Because of the pivotal role of the substrate composition in the ecological state of coral reef communities, the present study was attempted to investigate the substrate cover, coral reefs, and reef fishes in the marine ecosystem of the Wadi El-Gemal National Park (WGNP), Red Sea, Egypt. The surveys were conducted in the Spring and Autumn of 2015 by SCUBA diving and/or snorkeling. We applied the Point, Line, and Belt Intercept Transect (PIT, LIT and BLT) methods, to assess the state and forms of the substrate, through a quantitative assessment of the fundamental components of the benthic cover. A quantitative assessment was conducted on five main benthic categories at WGNP; hard corals, soft corals, dead corals, sand, and rocks. Six invertebrate groups; banded coral shrimp, sea urchin, sea cucumber, the crown of thorn, giant clam, and Drupella sp. were also investigated. The study showed that, while there was no significant difference between sites in the benthic structure and cover, sites were different in the cover of hard coral, the abundance of benthic invertebrates, and the abundance of reef fishes. We also, assessed the status of eight impact indicators of reef damage (or damage indication categories); old dead, recently dead, total bleached, partial bleached, diseased, broken, fragments, and recruitments of corals at the marine protected area as well as investigated the coral reef/reef fish community relationship. Among the eight reef impact indicators that were assessed in the current study, the old dead corals showed the highest cover of the substrate. In the same context, the cover of the diseased colonies was lower than other categories in the area of the study. The study also indicated that increasing hard coral cover in the study area had strongly affected the abundance of reef fishes. Nevertheless, the abundance of reef fishes was found to be increased with the increase of the hard coral cover (P < 0.05, r = 0.8), and this trend was attained by all reef fish families, the highest sites in coral cover and fish abundance were: Hnakourab, Wadi Lahmy and Sharm El-Luli (32, 28 and 25%, and 9, 11 and 6 mean number of fish/20 m transect), respectively. Positive correlation between the hard coral cover and fish abundance was detected as well. Acanthuraidae displayed the highest mean number of individuals (53.25/20 m belt transect). The study concluded that there is a need to perform a periodic assessment of the benthic cover of the main components of coral reef communities. Also, the study emphasized the role of benthic substrate structure and cover in the reef fish ecology.
Preliminary investigation on crude extracts from two fire coral species, Millepora dichotoma (Md) and Millepora platyphylla (Mp), those found along the Egyptian Red Sea coast of Marsa Alam, were collected for bioactivity screening. The bacterial activity and hemolytic effect of the methanol (MeOH), ethanol (EthOH) and dichloromethane (DCM) crude extracts of Md and Mp coral species were tested for their activity against various bacteria, namely; Klebsiela sp., Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus, while hemolytic effects of the crude extracts were tested on human red blood cells (RBC). The results showed differential effects of all coral crude extracts on the tested bacteria, while no hemolytic signs were detected among all the RBC samples. It is recommended to enhance the crude extracts studies form fire corals species as it could be a challenge to use them in safe medical and pharmaceutical applications.
Belonging to the family Clupeidae, hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha (Hamilton, 1822) is an important fish species in the South and Southeast Asia, especially in Bangladesh. Due to its unique nature, the fish has gained national and international demands for its nutritional values, taste qualities, special aroma and high delicacy, and provides livelihoods to the millions of fishers directly or indirectly along the coastal and riverine stretches in its range of natural distribution. It is considered as the national and most important commercial fish species of Bangladesh and contributes significantly to the national economy. In this study, an attempt is made in evaluating the data currently available on hilsa to determine the impact of the current management approaches and improvement strategies of this important fishery. Hilsa is found primarily in marine and estuarine environments, but it has been declining gradually over the last 30 years, reaching a low point in 1991-1992 and continuing until 2002-2003. Recognizing the declining trend of hilsa, the government took action to increase production by implementing regulations on jatka (juvenile) catch and restrictions on brood hilsa catch during the breeding season. As a result, total hilsa catch increased from 2.55 million MT (metric ton) in 2003-04 to 3.94 million MT in 2015-2016. Under the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act of 1950, Hilsa production peaked in 2016-2017, with a total of 4.96 lakh metric tons. Hilsa management techniques contribute 12.9% of all fish produced, while in Bangladesh, the rate of increase in hilsa production is 25.69%. The annual increase of total hilsa production climbed from 3.5% to 9.0% after 2015 as a result of the government's general management activities, payments for ecosystem service (PES) and the environmental management strategies, resulting in annual total hilsa production of 5.50 lakh MT in 2019–2020. A number of recommendations for effective management of the hilsa fisheries that might be implemented into the national policy are elicited in order to improve the situation because the current hilsa management plan has an impact on the conservation of this important fishery to a greater extent in commensurate with its national and international demands.
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