<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal;letter-spacing:-.1pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:HI" lang="EN-GB">Post Bleaching recruitment of scleractinian corals in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, special reference to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Acropora </i>s<i>p</i>.</span>

Abstract

<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";mso-bidi-font-family:="" mangal;mso-ansi-language:en-gb;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-GB">Coral reefs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands are one of the best reefs in Indo-Pacific regions. These groups are attributed with fringing type of coral reefs with a 418 species distributed in a significant manner¹. Coral reefs and their associated faunal as well as floral components have the greater capability to expedite the highest marine biodiversity in the world. More than 500 million people around the globe are fully dependent on these ecosystems for food, jobs, recreation, ethological values etc. These also have a tremendous ecological investment towards the protection of biodiversity as well as storm related damage and problems. Regrettably, degradation in this coral reef environment can be seen mainly due to human activities and sudden natural calamities or threats which used to arise from climatic changes. Changes in climatic features are now well known or established greatest threats to coral reefs worldwide towards destruction. Corals are very sensitive solitary or colonial organisms which inhabit in between specific range of temperature, salinity, turbidity, etc. Alteration in any of the factors manually or naturally, will show significant differentiations in the life cycle of the coral reefs.</span>