Rahul MehrotraAow Thai Marine Ecology Center · Science
Rahul Mehrotra
PhD (Marine Science) - Chulalongkorn University
About
36
Publications
15,429
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225
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
Additional affiliations
August 2015 - June 2022
June 2014 - August 2020
Conservation Diver
Position
- Project Manager
June 2013 - September 2019
New Heaven Reef Conservation Program
Position
- Research Director
Publications
Publications (36)
Dendrophylliidae represents one of the most speciose families of scleractinian coral, expressing a wide range of morphological and ecological traits. Recent phylogenetic analyses of the family have indicated that several conventional genera are in need of revision. In the Gulf of Thailand, dendrophylliids are predominantly found on hard-substrate r...
Giant clams are organisms of significant ecological importance on coral reefs. They are known to help maintain oligotrophic conditions on reefs, to act as potential reservoirs of symbiotic dinoflagellates and as a consequence of their large, dense shells, to contribute to reef structural complexity. Despite this, little work has been done to invest...
Concrete cubic frames and decommissioned steel naval vessels have been deployed in Thailand liberally to act as artificial substrates for coral restoration and marine recreation. We assessed recruitment at such substrate types at Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand, and compared the community structure of scleractinian corals between artificial substrates an...
Research in recent years have provided rapid advances in biogeographic and taxonomic documentation of sea slugs around the world. However, efforts are lacking in surveying most coastlines and habitats in South-East Asia. Recent studies from the Gulf of Thailand have indicated that a wealth of unexplored sea slug diversity and ecology may be gained...
The validity and position of the Indo Pacific genus Phestilla Bergh, 1874 (Fionoidea: Trinchesiidae) have been subject of some controversy as a result of several recent studies, which have sequentially synonymized or re-established it. At present, the genus includes eight valid species, the most of them described in the nineteenth and twentieth cen...
Benthic cyanobacterial mats are increasingly reported to cover major coral reef areas. Although suggestions have been made that cyanobacterial mats impair coral reef health in multiple ways, information is lacking regarding the distribution, morphotypical variation and bacterial species composition of these microbial mats. As such, this study aimed...
Giant clams (Tridacninae) are an ecologically important species in coral reef habitats across the Indo-Pacific. Numerous examples of giant clam population declines of varying degrees of severity have been documented since the 1970s. These have been attributed to several reasons, such as overexploitation in regional fisheries and ornamental trades,...
Competition for space on coral reefs is fierce, however when external natural and anthropogenic drivers disproportionately benefit certain organisms, reefs can quickly be conquered. Sponges in particular, have been shown to be competitive benthic colonisers and incidences of their epibiosis on scleractinian corals in the Indo-Pacific have been grow...
Improved access to field survey infrastructure throughout South-East Asia has allowed for a greater intensity of biodiversity surveys than ever before. The rocky bottoms and coral reef habitats across the region have been shown to support some of the highest sea slug biodiversity on the planet, with ever increasing records. During the past ten year...
Complete biodiversity list of species found during surveys conducted as part of the Escalante Biodiversity and Ecosystem Report 2020 - Sustainable Priorities and Sustenance. Species recorded within the MPA zonation, species with known local or regional commercial value to the fishing industry based on literature and interviews, and species document...
In 2018, the government of Escalante city, Philippines, sought to improve the sustainability of marine resource utilisation within Escalante waters as part of a larger overhaul of sustainable resource use within its borders. As part of this effort, Conservation Diver was approached to provide an ecological assessment of species richness and ecosyst...
Recent studies revealed that reef corals can eat large-sized pelagic and benthic animals in addition to small planktonic prey. As follow-up, we document natural ingestion of sea slugs by corals and investigate the role of sacoglossan sea slugs as possible prey items of scler-actinian corals. Feeding trials were carried out using six sacoglossan spe...
Complete raw data of trials conducted, as separated by prey species.
PIOL values indicate Post Ingestion Observation Length in minutes. Consumption scores range from 0 indicating no visible tissue degradation to 1 indicating heavy tissue degradation.
