ANALYSIS OF LONG-TERM SPATIO-TEMPORAL REEF BENTHOS COVER IN THE EGYPTIAN RED SEA

The Egyptian Red Sea is home to distinctive and varied coral reefs, totaling to about 1.3% of all coral cover on Earth. The 1,800 km Egyptian coast occupies most of the Red Sea's northwestern shore, where corals show exceptional thermal resistance. Hence, the northern Red Sea may provide a refuge for coral reefs. Corals in this area are expected to be among the last to decline and may serve as candidates for worldwide reef restoration. Nevertheless, despite their high value and potential resilience, Red Sea reefs are still subject to anthropogenic stressors and extensive damage due to coastal industrial development, fishing, and tourism activities. Moreover, growing climate and anthropogenic stressors can cause non-random community changes, which may occur gradually or abruptly when an ecological tipping point is exceeded. This study aims to investigate whether there are long-term significant temporal or spatial pattern changes in reef benthos assemblages in the Egyptian Red Sea reefs. To address this, we use long-term research and monitoring data collected from different sources, including published peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, and monitoring reports. We focus on changes in the composition of the coral reef benthos, mainly addressing hard coral, soft coral, and macroalgae cover changes, encompassing a period of 36 years.

Presentation Preference: Poster

Primary Presenter: Sara Ahmed, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) (sara.galal@leibniz-zmt.de)

Authors:

Sara Galal Abbass, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)  (sara.galal@leibniz-zmt.de)

Susana Marcela Simancas-Giraldo, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen  (sussim@uni-bremen.de)

Ameris I. Contreras-Silvia, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen  (amerisixcontreras@gmail.com)

Hauke Reuter, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)  (hauke.reuter@leibniz-zmt.de)