Measurement of the growth of corals was conducted in various sites along the Andaman coast in May 2005, February 2007, and October 2009 (Fig. 2). Long term measurement of coral growth in the
entire study area was very difficult to conduct using a permanent grid due to a high current speed and turbidity except at Surin Marine National Park. Hence 58 samples of Acropora spp. in Surin Marine National Park and 10 samples at near shore islands were selected randomly to measure the length of its primary branch (Fig. 3). In this current study, the growth rate of Acropora spp. in which the length of the branch of coral which had been overturned by the 2004 tsunami was monitored. Some parts of corals were brought back to the laboratory for
species identification. Classification systems for corals was done according to Veron