Published on December 21, 2005

A new series of books examines the fragility of underwater life in the Andaman. Almost a year has passed since an early morning earthquake triggered the tsunami that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the Indian Ocean region. While many are still in mourning, no one – including Mother Nature – can avoid moving on.

“Nature is changing all the time. After the tsunami, it’s time again for a new era of change,” says Thon Thamrongnawasawat.

The renowned marine biologist has spent almost the whole of this year surveying the underwater world along the Andaman coastline.

He’s found that some of the damage to the ecosystem caused by the giant waves is now going through a rehabilitation process and says the staghorn coral in many areas is once again slowly growing.

This may sound like good news but Thon is quick to explain that there’s a downside.

The pluses of the growth and recovery of this fragile coral are wiped out by we humans or, more precisely, our apparent refusal to maintain a total hands-off policy, especially at potential breeding sources.

Coral has its own life cycle and fertilisation process and the only feasible preservation is entirely natural.

Coral, according to Thon, is the oldest animal in the world with a history that goes back more than 400 million years.

It is a vital component in all studies of marine biology and has immense value both in terms of the ecosystem and the economy.

Coral reefs are among the most diverse communities in existence providing sustenance and home to a wide variety of animals and plants. From an economic viewpoint, they are also a major tourist attraction.

But while coral gives us much of value, Thon points out that we tend to forget how important it is to us.

To promote a better understanding of nature in the underwater world, Thon has designed a series of six books under the umbrella title “See Thai Sea”, which will delve into the depths of the Andaman.

The project received Bt30 million in funding from the Agricultural Research Development Agency. The first book in the series, “Andaman Manual: Coral, Phang Nga, Tsunami”, is being launched at the end of this month.

The book is the result of several months of research by Thon and 28 marine experts from Kasetsart, Prince of Songkla and Burapha universities. The intense surveys also led to a new discovery about coral spawning and fertilisation.

Most of the corals in Andaman Sea – and in the world – are hermaphrodite, meaning that when it is time to reproduce, they release eggs and sperm at the same time. As part of the natural selection process, eggs and sperm from the same coral do not mate. Instead, they float to mate with the eggs and sperm released from other corals for further fertilisation.

But the process doesn’t end there, Thon explains. Surveys show that complete fertilisation would also have to take place under certain conditions, such as high tide and still water, otherwise fertilisation would be next to impossible.

This discovery, he says, has helped the team understand coral expansion, which is not an easy process.

Armed with this new fact, Thon and his team looked closely at reefs around Andaman Sea. They found that of the total 90 square kilometres of coral reef in the Andaman, just 1 per cent is a coral-breeding source.

“This tells us where to focus on preserving the breeders,” he says.

Now that awareness has to be instilled in the rest of us otherwise these ancient life forms will not be able to reproduce in peace.

Perhaps Mother Nature can and will heal herself with time and patience.

Thon and his team, who are keeping an eye on this big adjustment underwater, speculate that a new chapter of change is just beginning.

And while they cannot predict the future of that change, they hope that nature will give the new coral even greater splendour.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation

The writer can be contacted at pongpen@nationgroup.com.

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