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Notes on primary productivity of coastal waters in the Gulf of Elat (Red Sea)
Author(s) -
Sournia Alain
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.1977.3510620606
Subject(s) - mangrove , oceanography , phytoplankton , productivity , environmental science , plankton , biomass (ecology) , coral reef , chlorophyll a , primary productivity , reef , nutrient , fishery , ecology , geology , biology , botany , macroeconomics , economics
The following parameters were measured during May 1976 along the coasts of the Gulf of Elat (or: Gulf of Aqaba): phytoplankton species composition, chlorophyll content and photosynthetic production; weight of suspended particles and nutrient concentration; chlorophyll content of the sediments. The study areas were coral reefs of the northern part of the Gulf and a mangrove pool south of it. Phytoplankton characteristics and nutrient levels are those of oligotrophic waters. However, the sediments harbour such an abundant plant biomass that in coastal waters per m 2 surface area, there is several hundred times more chlorophyll in the sand than in the plankton. Reasons why both the mangrove and the coral reef may exhibit the same trends are discussed.