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

Qurban, Mohammad A.; Krishnakumar, P. K.; Joydas, Thadickal V.; Manikandan, Karuppasamy P.; Ashraf, Mohamed; Quadri, Seema; Wafar, M.V.M.; Qasem, Ali; Cairns, Stephen D.

doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2014.04.002

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Although there is no information available on the natural diet of E. fistula in the Red Sea, food sources for other azooxanthellate corals have been described as phytodetritus, phytoplankton, (zoo)plankton, and dissolved organic matter ( Gori et al, 2014a ). As observed for captive E. fistula , regular feeding and uptake of crustaceans is in line with the earlier reported hypothesis of other deep-sea corals capturing and utilizing (zoo)plankton ( Dodds et al, 2009 ; Qurban et al, 2014 ). An increased food supply in captivity can result in increased growth as reported for other azooxanthellate corals ( Orejas et al, 2011b ), or conversely decreased growth when feeding is omitted ( Naumann et al, 2011 ).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In contrast, the Red Sea provides a unique habitat with temperatures exceeding 20 °C throughout the water column. Additionally, low oxygen levels, a salinity level above 40 PSU, and little inorganic nutrients represent presumably challenging conditions for deep-sea corals ( Edwards & Head, 1987 ; Roder et al, 2013 ; Qurban et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The coral Eguchipsammia fistula ( Cairns, 1994 ) is known to occur in the Indo-Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand ( Van der Land, 2008 ). In the Red Sea, E. fistula has been found at least three times: in the northern parts of the Red Sea Marenzeller (1906) found mostly dead or damaged coral colonies between 490 and 900 m, whereas Qurban et al (2014) observed alive corals at depth of 683 m. In the central Red Sea, Roder et al (2013) reported the discovery of live specimens between 230 and 320 m. Roder et al (2013) and Qurban et al (2014) described habitat conditions highlighting a warm, saline, oxygen- and nutrient-poor environment. Roder et al (2013) furthermore collected corals for metabolic measurements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Captive rearing of the deep-sea coralEguchipsammia fistulafrom the Red Sea demonstrates remarkable physiological plasticity

Roik

Röthig

Roder

et al. 2015

PeerJ

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The presence of the cosmopolitan deep-sea coral Eguchipsammia fistula has recently been documented in the Red Sea, occurring in warm (>20 °C), oxygen- and nutrient-limited habitats. We collected colonies of this species from the central Red Sea that successfully resided in aquaria for more than one year. During this period the corals were exposed to increased oxygen levels and nutrition ad libitum unlike in their natural habitat. Specimens of long-term reared E. fistula colonies were incubated for 24 h and calcification (G) as well as respiration rates (R) were measured. In comparison to on-board measurements of G and R rates on freshly collected specimens, we found that G was increased while R was decreased. E. fistula shows extensive tissue growth and polyp proliferation in aquaculture and can be kept at conditions that notably differ from its natural habitat. Its ability to cope with rapid and prolonged changes in regard to prevailing environmental conditions indicates a wide physiological plasticity. This may explain in part the cosmopolitan distribution of this species and emphasizes its value as a deep-sea coral model to study mechanisms of acclimation and adaptation.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Captive rearing of the deep-sea coralEguchipsammia fistulafrom the Red Sea demonstrates remarkable physiological plasticity

Roik

Röthig

Roder

et al. 2015

PeerJ

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“…In line with its global presence (van der Land, 2008) and as a potential explanation to its wide distribution, E. fistula from the Red Sea shows a remarkable physiological plasticity displaying substantial tissue (re)growth and polyp budding during long-term rearing (>1 year) under conditions that only in part reflect its natural Red Sea habitat (Roik et al, 2015). More specifically, in comparison to their highly oligotrophic and low oxygen (i.e., 1-2 mg L −1 ) natural habitat in the Red Sea (Quadfasel, 2001;Roder et al, 2013;Qurban et al, 2014), aquaria-reared colonies of E. fistula were provided with a continuous but uniform diet under high oxygen conditions (i.e., >8 mg L −1 ). Besides assessment of phenotypic differenes, Roik et al (2015), however, did not assess whether long-term aquaria rearing resulted in differences in bacteria associated with E. fistula that could either contribute to the acclimatization or be a result of it.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes Associate with the Deep-Sea Coral Eguchipsammia fistula from the Red Sea and from Aquaria Settings

