Editorial: Red Sea biodiversity

Sonnewald, Moritz; El‐Sherbiny, Mohsen M.

doi:10.1007/s12526-017-0648-9

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Similarly, the Gulf supports a variety of coastal and marine ecosystems that con-tribute to the genetic and biological diversity in the area (Naser 2014). The Red Sea is partially isolated by the Gulf of Aden, where environmental conditions and its relatively shallow nature limit species dispersal from the Indian Ocean (Kemp 2000, Rasul & Stewart 2015, Sonnewald & El-Sherbiny 2017, Carvalho et al 2019). The region is characterized by extreme environmental conditions (Sheppard et al 2010, Vaughan et al 2019) but supports thriving ecosystems (Al-Abdulkader et al 2019).…”

Section: Marine Ecosystem and Biodiversity In The Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and conservation of marine turtles in the northwestern Indian Ocean: a review

Ameri

Harthi²,

Kiyumi

et al. 2022

Endang. Species. Res.

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The northwestern Indian Ocean hosts globally crucial marine biodiversity, which is relatively understudied. There has, however, been significant research and conservation effort focused on marine turtles across the region in recent decades. We undertook an exhaustive review of 251 relevant publications to extract and collate the current information concerning marine turtles. To ensure completeness, we received input on a preliminary draft from a large group of experts who have worked extensively in the region. Data presented here are from all 13 countries with significant coastlines in the region (Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen) on occurrence, nesting biology, morphology, foraging areas, population status, threats, and relevant national legislation and international conservation strategies. The experts independently provided details on what they felt were the (1) most significant threats to marine turtles, (2) most critical knowledge gaps for marine turtle ecology, (3) impediments to practical conservation, and (4) essential strengths and opportunities in the region.

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Section: Marine Ecosystem and Biodiversity In The Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biology and conservation of marine turtles in the northwestern Indian Ocean: a review

Ameri

Harthi²,

Kiyumi

et al. 2022

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…As sampling criteria, we opted for collecting sponge species that represented the dominant sponge fauna [117][118][119][120] at two distinct biogeographical regions with varying levels of anthropogenic impact. Additionally, we selected sponges that presented different host nutritional modes (photosymbionts vs no photosymbionts) and strategies for microbial symbiosis (high microbial abundance-HMA vs low microbial abundance-LMA).…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viral ecogenomics across the Porifera

et al. 2020

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Background Viruses directly affect the most important biological processes in the ocean via their regulation of prokaryotic and eukaryotic populations. Marine sponges form stable symbiotic partnerships with a wide diversity of microorganisms and this high symbiont complexity makes them an ideal model for studying viral ecology. Here, we used morphological and molecular approaches to illuminate the diversity and function of viruses inhabiting nine sponge species from the Great Barrier Reef and seven from the Red Sea. Results Viromic sequencing revealed host-specific and site-specific patterns in the viral assemblages, with all sponge species dominated by the bacteriophage order Caudovirales but also containing variable representation from the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus families Mimiviridae, Marseilleviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Ascoviridae, Iridoviridae, Asfarviridae and Poxviridae. Whilst core viral functions related to replication, infection and structure were largely consistent across the sponge viromes, functional profiles varied significantly between species and sites largely due to differential representation of putative auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and accessory genes, including those associated with herbicide resistance, heavy metal resistance and nylon degradation. Furthermore, putative AMGs varied with the composition and abundance of the sponge-associated microbiome. For instance, genes associated with antimicrobial activity were enriched in low microbial abundance sponges, genes associated with nitrogen metabolism were enriched in high microbial abundance sponges and genes related to cellulose biosynthesis were enriched in species that host photosynthetic symbionts. Conclusions Our results highlight the diverse functional roles that viruses can play in marine sponges and are consistent with our current understanding of sponge ecology. Differential representation of putative viral AMGs and accessory genes across sponge species illustrate the diverse suite of beneficial roles viruses can play in the functional ecology of these complex reef holobionts.

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“…Reference databases are known to be incomplete in terms of the global inventory of species having a representative barcode sequence limiting the ability to classify species at low taxonomic levels and the marker gene may not have the resolution of species level identifications . Understudied areas like the central Red Sea, which is known for housing a highly specialized and partly endemic fauna (Sonnewald and El-Sherbiny, 2017) are expected to harbor a number of undescribed species, which are unrepresented in reference databases and thus, will be classified as unknown. This is likely to have an impact on the success of fine level taxonomic assignments and results in higher level classifications as used in the current study.…”

Section: Characterization Of Zooplankton Biodiversity Using Pyrosequementioning

confidence: 99%

Metabarcoding Reveals Seasonal and Temperature-Dependent Succession of Zooplankton Communities in the Red Sea

2017

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Very little is known about the composition and the annual cycle of zooplankton assemblages in the Red Sea, a confined water body characterized by a high biodiversity and endemism but at the same time one of the most understudied areas in the world in terms of marine biodiversity. This high diversity together with the lack of references for several of the groups poses a problem in obtaining basic information on zooplankton seasonal patterns. In the present work, we used high throughput sequencing to examine the temporal and spatial distribution of the zooplankton communities inhabiting the epipelagic zone in the central Red Sea. The analysis of zooplankton assemblages collected at two sites-coastal and offshore-twice a month at several depth strata by using MANTA, Bongo and WP2 nets provides baseline information of the seasonal patterns of the zooplankton community over 1 year. We show that the seasonal fluctuation of zooplankton communities living in the upper 100 m of the water column is driven mainly by the annual changes in seawater temperature. The 18S rRNA gene was used for metabarcoding of zooplankton assemblages revealing 630 metazoan OTUs (97% similarity) in five phyla, highlighting the richness of the Red Sea community. During colder months, communities were characterized by lower richness and higher biomass than communities found during the hot season. Throughout the year the zooplankton communities were dominated by the class Maxillopoda, mainly represented by copepods and class Hydrozoa. The rise in the water temperature favors the appearance of classes Malacostraca, Cephalopoda, Gastropoda, and Saggitoidea. The present study provides essential baseline information for future monitoring and improves our knowledge of the marine ecosystem in the Red Sea while reporting the main environmental variable structuring zooplankton assemblages in this region.

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Editorial: Red Sea biodiversity

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Biology and conservation of marine turtles in the northwestern Indian Ocean: a review

Biology and conservation of marine turtles in the northwestern Indian Ocean: a review

Viral ecogenomics across the Porifera

Metabarcoding Reveals Seasonal and Temperature-Dependent Succession of Zooplankton Communities in the Red Sea

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