Abstract
Coral communities were investigated in the northwestern Gulf of Aden, Yemen, for their composition, structure, and bioconstruction potential. Although no true reef was encountered, high cover coral carpets were found where hard substrate was available. Seven different types of coral communities were differentiated, and both non-framework and framework coral communities were found. Monotypy or oligotypy seem to be consistent characteristics of framework-building coral communities in the study area. Apart from substrate availability, proximity to the upwelling area and exposure were found to be the most important environmental factors influencing coral communities’ structure, composition, and bioconstruction potential.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Benzoni F, Bianchi CN, Morri C (2001) Comunità coralline nel Golfo di Aden nord-occidentale: limiti della biocostruzione e caratteristiche delle formazioni madreporiche. Biol Mar Medit 8(1):209–215
Bianchi CN (2001) La biocostruzione negli ecosistemi marini e la biologia marina italiana. Biol Mar Medit 8(1):112–130
Braithwaite CJR (1971) Seychelles reefs: structure and development. In: Stoddart DR, Yonge CM (eds) Regional variation in Indian Ocean coral reefs. Academic Press, London (Symp Zool Soc London 28), pp 39–63
Coles S (1996) Corals of Oman. CYK Publications, Muscat, Oman, 100 pp
Digby PE, Kempton RA (1987) Multivariate analysis of ecological communities. Chapman and Hall, London, 206 pp
Done TJ (1983) Coral zonation: its nature and significance. In: Barnes DJ (ed) Perspectives on coral reefs. Australian Institute of Marine Sciences. B Clouston, Manuka, pp 107–147
Done TJ (1995) Ecological criteria for evaluating coral reefs and their implications for managers and researchers. Coral Reefs 14(4):183–192
Done TJ, Ogden JC, Wiebe WJ, Rosen BR (1996) Biodiversity and ecosystem function of coral reefs. In: Mooney HA, Cushman JH, Medina E, Sala OE, Schulze E-D (eds) SCOPE 55. Functional roles of biodiversity. A global perspective. Wiley, Chichester, pp 393–429
English S, Wilkinson C, Baker V (1997) Survey manual for tropical marine resources, 2nd edn. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, 368 pp
Fagerstrom JA (1987) The evolution of reef communities. Wiley Interscience, New York, 600 pp
Geister J (1977) The influence of wave exposure on the ecological zonation of Caribbean coral reefs. Proc 3rd Int Coral Reef Symp 1:23–29
Glynn PW (1977) Coral growth in upwelling and nonupwelling areas off the Pacific coast of Panama. J Mar Res 35:567–585
Glynn PW (1983) Final report on the effects of the sea star Acanthaster on Omani coral reefs, with some recommendations for further study. Report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Omani–American Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation, Muscat, Oman, 50 pp
Glynn PW (1993) Monsoonal upwelling and episodic Acanthaster predation as probable controls of coral reef distribution and community structure in Oman, Indian Ocean. Atoll Res Bull 379:1–66
Harriot VJ (1999) Coral growth in subtropical eastern Australia. Coral Reefs 18:281–291
Hopley D, Parnell KE, Isdale PJ (1989) The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: dimensions and regional patterns. Aust Geogr Stud 27:47–66
Huntington TC, Wilson SC (1995) Coastal marine habitats survey. Gulf of Aden fisheries IV project, Yemen. Phase I: preliminary habitat classification and an assessment of the coast’s resources, uses and impacts. Report to the European Commission, and to the Ministry of Fish Wealth, Government of the Republic of Yemen. MacAlister Elliott, UK, and Marine Sciences Resource Research Centre, Aden, 125 pp
Insalaco E (1998) The descriptive nomenclature and classification of growth fabrics in fossil scleractinian reefs. Sediment Geol 118:159–186
Johannes RE, Wiebe WJ, Crossland CJ, Rimmer DW, Smith SV (1983) Latitudinal limits of coral reef growth. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 11:105–111
