Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Qurban, Mohammad A.
• Krishnakumar, P.K.
• Joydas, T.V.
• Manikandan, K.P.
• Ashraf, T.T.M.
• Quadri, S.I.
• Wafar, M.
• Qasem, Ali
• Cairns, S.D.

Titel

In-situ observation of deep water corals in the northern Red Sea waters of Saudi Arabia

Ist Teil von

• Deep-sea research. Part I, Oceanographic research papers, 2014-07, Vol.89, p.35-43

Ort / Verlag

Kidlington: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Three sites offshore of the Saudi Arabia coast in the northern Red Sea were surveyed in November 2012 to search for deep-water coral (DWC) grounds using a Remotely Operated Vehicle. A total of 156 colonies were positively identified between 400 and 760m, and were represented by seven species belonging to Scleractinia (3), Alcyonacea (3) and Antipatharia (1). The scleractinians Dasmosmilia valida Marenzeller, 1907, Eguchipsammia fistula (Alcock, 1902) and Rhizotrochus typus Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848 were identified to species level, while the octocorals Acanthogorgia sp., Chironephthya sp., Pseudopterogorgia sp., and the antipatharian Stichopathes sp., were identified to genus level. Overall, the highest abundance of DWC was observed at Site A1, the closest to the coast. The most abundant species in the study area was D. valida, which lives attached to rocky substrates and represented 42% of the total coral population at site A1. Water column attributes at this depth were quite homogenous with temperature ca. 21.6°C, salinity ca. 40.56, dissolved oxygen ca. 1.75mlL−1 and current velocity from 0.6 to 34.5cms−1 with a mean value of 9.5cms−1. Interestingly, these DWC can cope with high temperature and salinity, compared to those in other regions. •Seven species of deep water corals were recorded from the northern Red Sea.•These species belong to Scleractinia (3), Alcyonacea (3) and Antipatharia (1).•The most abundant species was the rocky dweller Dasmosmilia valida.•These corals occur at temperature exceeding 20°C and salinity above 40.