(DOCX)
Mean ingestion duration ± standard error (min) for each predator-prey trial.
(DOCX)
Mean consumption score ± standard error for each predator-prey trial.
(DOCX)
Mean time till rejection ± standard error (min) for each predator-prey trial.
(DOCX)
Mean rate of prey transport ± standard error (mm.min-1) for all prey and predators tested.
(DOCX)
An integrative molecular and morphological study is presented for the family Unidentiidae. Molecular phylogenetic analyses were conducted with the inclusion of all previous and newly obtained molecular data for the family Unidentiidae Millen & Hermosillo 2012. A new species of the genus Unidentia Millen & Hermosillo 2012, U. aliciae sp. nov., is de...
Morphological and molecular data are presented for the first time in an integrative way for the genus Myja Bergh, 1896. In accordance with the new molecular phylogenies, the traditional Facelinidae is paraphyletic. Herein is presented the phylogenetic placement of true Facelinidae s. str., including the first molecular data for F.auriculata (Müller...
The island of Koh Tao, Thailand, has experienced rapid development over the last two decades due to coral reef-based tourism, with as much as 0.5-1 million visitors per year. Today the island hosts over 67 dive centers, and is second in the world in terms of SCUBA certifications issued per year. In 2006, a study by Yeemin et al. recorded a 17% decl...
In 2016, the rural municipality of Toboso, Philippines, underwent its first assessment of coastal ecosystem health and diversity, as part of an effort by the municipal government and stakeholders to implement a Marine Protected Area. The present paper provides an in-depth comparison between an area currently proposed by the municipal body (PMPA) an...
The octocoral Nanipora kamurai is the fifth species of octocoral described with an aragonite skeleton. So far, it has only been known from a single location in Okinawa, Japan. Here, we report on the second recorded location of the genus Nanipora, in the Gulf of Thailand, where its colonies were found in relatively high densities. A total of 143 sep...
The marine sea slug heterobranch fauna from
Thailand is composed of a total of 240 species, and Armina
semperi is the only representative of the genus Armina recorded
in the country. This species, described in the Philippines in
the nineteenth century, has an uneasy taxonomic history and
appears to be part of a complex of morphologically similar
sp...
Diving-related tourism is known to contribute both directly and indirectly to reef degradation around the globe, including Koh Tao, a popular diving destination in the Gulf of Thailand. Of the known publications on reef threats at Koh Tao, only three mention the effects of highly abundant coral predators. The present study combines results of a nin...
A combination of benthic surveys and photographic records was used to evaluate the abundance and diversity of sea slugs around the island of Koh Tao, Thailand. Observations and records spanning over 14 years yielded 87 different species, including seven Sacoglossa, four Cephalaspidea, three Anaspidea, one Pleurobranchomorpha, and 72 species of Nudi...
The rural municipality of Toboso, Philippines, has at present undergone no formal assessment or research endeavors of its coastline. This report covers the first study of its kind in the area of Negros Occidental, Philippines, and provides an initial biodiversity inventory for the area. The initial goal of the inventory was to meet locally recognis...
Only a few documented examples are known of predation on sacoglossans, which are heterobranch sea slugs famous for ingesting the cellular contents of algae (Krug et al. 2013). Known predators of sacoglossans include, for example, species of fish and crabs (Trowbridge 1994). Information on scleractinian corals eating large-sized prey became only rec...
Questions
Question (1)
Depths observed = 5-25m, potentially deeper. Observed typically in shaded areas within shallow coral reef habitats in Mauritius. 'Colonies' usually no larger than 5-10cm^2 and 1-2cm 'tall'. Often on the underside of overhangs or in cavernous areas, but also observed growing upright in appriopriate areas of the reef slope.
Structure clearly mineralised, not flexible, incredibly brittle and fragile. Seemingly not associated with any recognisable form of benthic substrate including sponges, entoprocts, ectoprocts, anthozoa, algae etc. Initial glance suggested some strange hydrozoan but unlike anything I recognize. Does not appear to be simply an endoskeleton remnant of anything nearby. Very keen to be enlightened.
Cheers!