et al. 2017

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Microbial communities associated with deep-sea corals are beginning to be studied in earnest and the contribution of the microbiome to host organismal function remains to be investigated. In this regard, the ability of the microbiome to adjust to prevailing environmental conditions might provide clues to its functional importance. In this study, we characterized bacterial community composition associated with the deep-sea coral Eguchipsammia fistula under natural (in situ) and aquaria (ex situ) settings using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We compared freshly collected Red Sea coral specimens with those reared for >1 year at conditions that partially differed from the natural environment, in particular regarding increased oxygen and food availability under ex situ conditions. We found substantial differences between the microbiomes associated with corals under both environmental settings. The core microbiome comprised only six bacterial taxa consistently present in all corals, whereas the majority of bacteria were exclusively associated either with freshly collected corals or corals under long-term reared aquaria settings. Putative functional profiling of microbial communities showed that corals in their natural habitat were enriched for processes indicative of a carbonand nitrogen-limited environment, which might be reflective of differences in diet under in situ and ex situ conditions. The ability of E. fistula to harbor distinct microbiomes under different environmental settings might contribute to the flexibility and phenotypic plasticity of this cosmopolitan coral. Future efforts should further assess the role of these different bacteria in holobiont function, in particular since E. fistula is naturally present in markedly different environments.

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“…Nassar [17] recorded the high abundance of Red Sea plankton during autumn due to the high flourishing of diatoms. Qurban [18,19] reported that, the primary productivity of the phytoplankton of the northern Red Sea of Saudi Arabia was affected by nitrogen. Wafar [20] discussed the inorganic nutrients were increased southwards of the Red Sea basin.…”

Section: Sampling Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Study of the Rabigh Lagoon, Eastern Site of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia with Special Reference to Eutrophication Index

Touliabah¹,

El-Bassat²

2017

J Marine Sci Res Dev

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Seasonal variation in plankton community structure (phytoplankton and zooplankton), chlorophyll a and some physico-chemical properties of Rabigh Lagoon were studied during 2015. The study aimed to estimate the environmental health of Rabig Lagoon as well as renewing the ecological data base for the investigated area. The study area included seven sites situated between latitudes 22.9978° to 22.8519° and longitudes 38.8339° to 38.9616°E. The ecological parameters comprise some physical and chemical parameters as Temperature, Secchi Disc, pH, DO, S%, Nutrients "Nitrite, NO2-N; Nitrate, NO3-N; Ammonia, NH3-N; total nitrogen, T-N; Reactive phosphate, PO4-P and total phosphorus, T-P". A total of 103 species belonging to five phytoplanktonic groups were identified. The most leadings group is Bacillariophyceae (45.05%) then Cyanophyceae (33.83%) followed by Dinophyceae (20.99%). On the other hand, Chrysophyceae (0.07%). and Chlorophyceae (0.05) are considered a rare group. Chlorophyll a showed almost the same pattern with the standing crops of the phytoplankton ranged between 12.33 μg l-1 during spring and a lowest value of 5.49 μg l-1 during summer. The most dominant group of zooplankton was Copepoda (89.00%) followed by Protista (7.30%) and Rotifera (3.70%). Dominancy of Copepoda was recorded during all the investigation period except autumn. The Diversity Index fluctuated between 2.785 during autumn and 3.568 during summer. Twenty one zooplankton species belonging to 18 genera were recorded during the present study. Calculating trophic status index according to Secchi Disc methods was found to be better than chlorophyll a and total phosphorus methods. The analysis showed that Rabigh Lagoon is a mesotrophic ecosystem. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was carried out to reveal the relations between the physico-Chemical parameters and plankton groups.

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

Cited by 29 publications

References 31 publications

Captive rearing of the deep-sea coralEguchipsammia fistulafrom the Red Sea demonstrates remarkable physiological plasticity

Captive rearing of the deep-sea coralEguchipsammia fistulafrom the Red Sea demonstrates remarkable physiological plasticity

Distinct Bacterial Microbiomes Associate with the Deep-Sea Coral Eguchipsammia fistula from the Red Sea and from Aquaria Settings

Ecological Study of the Rabigh Lagoon, Eastern Site of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia with Special Reference to Eutrophication Index

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