Demographic modelling of giant sea anemones: population stability and effects of mutualistic anemonefish in the Jordanian Red Sea

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austin K. Dixon ◽  
Matthew J. McVay ◽  
Nanette E. Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
Sea Anemones ◽  
Demographic Models ◽  
Demographic Modelling ◽  
Northern Red Sea

Giant sea anemones serve as important hosts for mutualistic anemonefish on Indo-Pacific coral reefs, but their population dynamics and turnover rates remain largely unknown. We used size-based demographic models to determine recruitment, changes in body size and mortality of bulb-tentacle anemones Entacmaea quadricolor and leathery anemones Heteractis crispa over 2years on coral reefs in the northern Red Sea, Jordan. Individuals recruited at consistent rates and grew rapidly until they reached ~300-cm2 tentacle crown surface area, then mostly remained static or shrank. Mortality rate decreased with body size, and the retention of large individuals strongly influenced population size. Individuals of H. crispa were more dynamic than those of E. quadricolor, possibly due to their hosting significantly smaller anemonefish. Both populations were abundant and stable but dynamic in terms of individuals, with estimated turnover times of only ~5 and 3years for E. quadricolor and H. crispa respectively. We conclude that some giant anemones may be short lived relative to their fish symbionts, and that stasis rates of large individuals disproportionately affect their populations. These results have implications for conservation management strategies of these major cnidarians on coral reefs, and indicate wide variation between species in the population-level effects of mutualistic interactions.

Coral cover and partial mortality on anthropogenically impacted coral reefs at Eilat, northern Red Sea

2004 ◽  
Vol 48 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 248-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Wielgus ◽  
Nanette E. Chadwick-Furman ◽  
Zvy Dubinsky
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Partial Mortality ◽  
Northern Red Sea

scholarly journals Tourism Impact on Marine Ecosystems in the North of Red Sea

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Abderrahim Lakhouit
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Tourism Impact ◽  
The North ◽  
Algae Blooms ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Northern Red Sea

The unique marine environment of the northern Red Sea region is among the richest and most productive marine ecosystems in the world. The sea is populated with extensive algae blooms and at least five types of coral reefs. However, the region’s tourism sector is largely dependent on the surrounding environment, including the coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to human activities. A large tourist project (Neom) is scheduled to be installed in the northern Red Sea, further increasing tourist activities in the area and leading to human intrusion into crucial but fragile marine habitats such as seagrass beds, coral reefs and mangrove stands. The present study investigates how human activities are currently affecting Red Sea ecosystems. Field visits were done in order to investigate and to study human activities impact on marine ecosystems in the north of Red Sea. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first of its kind to evaluate the impact of tourism on marine ecosystems in Saudi Arabia’s northern Red Sea coast.

abundance of giant sea anemones and patterns of association with anemonefishin the northern red sea

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (5) ◽  
pp. 1287-1292 ◽  
Author(s):  
nanette e. chadwick ◽  
michael arvedlund
Keyword(s):  
Red Sea ◽  
Juvenile Fish ◽  
Sea Anemone ◽  
High Density ◽  
Fish Growth ◽  
Fish Mortality ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Sea Anemones ◽  
Northern Red Sea

patterns of distribution and abundance of giant sea anemones and anemonefish were compared among coral reefs along the coastline of sinai in the northern red sea. the sea anemones varied widely in abundance between reef areas containing different habitat types. they were rare on steep reef slopes with abundant coral cover (=low-density anemone sites, 0.09–0.68 anemones per 1000 m2 of reef area), but were common at a site containing patch reefs interspersed with sand (=high-density anemone site, 6.00–8.11 anemones per 1000 m2). distributions of the endemic two-band anemonefish (amphiprion bicinctus) varied significantly between the two main host anemone species. at the high-density site, individuals of the sea anemone heteractis crispa either did not contain anemonefish, or were occupied by single juvenile fish as shown in previous studies. at low-density sites h. crispa usually hosted clusters of juvenile anemonefish. in contrast, individuals of the sea anemone entacmaea quadricolor hosted either single adult fish (high-density site) or pairs of breeding adults (low-density sites), frequently in addition to some juvenile fish. mechanisms that prevent anemonefish from reaching adult size and forming breeding pairs in h. crispa may include high fish mortality above a size threshold because this host cannot adequately protect them from predation when they become large, active emigration of fish to e. quadricolor as described in previous reports, and/or environmentally-controlled cessation of fish growth. we conclude that in the northern red sea, individuals of h. crispa potentially serve as nurseries for anemonefish.

scholarly journals Abundance and Diversity of Holothuroids in Shallow Habitats of the Northern Red Sea

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boaz Yuval ◽  
Lee Sudai ◽  
Yarden Ziv
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Sea Cucumbers ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Northern Red Sea

Holothuroid sea cucumbers are vital members of Coral Reefs and associated marine habitats and provide vital ecological services. In the southern regions of the Red Sea their populations have been decimated by overfishing. The main objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the northern part of the Red Sea serves as an ecological refuge for the species threatened farther to the south. Accordingly, populations of sea cucumbers in 4 shallow sites south of Eilat, Israel (29°33′00N 34°57′14E), were repeatedly surveyed from November 2013 to April 2014. Overall 11 species were observed in these shallow sites. Their abundance and diversity differed significantly between sites, but not temporally. In sites in marine protected areas, with an intact fringing reef, diversity was high, withHolothuria edulisandBohadschiasp. being the most common species. In areas with higher human use and characterized by rubble and scattered corals, diversity was low, andActinopyga bannwarthiwas the most common species. The observed abundance and diversity did not support the refuge hypothesis. These findings are discussed in relation to other surveys of abundance and diversity in similar habitats.

