The Northern Red Sea (Shushah Island) Coral Health Inferred from Benthic Foraminifers

The northeastern Red Sea (Saudi Arabia) is currently being transformed to become a global hub of economic activity and tourism. This transformation requires the development of pristine coastal areas into populated and dynamic settlements. At the same time, the northern Red Sea is considered a climat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDiversity (Basel) Vol. 16; no. 8; p. 463
Main Authors Öğretmen, Nazik, Angulo-Preckler, Carlos, Aranda, Manuel, Duarte, Carlos M, Westphal, Hildegard
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2024
Subjects
Algae
Benthos (Aquatic organisms)
Biodiversity
Climate change
Climatic conditions
Coastal zone
Coral reef conservation
coral reef health
Coral reefs
Coral reefs and islands
Corals
Ecological research
Environmental aspects
FoRAM index
Physiological aspects
Red Sea
Statistics
Tourism
Water quality
Saudi Arabia
Indian Ocean
Red Sea
Gulf of Aqaba
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Summary:The northeastern Red Sea (Saudi Arabia) is currently being transformed to become a global hub of economic activity and tourism. This transformation requires the development of pristine coastal areas into populated and dynamic settlements. At the same time, the northern Red Sea is considered a climate refuge for corals in changing climate conditions, and efforts to preserve and protect marine biodiversity are being proposed. Accordingly, foraminifers are an efficient tool to assess and monitor their associated coral reefs’ health. This study reports a modern-day health assessment of the corals of Shushah Island (Saudi Arabia) in the northeastern Red Sea as a reference for future monitoring as inferred by applying the FoRAM Index method. In general, our results revealed healthy conditions conducive to coral growth, yet some precautions and regular assessments are recommended.
ISSN:1424-2818
1424-2818
DOI:10.3390/d16080463