the reefs of the Seychelles Islands. Russ J Mar Biol 35, 454–462 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063074009060029

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