We conducted an integrated survey combining visual census and baited remote underwater video survey on the coral reefs in the northeastern Red Sea and examined their health by comparing the baseline information from two decades ago. The mean coverage of the corals of all stations was 36 %, including 32 % stony corals and 4.0 % soft corals, significantly higher and lower to previous baseline. Observed high proportion of dead corals indicated the occurrence of the events of mass mortality, and the heating events were the most likely cause. Similar levels of coral coverage compared to two decades ago indicated their resilience to past events with mass coral mortality. Small proportions of macroalgae and sea urchins indicated that they might be controlled by their predators frequently observed in both visual census and underwater video survey. Regular monitoring and careful development plans are needed to safeguard these invaluable reefs.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115693 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Effects of protection on large-bodied reef fishes in the western Indian Ocean.
Conserv Biol
January 2025
UMR ENTROPIE (IRD, UR, CNRS, IFREMER, UNC), CS 41096, La Reunion, France.
Predatory and large-bodied coral reef fishes have fundamental roles in the functioning and biodiversity of coral reef ecosystems, but their populations are declining, largely due to overexploitation in fisheries. These fishes include sharks, groupers, Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), and Green Humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). In the western Indian Ocean, this situation is exacerbated by limited population data on these fishes, including from conventional visual census methods, which limit the surface area surveyed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnthoteibinenes F-Q: New Sesquiterpenes from the Irish Deep-Sea Coral .
Mar Drugs
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, CHE205, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
New technology has opened opportunities for research and exploration of deep-water ecosystems, highlighting deep-sea coral reefs as a rich source of novel bioactive natural products. During our ongoing investigation of the chemodiversity of the Irish deep sea and the soft coral we report 12 unreported cadinene-like functionalized sesquiterpenes, anthoteibinenes F-Q. The metabolites were isolated using both bioassay- and H NMR-guided approaches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnveiling the risk of marine litter and derelict fishing gear in remote coral reefs of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, North Indian Ocean.
Mar Pollut Bull
January 2025
IGNOU Regional Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala 695 008, India.
An increasing amount of plastic litter and derelict fishing gear in the global oceans poses significant threats to corals and reef-associated marine biota. In this context, an underwater marine litter survey was conducted along the fringing coral reefs in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands- a remote archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, Northern Indian Ocean. The result revealed entanglement and smothering of coral colonies by plastic and derelict fishing gear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarine heatwaves imperil emblematic reef fishes by altering the energetic landscape of coral reefs.
J Anim Ecol
January 2025
Department of Marine Science, Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, Texas, USA.
Marine heatwaves are increasingly common due to human-induced climate change. Under prolonged thermal stress on coral reefs, corals can undergo bleaching, leading to mass coral mortality and large-scale changes in benthic community composition. While coral mortality has clear, negative impacts on the body condition and populations of coral-dependent fish species, the mechanisms that drive these changes remain poorly resolved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeographical patterns of intraspecific genetic diversity reflect the adaptive potential of the coral Pocillopora damicornis species complex.
PLoS One
January 2025
Institute for Global Ecology, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, United States of America.
Marine heatwaves are increasing in intensity and frequency however, responses and survival of reef corals vary geographically. Geographical differences in thermal tolerance may be in part a consequence of intraspecific diversity, where high-diversity localities are more likely to support heat-tolerant alleles that promote survival through thermal stress. Here, we assessed geographical patterns of intraspecific genetic diversity in the ubiquitous coral Pocillopora damicornis species complex using 428 sequences of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2) region across 44 sites in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!