Hikkaduwa National Park
Encyclopedia
Hikkaduwa National Park is one of the two marine
national park
s in Sri Lanka
. The national park contains a fringing
coral reef
of high degree of biodiversity. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary
on May 18, 1979, and then on August 14, 1988, upgraded to a nature reserve
with extended land area. The growth of the number of visitors in the next 25 years increased the degradation
of the coral reef. To reduce the effects to the ecosystem, the reef was declared a national park on September 19, 2002.
with an average depth of around 5 metres (16.4 ft). The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion
and forms a natural breakwater
. The coast of the national park extends four km. Generally the coast is narrow, ranging from 5-50 m according to the climatic conditions of the year. Scuba diving
is a popular recreation here.
species dominate the coral reef. Encrusting and branching species are also present. Faviidae
and Poritidae corals are contained in the inshore areas of the reef in massive colonies. Staghorn
, elkhorn
, cabbage, brain
, table and star corals are all present in the reef. Corals of 60 species belonging to 31 genera are recorded from the reef. The reef also recorded over 170 species of reef fish belonging to 76 genera.
Seagrass
and marine algae belonging to genera Halimeda
and Caulerpa
are common in the seabed depth ranging from 5-10 m. Seagrasses provide habitat to Dugong
and sea turtle
s. Some species of prawn
s feed on the seagrass. Eight species of ornamental fishes also inhabit the reef, along with many vertebrate
s and invertebrate
s including crab
s, prawn
s, shrimp
s, oyster
s and sea worm
s. Porites desilveri is an endemic coral species of Sri Lanka. Chlorurus rhakoura and Pomacentrus proteus are two reef fish species confined to Sri Lanka. Blacktip reef shark
are found along the outer slope of the reef. Three sea turtles which have been categorized threatened visit the coral reef: the hawksbill turtle
, green turtle, and Olive Ridley
.
event in 1998, induced by the 1998 El Niño. It has been suggested that at least 30-40 percent of coral reef should be restored in order for it to be capable of sustaining itself. Despite being designated as a protected area
, the coral reef has been subject to constant exploitation including removal of breeding ornamental fish for the commercial market.
, received little direct impact from the Boxing day tsunami
. However they suffered from secondary impacts, particularly from terrestrial debris being deposited on the reefs. A collaboration work of conservation groups and volunteers was carried out to clean up the beach and the reef debris, including two large fishing nets stuck on the outer edge of the reef.
Marine park
A marine park is a park consisting of an area of sea sometimes protected for recreational use, but more often set aside to preserve a specific habitat and ensure the ecosystem is sustained for the organisms that exist there...
national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. The national park contains a fringing
Fringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone or none at all...
coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
of high degree of biodiversity. The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary
Wildlife refuge
A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected...
on May 18, 1979, and then on August 14, 1988, upgraded to a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
with extended land area. The growth of the number of visitors in the next 25 years increased the degradation
Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
of the coral reef. To reduce the effects to the ecosystem, the reef was declared a national park on September 19, 2002.
Coral reef
Hikkaduwa coral reef is a typical shallow fringing reefFringing reef
A fringing reef is one of the three main types of coral reefs recognized by most coral reef scientists. It is distinguished from the other two main types in that it has either an entirely shallow backreef zone or none at all...
with an average depth of around 5 metres (16.4 ft). The coral reef reduces the coastal erosion
Coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by wave action, tidal currents, wave currents, or drainage...
and forms a natural breakwater
Breakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
. The coast of the national park extends four km. Generally the coast is narrow, ranging from 5-50 m according to the climatic conditions of the year. Scuba diving
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
is a popular recreation here.
Physical features
The national park situated in the wet zone and receives a 2000 millimetres (78.7 in) of annual rainfall. The rain is received in both southewestern and northeastern monsoon seasons, in April-June and September-November respectively. Inter-monsoon season is a dry period which is considered the best season to visit the park. The temperature of the water ranges from 28.0°-30.0°C while the mean annual temperature is 27°C of the atmosphere.Flora and fauna
Foliaceous MontiporaMontipora
Montipora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Depending on the species and location, Montipora may grow as plates or ridges, appearing to some as a bowl or flower. Undisturbed, the plates expand radially and may encrust over surrounding rocks, shells or debris...
species dominate the coral reef. Encrusting and branching species are also present. Faviidae
Faviidae
Faviidae is a family of Scleractinia. Members of this family are widely sought after for the reef aquarium trade.-Genera:*Astreosmilia Duncan, 1867*Australogyra Veron, 1982*Barabattoai Yabe and Sugiyama, 1941*Bikiniastrea Wells, 1954...
and Poritidae corals are contained in the inshore areas of the reef in massive colonies. Staghorn
Staghorn coral
The Staghorn coral is a branching coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by...
