title: Impacts of human activities on coral reef ecosystems of southern Taiwan: a long-term study.
abstract: In July 2001, the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, co-sponsored by the Kenting National Park Headquarters and Taiwan's National Science Council, launched a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program to monitor anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystems of southern Taiwan, specifically the coral reefs of Kenting National Park (KNP), which are facing an increasing amount of anthropogenic pressure. We found that the seawater of the reef flats along Nanwan Bay, Taiwan's southernmost embayment, was polluted by sewage discharge at certain monitoring stations. Furthermore, the consequently higher nutrient and suspended sediment levels had led to algal blooms and sediment smothering of shallow water corals at some sampling sites. Finally, our results show that, in addition to this influx of anthropogenically-derived sewage, increasing tourist numbers are correlated with decreasing shallow water coral cover, highlighting the urgency of a more proactive management plan for KNP's coral reefs.
authors.affiliation: National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pi-Jen
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Pei-Jie
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Li-Lian
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jih-Terng
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming-Yih
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Leu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D012624:Seaweed / Q000254:growth & development; D012722:Sewage / Q000032:analysis; D013624:Taiwan; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D014873:Water Pollutants