Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea

Abstract The diversity of coral reef and soft sediment ecosystems in the Red Sea has to date received limited scientific attention. This study investigates changes in the community composition of both reef and macrobenthic communities along a cross shelf gradient. Coral reef assemblages differed sig...

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Autores principales:	Joanne Ellis, Holger Anlauf, Saskia Kürten, Diego Lozano-Cortés, Zahra Alsaffar, Joao Cúrdia, Burton Jones, Susana Carvalho
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e99e981f79c54cff89de71fe6c4bad49
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e99e981f79c54cff89de71fe6c4bad492021-12-02T11:52:25ZCross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea10.1038/s41598-017-00507-y2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/e99e981f79c54cff89de71fe6c4bad492017-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00507-yhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The diversity of coral reef and soft sediment ecosystems in the Red Sea has to date received limited scientific attention. This study investigates changes in the community composition of both reef and macrobenthic communities along a cross shelf gradient. Coral reef assemblages differed significantly in species composition and structure with location and depth. Inner shelf reefs harbored less abundant and less diverse coral assemblages with higher percentage macroalgae cover. Nutrient availability and distance from the shoreline were significantly related to changes in coral composition and structure. This study also observed a clear inshore offshore pattern for soft sediment communities. In contrast to the coral reef patterns the highest diversity and abundance of soft sediment communities were recorded at the inshore sites, which were characterized by a higher number of opportunistic polychaete species and bivalves indicative of mild disturbance. Sediment grain size and nutrient enrichment were important variables explaining the variability. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of ecosystem processes and biodiversity in the Red Sea region in an area that also has the potential to provide insight into pressing topics, such as the capacity of reef systems and benthic macrofaunal organisms to adapt to global climate change.Joanne EllisHolger AnlaufSaskia KürtenDiego Lozano-CortésZahra AlsaffarJoao CúrdiaBurton JonesSusana CarvalhoNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Joanne Ellis Holger Anlauf Saskia Kürten Diego Lozano-Cortés Zahra Alsaffar Joao Cúrdia Burton Jones Susana Carvalho Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
description	Abstract The diversity of coral reef and soft sediment ecosystems in the Red Sea has to date received limited scientific attention. This study investigates changes in the community composition of both reef and macrobenthic communities along a cross shelf gradient. Coral reef assemblages differed significantly in species composition and structure with location and depth. Inner shelf reefs harbored less abundant and less diverse coral assemblages with higher percentage macroalgae cover. Nutrient availability and distance from the shoreline were significantly related to changes in coral composition and structure. This study also observed a clear inshore offshore pattern for soft sediment communities. In contrast to the coral reef patterns the highest diversity and abundance of soft sediment communities were recorded at the inshore sites, which were characterized by a higher number of opportunistic polychaete species and bivalves indicative of mild disturbance. Sediment grain size and nutrient enrichment were important variables explaining the variability. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of ecosystem processes and biodiversity in the Red Sea region in an area that also has the potential to provide insight into pressing topics, such as the capacity of reef systems and benthic macrofaunal organisms to adapt to global climate change.
format	article
author	Joanne Ellis Holger Anlauf Saskia Kürten Diego Lozano-Cortés Zahra Alsaffar Joao Cúrdia Burton Jones Susana Carvalho
author_facet	Joanne Ellis Holger Anlauf Saskia Kürten Diego Lozano-Cortés Zahra Alsaffar Joao Cúrdia Burton Jones Susana Carvalho
author_sort	Joanne Ellis
title	Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
title_short	Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
title_full	Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
title_fullStr	Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
title_full_unstemmed	Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea
title_sort	cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the southern red sea
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/e99e981f79c54cff89de71fe6c4bad49
work_keys_str_mv	AT joanneellis crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT holgeranlauf crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT saskiakurten crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT diegolozanocortes crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT zahraalsaffar crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT joaocurdia crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT burtonjones crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea AT susanacarvalho crossshelfbenthicbiodiversitypatternsinthesouthernredsea
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Cross shelf benthic biodiversity patterns in the Southern Red Sea

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