, elkhorn
Elkhorn coral
Elkhorn coral is considered to be one of the most important reef-building corals in the Caribbean. This species of coral is structurally complex with many large branches. The coral structure closely resembles that of elk antlers. These branches create habitats for many other reef species such as...
, cabbage, brain
Brain coral
Brain coral is a common name given to corals in the family Faviidae so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain...
, table and star corals are all present in the reef. Corals of 60 species belonging to 31 genera are recorded from the reef. The reef also recorded over 170 species of reef fish belonging to 76 genera.
Seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
and marine algae belonging to genera Halimeda
Halimeda
Halimeda is a genus of green macroalgae. The algal body is composed of calcified green segments. Calcium carbonate is deposited in its tissues, making it inedible to most herbivores....
and Caulerpa
Caulerpa
Caulerpa is a genus of seaweeds in the family Caulerpaceae . They are unusual because they consist of only one cell with many nuclei, making them among the biggest single cells in the world...
are common in the seabed depth ranging from 5-10 m. Seagrasses provide habitat to Dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
and sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s. Some species of prawn
Prawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
s feed on the seagrass. Eight species of ornamental fishes also inhabit the reef, along with many vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s and invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s including crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s, prawn
Prawn
Prawns are decapod crustaceans of the sub-order Dendrobranchiata. There are 540 extant species, in seven families, and a fossil record extending back to the Devonian...
s, shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
s, oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
s and sea worm
Sea worm
Sea worm is a general term that may refer to a number of phyla of animals, or may refer specifically to:*Acanthocephala, parasitic worm*Annelida, segmented worms*Chaetognatha, arrow worms*Cycliophora, lobster worms*Entoprocta*Echiura, spoon worms...
s. Porites desilveri is an endemic coral species of Sri Lanka. Chlorurus rhakoura and Pomacentrus proteus are two reef fish species confined to Sri Lanka. Blacktip reef shark
Blacktip reef shark
The blacktip reef shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, easily identified by the prominent black tips on its fins...
are found along the outer slope of the reef. Three sea turtles which have been categorized threatened visit the coral reef: the hawksbill turtle
Hawksbill turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in its genus. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies. E. imbricata imbricata is the Atlantic subspecies, while E...
, green turtle, and Olive Ridley
Olive Ridley
The olive ridley sea turtle , also known as the Pacific ridley, is a species of sea turtle.- Description :The olive ridley is a small extant sea turtle, with an adult carapace length averaging 60 to 70 cm 1...
.
Threats
The reef has suffered high degradation due to both natural and human activities. The live coral cover was decreased from 47 percent to 13 percent in a coral bleachingCoral bleaching
Coral bleaching is the loss of intracellular endosymbionts through either expulsion or loss of algal pigmentation.The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of tropical seas depend upon a symbiotic relationship with unicellular flagellate protozoa, called zooxanthellae, that...
event in 1998, induced by the 1998 El Niño. It has been suggested that at least 30-40 percent of coral reef should be restored in order for it to be capable of sustaining itself. Despite being designated as a protected area
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
, the coral reef has been subject to constant exploitation including removal of breeding ornamental fish for the commercial market.
Boxing day tsunami
The two marine national parks of Sri Lanka, Hikkaduwa and Pigeon IslandPigeon Island National Park
Pigeon Island National Park is one of the two marine national parks of Sri Lanka. The national park is situated 1 km off the coast of Nilaveli, a coastal town in Eastern Province. The island's name derives from the Rock Pigeon which has colonized it. The national park contains some of the best...
, received little direct impact from the Boxing day tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
. However they suffered from secondary impacts, particularly from terrestrial debris being deposited on the reefs. A collaboration work of conservation groups and volunteers was carried out to clean up the beach and the reef debris, including two large fishing nets stuck on the outer edge of the reef.