To cite this paper: Shojae, F. Kamrani, E. Ranjbar, M.S. and Mirzadeh, M. 2012. Hard corals fauna of Larak Island (Persian Gulf, Iran). J. Life Sci. Biomed. 2(3): 79-82. Journal homepage: http://jlsb.science-line.com/ 79 JLSB Journal of Life Science and Biomedicine J. Life Sci. Biomed. 2(3): 79-82, 2012 © 2011, Scienceline Publication ISSN 2251-9939 Hard Corals Fauna of Larak Island (Persian Gulf, Iran) Foziye Shojae 1 *, Ehsan Kamrani 1 , Mohammad Sharif Ranjbar 2 and Mehrnoosh Mirzadeh 1 1. Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran 2. Department of Marine Biology, Khorramshar University of Marine Science and Technology, Iran *Corresponding author’s email: f_shojae@yahoo.com ABSTRACT The coral reefs areas in Iranian part of the Persian Gulf are very extensive, but despite its vast shoreline in its southern border very little research has been conducted on coral reefs. In the present study, the coral reefs in the station (i.e. northern east) and the station (i.e. west) was surveyed using Manta Tow Technique and GPS. Specimens of hard corals collected and photographed in the Larak Island for identification. The percentage cover of coral reefs was assessed using Reef Check and Manta Tow Technique. 22 species of hard corals belong to 14 genera and 7 families were identified in northern east Station and in west Station 14 species of hard corals belong to 10 genera and 8 families were identified. Faviidae was the diverse corals in stations. Acropora corals (90 %) were the most abundant family in the northern east station and Favia corals (45 %) were the most abundant family in the west station. Comparison of these two selected stations show that station is located in north east of Larak Island with 22 species was more richness in comparison with station of west of Larak Island with 14 species. Comparison of the coral community at the study area with other Iranian Islands showed that corals of Larak Island bear the low diversity. Keywords: Coral Reef, Biodiversity, Larak Island, Dominant Species, Hard Corals. INTRODUCTION The Persian Gulf has a complex and unique tropical marine ecosystem, especially coral reefs, with relatively low biological diversity and many endemic species [1] In this area, the coral reef communities are occurred in the form of non-reef setting [2] and surrounded by some of the driest landmasses in the world, such that continental influences are limited [1]. While large parts of the region are still in a pristine condition, several anthropogenic threats notably habitat destruction, over-exploitation and pollution are ever-increasingly disturbing the coral reef communities; The coral reef communities in the Persian Gulf are less diverse than that of Indian Ocean [1]. The knowledge of coral reefs distribution on the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf is very limited. Coral reefs are found encircling Iranian Islands [3] with fringing reefs being the dominant reef structure along the coastlines [4, 5]. The distribution and status of the coral reefs in Iranian waters are poorly known. Early study by Rosen [6] recorded only 15 genera of hard corals in the northern part of the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia. Harington [7] reported the presence of corals at the Sheedvar Island. Harger [8] noted 19 coral species at Hormuz Island. Rezai [9 and 10] examined the corals around different islands and identified 35 species of hard corals around Larak, Farur, Banifarur, Tonb-e-Kuchak, Tonb-e-Bozorg, Hendourabi and Kish islands. Rezaei [9 and 10] reported the presence of soft coral (Sacrophyton sp.) and hard coral (Seratopora sp.) for the first time around Larak Island. Sadat Sadeghi [11] surveyed hard corals around Kish Island and identified 19 species. Acroporidae were found to be the most diverse family, while Favidae and Poritidae occurred most frequently. Otherwise, Agariciidae and Dendrophyllidae occurred rarely. Fatemi and Shokri [12] identified 27 species of hard corals belonging to 9 families and 20 genera from Nayband Bay, Kish and Farur islands. They found that Faviidae with 6 genera and 8 species was the most diverse family. Poritidae was the most abundant corals in all areas with 2 genera and 4 species. Shojae et al. [13] recorded