3 research outputs found
The complete mitochondrial genome of Dendrophyllia minuscula (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) from the NEOM region of the Northern Red Sea
The scleractinian coral family Dendrophylliidae is a major component of shallow and deep-water coral ecosystems worldwide, but our knowledge on the evolutionary history of the family remains scarce. Here, we used ezRAD coupled with Illumina sequencing technology and reconstructed the complete mitochondrial genome of Dendrophyllia minuscula (GenBank accession number OL634845), from mesophotic depths in the Red Sea NEOM area. The mitochondrial genome of D. minuscula consisted of 19,054 bp, organized in 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, and 2 tRNA genes, in agreement with the Scleractinia typical mitogenome organization. This complete mitochondrial genome contributes toward a better knowledge of mesophotic and deep-water coral diversity and evolutionary history
A new species of Bathypathes (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Antipatharia, Schizopathidae) from the Red Sea and its phylogenetic position
A black coral, Bathypathes thermophila Chimienti, sp. nov. is described from the Saudi Arabian coasts of the Gulf of Aqaba and north Red Sea (Neom area) using an integrated taxonomic approach. The morphological distinctiveness of the new species is confirmed by molecular analyses. The species thrives in warm and high salinity waters typical of the Red Sea at bathyal depths. It can form colony aggregations on muddy bottoms with scattered, small hard substrates. Colonies are monopodial, feather-like, and attached to a hard substrate through a thorny basal plate. Pinnules are simple, arranged biserially and alternately, and all the same length (up to approximately 20 cm) except for few, proximal ones. Spines are triangular, laterally compressed, subequal, smooth, and simple or rarely bifurcated. Polyps are elongated transversely, 1.5–2.0 mm in transverse diameter. Large colonies can have one or few branches, whose origin is discussed. The phylogenetic position of B. thermophila sp. nov. within the order Antipatharia, recovered using three mitochondrial markers, shows that it is nested within the family Schizopathidae. It is close to species in the genera Parantipathes, Lillipathes, Alternatipathes, and Umbellapathes rather than to the other available representatives of the genus Bathypathes, as currently defined based on morphology. In agreement with previous findings, our results question the evolutionary significance of morphological characters traditionally used to discriminate Antipatharia at higher taxonomic level
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Identifying Conservation Priorities for a Widespread Dugong Population in the Red Sea: Megaherbivore Grazing Patterns Inform Management Planning
Extensive home ranges of marine megafauna present a challenge for systematic conservation
planning because they exceed spatial scales of conventional management. For elusive species
like dugongs, their management is additionally hampered by a paucity of basic distributional
information across much of their range. The Red Sea is home to a wide-spread, globally important but data-poor population of dugongs. We surveyed the north-eastern Red Sea in the
waters of NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to locate feeding sites and determine priority
areas for dugong conservation. We conducted large-scale in-water surveys of dugong feeding
trails across 27 seagrass meadows that span 0.7 degree of latitude and recorded nine seagrass
species and 13 dugong feeding sites. Spread over ~ 4‚061 km2 of nearshore and offshore
waters, many of these sites clustered around five main core feeding areas. Dugong feeding
trails were mostly recorded at sites dominated by the fast-growing pioneer seagrasses
Halodule uninervis, Halophila ovalis and/or H. stipulacea. Multispecific meadows with
pioneer seagrasses tended to be sheltered and shallow, reflecting a similar spatial pattern to
the identified dugong feeding sites. Often close to hotels and fishing harbours, these high-use
dugong areas are subject to high boat traffic, fishing, and coastal development which places
considerable pressures on this vulnerable mammal and its seagrass habitat. The rapidly
accelerating coastal development in the northern Red Sea directly threatens the future of its
dugong population. Although our sampling focuses on feeding signs in early successional
seagrasses, the results are valuable to spatial conservation planning as they will trigger
overdue conservation interventions for a globally threatened species in a data-poor area.
Urgent dugong conservation management actions in the northern Red Sea should focus on
shallow waters sheltered by coastal lagoons, bays and the lee of large islands.Peer reviewe