Kemp JM, Benzoni F (1999) Monospecific coral areas on the northern shore of the Gulf of Aden. Coral Reefs 18:280
Kemp JM, Benzoni F (2000) A preliminary study of the coral communities in the northern Gulf of Aden. Fauna Arabia 18:67–86
Kleypas JA (1996) Coral reef development under naturally turbid conditions: fringing reefs near Broad Sound, Australia. Coral Reefs 15:153–167
Pichon M (1971) Comparative study of the main features of some coral reefs of Madagascar, La Réunion and Mauritius. In: Stoddart DR, Yonge CM, (eds) Regional variation in Indian Ocean reefs. In: Proc Symp Zoological Society of London, Rep 28. Academic Press, London, pp 185–216
Pichon M (1978) Recherches sur les peuplements à dominance d’anthozoaires dans les récifs coralliens de Tuléar (Madagascar). Atoll Res Bull 222:1–447
Riegl B, Piller WE (1999) Coral frameworks revisited—reefs and coral carpets in the northern Red Sea. Coral Reefs 18:241–253
Riegl B, Piller WE (2000) Reefs and coral carpets in the northern Red Sea as models for organism–environment feedback in coral communities and its reflection in growth fabric. In: Insalaco E, Skelton PW, Palmer TJ (eds) Carbonate platforms systems: components and interactions. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 178:71–88
Rosen BR (1971) Principal features of reef coral ecology in shallow water environments of Mahé, Seychelles. In: Stoddart DR, Yonge CM (eds) Regional variation in Indian Ocean coral reefs. Academic Press, London (Symp Zool Soc Lond 28), pp 163–180
Rosen BR (1975) The distribution of reef corals. Rep Underwater Assoc 1(2):16
Salm RV (1992) Coral reefs of the Sultanate of Oman. IUCN, Gland, 28 pp
Schuhmacher H, Kiene W, Dullo WC (coord) (1995) Factors controlling Holocene reef growth: an interdisciplinary approach. Facies 32:145–188
Sheppard CRC, Salm RV (1988) Reef and coral communities of Oman, with a description of new coral species (Order Scleractinia, Genus Acanthastrea). J Nat Hist 22:263–279
Sheppard CRC, Sheppard ALS (1991) Corals and coral communities of Arabia. Fauna Arabia 12:3–170
Sheppard C, Price A, Roberts C (1992) Marine ecology of the Arabian region. Patterns and processes in extreme tropical environments. Academic Press, London, 359 pp
Sheppard CRC, Wilson SC, Salm RV, Dixon D (2000) Reefs and coral communities of the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Seas. In: McClanahan TR, Sheppard CRC, Obura DO (eds) Coral reefs of the Indian Ocean: their ecology and conservation. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 259–293
UNEP/IUCN (1988) Coral reefs of the world. Volume 2: Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Wainwright SA (1965) Reef communities visited by the South Red Sea Expedition 1962. Bull Sea Fish Res Station Israel 38:40–53
Watt I (1996) Coastal habitat survey of the Gulf of Aden. Final report, phase II: south coast of Yemen. Report to the Marine Science and Resources Research Centre, Aden, Yemen
Acknowledgements
Fieldwork would not have been possible without Jonathan Ali Khan’s Arabian Seas Expedition and thanks in particular go to Sean Kelly (Dubai) for his invaluable help, and to Jerry Kemp (York) for fruitful discussions in the field. The authors wish to thank Bernhard Riegl (Dania Beach) for the many useful suggestions, and Chris Perry (Manchester) for accepting this paper in the special issue on “Marginal and non-reef building coral environments.” Comments by two anonymous reviewers greatly improved the manuscript. Thanks also to Davide Calamari (Varese) for his help in an early phase of the investigation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Benzoni, F., Bianchi, C.N. & Morri, C. Coral communities of the northwestern Gulf of Aden (Yemen): variation in framework building related to environmental factors and biotic conditions. Coral Reefs 22, 475–484 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0342-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-003-0342-1