2023 Volume 79 Issue 18 Article ID: 23-18047
In Amitori Bay of Iriomote Island in 2022, corals at a deep reef slope from the reef margin to 40 m below sea level were surveyed using quadrats. The coverage and bleaching rates were evaluated based on species identification, yielding the following major results.
(1) Corals observed for this study were classified into 12 families, 34 genera, and 85 species. (2) Coral bleaching in 2022 was similar to large-scale bleaching that occurred in 2016. (3) At depths of 3 m and 10 m, species diversity was high; the dominant species were not discernible. The rates of bleaching also varied widely among species. (4) The dominant species were distinct at depths of 20, 30, and 40 m. (5) The vertical distributions of most species were limited to less than about 10 m or to 10–20 m. (6) Results of this study might not be fully evaluated by classification according to genus or shape.
