Study of biotic communities for artificial reef placement in Hormuzgan Province waters, the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf waters (Hormuzgan Province) were studied from seasonally to determine the best locations for installation of artificial reefs. The area was stratified for 10 transects and each transect was divided into three stations: Station 1 for waters below 10m, station 2 for waters between 10 and 20m and station 3 for waters between 20 and 30m deep. Habitats of fauna and flora including communities of corals, seaweeds, sea cucumbers and sea grasses and sedimentation depth through scuba diving were studied in each transect and sub-transects. Sea grass communities existed in some spots within station 1 in Bandar Mesan, Bandar Lengeh, Kish Island and Bandar Chirooyeh transects, while for station 2, sea grasses were absent from Chirooyeh transect and present in Bandar Mesan, Bandar Kong and Kish Island transects. Also, seaweed habitats existed in station 1 in Bandar Mesan transect and some areas in Bandar Lengeh transect. Study of coral and sea cucumber communities indicated existence of Acropora sp. habitats in Bahman jetty, Bandar Mesan and Bandar Bostaneh transects, Porites sp. habitat in Hengam Island transect, Holothuria sp. habitats in Bandar Mesan and Bandar Lengeh transects and Stichopus sp. habitat in Hengam Island transect. All of these habitats were located in station 1 and had patchy distribution which was drawn in GIS software. Calculated sedimentation depth using degree scale in different transects demonstrated statistically significant differences between station 1 in Bandar Salakh transect and the same stations in other transects, also between station 2 and station 3 in other transects (P<0.05). The result of sedimentation depth assessment showed that station 2 in Bandar Lengeh area up to Hendurabi Island were better for artificial reefs installation compared to south of Gheshm Island with the exception of Bandar Kong and Bandar Chirooyeh transects.