Journal of Coastal Development ISSN : 1410-5217 Volume 14, Number 1, October 2010 : 11 - 17 Accredited : 83/Dikti/Kep/2009 11 NATURAL CORAL COLONIZATION OF A MARINA SEAWALL IN SINGAPORE Chou Loke Ming † , NG Chin Soon Lionel ‡ , Chan Sek Meng Jeremy † , and Seow Liyun Angie † † Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Blk S1, #02-05, Singapore 117543 ‡ Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Blk S2S, Singapore 119227 Received : June, 7, 2010 ; Accepted : July, 26, 2010 ABSTRACT Marinas require extensive modification of a natural coast. The resulting modified habitat is known to support changed biological communities but the ability of tropical marinas to function as a surrogate habitat for scleractinian corals has not been well investigated. An assessment of scleractinian corals naturally colonising a nine-year-old marina seawall in Singapore indicated 26 genera from 13 families, of which Pectinia and Turbinaria were the most dominant. Most colonies measured 10 – 25 cm in diameter. Reefs of adjacent islands provided the larval source while the marina’s environmental conditions favored larval recruitment and growth. Specific larval settlement preferences as well as sediment rejection capabilities of the two most common genera could have contributed to their dominance. The study showed that the seawall of a marina can support scleractinian coral communities and with relevant management, can significantly enhance marine biodiversity. Key words: Scleractinian diversity; seawall; Singapore; tropical marina Correspondence : Tel: +65 65166867 ; Fax: +65 67792486 ; Email: tmsncsl@nus.edu.sg INTRODUCTION Singapore’s coastline has been heavily modified by expanding infrastructure development necessitated by the demands from multiple sectors (Chou, 2006). The increasing popularity of sea-sport and marine-based recreation is evident from the development of new marinas that replace the natural coast with a highly modified one. Such conversions obliterate the original ecology, but the resulting modified habitat can continue to support marine biodiversity (McDonnell and Pickett, 1990). The proliferation of modified marine habitats is accompanied by growing interest in their influence on biodiversity (Connell and Glasby, 1999; Bacchiocchi and Airoldi, 2003; Chapman and Bulleri, 2003; Davis et al., 2002). Human-engineered marine structures are known to function as new substrates for larval settlement, unlike in the terrestrial environment (Sutherland and Karlson, 1977; Butler, 1991; Glasby and Connell, 1999;). Several studies have also demonstrated that biological assemblages on artificial marine structures and nearby natural habitats can be different (e.g. Chou and Lim, 1986; Glasby, 1999; Bulleri and Chapman, 2004; Perkol-Finkel and Benayahu, 2004). Modified marine habitats can indeed serve as novel coastal habitats (Perkol-Finkel et al., 2006) but how effective they are as surrogate habitats for the original marine biological diversity remains to be fully documented (Glasby and Connell, 1999). Studies on modified marine habitats were mostly based on fouling epibiota in temperate waters (Connell and Glasby, 1999; Glasby, 1999; Connell, 2000; Holloway and Connell, 2002; Chapman and Bulleri, 2003) but the increase of coastal urbanization, especially in the tropics, underscores the need to understand the contribution of modified marine habitats to marine biodiversity. Original Paper