Hello Hivers, I hope you all doing fine.
So yesterday I read a post titled Beautiful Coral Reefs of Thailand & Indonesia composed by @phuketwebmedia. The article was very interesting and inspired me to write and share some things about coral reefs that I found several years ago in Aceh waters.
I think it was 5 years ago, when I was a college student. At that time, I'm still an active member of an eco-based organization called Ocean Diving Club which is under patronage of Marine & Fisheries Faculty, Syiah Kuala University. During my time on that organization, I gained so much knowledge and experience especially related to coral reef ecosystems. I am also actively volunteering to collect coral reef data in several areas in the Aceh region. From that volunteering activity, I got to know several environmental activists which some of them are members of NGOs.
On one occasion, one of them invited me and my organization mates to have a fun snorkeling in Peukan Bada waters (located on Aceh Besar District, Aceh Province, Indonesia). It only took 15 minutes to reach the snorkeling the location. On that time, the weather were so fine combined with crystal clear waters. The depth of the waters where coral reefs grow at that location is only about 2 meters, so we are still able to maneuver and take a closer look at the coral reefs.
Acropora is common coral genera that could be easily found on waters around here. This genera has a faster growth rate than other coral genera and is one of the main builders of coral reef ecosystems because of its colonial nature. The extensive over branching of this genera also provides another advantage to the smaller corals around it. They can provide a canopy so that smaller corals can survive excessive direct sunlight
This genera growth form consists of branching (as seen on picture), tabular (look like a table) and elkhorn. As far as I've ever found, generally branching Acropora has brown color. The darker the gradation get, the healthier the coral and vice versa.
Although Acropora has the advantage of a faster growth rate, this species is known to be more susceptible to stress than massive coral species which have a slower growth rate. The branch is also very vulnerable, which could be broken if accidently hitted by a fin. So please be careful if you are snorkeling or SCUBA Diving near this coral or any other coral.
The latest news I heard about this site is, its already appointed as a No Take Zone of Marine Protected Area (MPA) by Ministry of Marine and Fisheries of Indonesia. I hope the corals are getting better than the last time I visit it and hopefully one day I could snorkeling or even having a SCUBA Diving there.