Porifera, one new species Suberea purpureaflava n. sp. (Demospongiae, Verongida, Aplysinellidae) from northern Red Sea coral reefs, with short descriptions of Red Sea Verongida and known Suberea species

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2994 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOCHEN GUGEL ◽  
MARIT WAGLER ◽  
FRANZ Brümmer
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Colour Change ◽  
Gulf Of Aqaba ◽  
Light Yellow ◽  
Dark Violet ◽  
One New Species ◽  
Northern Red Sea

A new verongid sponge (Suberea purpureaflava n. sp.) is described from Dahab, Gulf of Aqaba, in the northern Red Sea. It has a pronounced colour change (a dark red ectosome with whitish pore sieves and a light yellow choanosome in the living specimen changes to a uniform dark violet in the fixed state) and rather rare dendritic fibres with pith and bark and a diameter of about 110–165µm, with the pith occupying 80–90 % of the fibre. Especially the pore sieves were very striking in situ. The new species is compared to all verongid sponges so far recorded from the Red Sea and to all known and accepted Suberea species worldwide. An identification key to all known Suberea species is given. This new species record brings the number of Suberea species described to a total of 11.

Molluscan assemblages on coral reefs and associated hard substrata in the northern Red Sea

Coral Reefs ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zuschin ◽  
J. Hohenegger ◽  
F. Steininger
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Northern Red Sea ◽  
Hard Substrata

Deep COI sequencing of standardized benthic samples unveils overlooked diversity of Jordanian coral reefs in the northern Red Sea

Genome ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (9) ◽  
pp. 724-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamoon M.D. Al-Rshaidat ◽  
Allison Snider ◽  
Sydney Rosebraugh ◽  
Amanda M. Devine ◽  
Thomas D. Devine ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Reference Sequence ◽  
Coi Gene ◽  
Gulf Of Aqaba ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Animal Phyla ◽  
Northern Red Sea

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) of DNA barcodes (metabarcoding), particularly when combined with standardized sampling protocols, is one of the most promising approaches for censusing overlooked cryptic invertebrate communities. We present biodiversity estimates based on sequencing of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene for coral reefs of the Gulf of Aqaba, a semi-enclosed system in the northern Red Sea. Samples were obtained from standardized sampling devices (Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures (ARMS)) deployed for 18 months. DNA barcoding of non-sessile specimens >2 mm revealed 83 OTUs in six phyla, of which only 25% matched a reference sequence in public databases. Metabarcoding of the 2 mm – 500 μm and sessile bulk fractions revealed 1197 OTUs in 15 animal phyla, of which only 4.9% matched reference barcodes. These results highlight the scarcity of COI data for cryptobenthic organisms of the Red Sea. Compared with data obtained using similar methods, our results suggest that Gulf of Aqaba reefs are less diverse than two Pacific coral reefs but much more diverse than an Atlantic oyster reef at a similar latitude. The standardized approaches used here show promise for establishing baseline data on biodiversity, monitoring the impacts of environmental change, and quantifying patterns of diversity at regional and global scales.

Serviços ecossistêmicos prestados por recifes de coral nas ilhas de Tinharé e Boipeba, Baixo Sul da Bahia, Brasil

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Isobel Elliff
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Shoreline Protection ◽  
Fringing Reefs ◽  
Integrated Valuation ◽  
Reef Decline

Coral reefs provide important ecosystem services to coastal communities. The Archipelago of Tinhar?e andBoipeba, Bahia, Brazil, are mostly surrounded by fringing reefs, which have undergone several chronichuman impacts. The objective of the present study was to apply an ecosystem-based approach byanalyzing the ecosystem services provided by the coral reefs of the Archipelago of Tinhar?e and Boipeba inorder to support management actions and serve as a tool for coastal management. Ecosystem serviceswere assessed through the observation of environmental indicators of their occurrence and by using asuite of models from the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) softwarecombined with data from the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) protocol database. Theservices of greatest occurrence were food provision, habitat maintenance, shoreline protection andrecreation. While the main stressful factors were tourism activities, the absence of a sewage system andfisheries. The coral reefs presented potential for shoreline protection along 50.5% of the islands. Moreover,46.8% of the shoreline would present moderate to high vulnerability in case of coral reef disappearance.The coincidence of areas with high risk of loss in the capacity to provide services and highvulnerability in the scenario of absence of reefs is concerning. Thus, the current model for tourism usedin the area should be altered, as should new management strategies be implemented, which can bringbenefits and avoid reef decline.

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