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Extraordinary diversity of reef corals in the South China Sea

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Abstract

The South China Sea in the Central Indo-Pacific is a large marine region that spans an area of more than 3 million km2 bounded by the coastlines of ten Asian nation states and contains numerous small islands. Although it abuts the western border of the Coral Triangle, the designated centre of maximum marine biodiversity, the South China Sea has received much less scientific and conservation attention. In particular, a consolidated estimate of the region’s scleractinian reef coral diversity has yet to emerge. To address this issue, we assemble a comprehensive species distribution data set that comprises 16 reef areas spread across the entire South China Sea. Despite containing less than 17 % of the reef area as compared to the Coral Triangle, this region hosts 571 known species of reef corals, a richness that is comparable to the Coral Triangle’s based on a standardised nomenclatural scheme. Similarity profile analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling demonstrate that most areas are compositionally distinct from one another and are structured according to latitude but not longitude. More broadly, this study underscores the remarkable and unexpected diversity of reef corals in the South China Sea.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Emre Turak and Lyndon DeVantier for providing unpublished data. Kari Ellingsen and an anonymous reviewer provided comments that helped improve the manuscript. DH is supported by US National Science Foundation grant DEB-1145043-1145408, POA by Hong Kong RGC GRF 460013, and STV by the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development project 106.14-2010.67.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Danwei Huang

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117543, Singapore

    Danwei Huang & Loke Ming Chou

  3. Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center and Biology Department, De La Salle University, Manila, 1004, Philippines

    Wilfredo Y. Licuanan

  4. Department of Marine Zoology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, PO Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Bert W. Hoeksema & Zarinah Waheed

  5. Biodiversity Research Center and Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Nangang, Taipei, 115, Taiwan

    Chaolun Allen Chen

  6. Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Chaolun Allen Chen

  7. Marine Science Laboratory, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Put O. Ang

  8. Tropical Marine Biological Research Station in Hainan, Sanya, 572000, China

    Hui Huang

  9. Key Laboratory of Marine Bio-resources Sustainable Utilization, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, CAS, Guangzhou, 510301, China

    Hui Huang

  10. Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, BE1410, Brunei Darussalam

    David J. W. Lane

  11. Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 1 Cau Da, Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam

    Si Tuan Vo

  12. Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Zarinah Waheed

  13. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia

    Yang Amri Affendi

  14. Marine Biodiversity Research Group, Department of Biology, Ramkhamhaeng University, Huamark, Bangkok, 10240, Thailand

    Thamasak Yeemin

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  1. Danwei Huang
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Huang, D., Licuanan, W.Y., Hoeksema, B.W. et al. Extraordinary diversity of reef corals in the South China Sea. Mar Biodiv 45, 157–168 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-014-0236-1

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