TIIE IMPACT OF HUMAN INFLUENCE ON TlIE FRINGING REEF OF PULAU IIANTU, SINGAPORE

Pulau Hantu ( l o 13.6'N, 1 0 j Q 45 'E) , l o c a t e d 8 km south of Singapore mainland was t ransformed by a m a s s i v e l a n d r e c l a m a t i o n p r o g r a m m e i n t o a r e c r e a t i o n a l i s l a n d . The major p a r t of the ree f f l a t was b u r i e d b u t t h e r e e f s l o p e r e m a i n e d untouched. Line t r a n s e c t surveys a t d e p t h s of 0 , 3 , 6 , 10 m a long the r e e f s lope a t 3 s t a t i o n s around the i s l a n d i n 1986-88 showed t h a t the upper p a r t of the s l o p e supported b e t t e r c o r a l growth i n terms of c o v e r a n d g e n e r i c r i c h n e s s . A t o t a l o f 41 sc le rac t in ium genera was recorded with Pachyser i s , F u n g i a , P o r i t e s and P e c t i n i a widely d i s t r i b u t e d . Average dead c o r a l colony s i z e was l a r g e r than f o r l i v e c o r a l . Laminate, f o l i o s e and submassive growth forms of hard c o r a l s were favoured.