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Near- bottom depletion of zooplankton over coral reefs: I: diurnal dynamics and size distribution

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Abstract

Changes in the near-bottom abundance of zooplankton on scales of centimeters to meters and hours to seasons are of great importance to corals and other benthic zooplanktivores. Our objective was to characterize such spatio-temporal changes over several coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Using arrays of underwater pumps, we found a substantial depletion of zooplankton near the bottom. Vertical gradients in zooplankton abundance were steeper during the night than day, mostly due to a greater nocturnal increase in zooplankton biomass higher in the water column. On average, the layer <1 m above bottom (mab) was depleted by 2.6±2.2 mg m−3 (46±35%) and 1.4±1.4 mg m−3 (37±43%) during night and day, respectively. A long time series of bi-weekly samples at 0.5 mab, lasting 1.5 years, indicated a doubling of the biomass during the night with no apparent seasonality. The diel change was due to an increase in the abundance of only large (>200 μm) zooplankters around dusk and their disappearance in the morning. Diurnal predation by zooplanktivorous fish, sediment resuspension by benthivorous fish and zooplankton behavior appear to control the dynamics of suspended particles over the reef, creating sharp vertical gradients and a remarkable diel cycle in the ratio between nutritious plankton and inorganic particles.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to L. Yahel, I. Ayalon, M. Ohavia, Y. Shiff, D. Weil, E. Booton, M. Perry, A. Perry, A. Brandes, R. and C. Wyeth, A. and A. Bookai, S. Rickel, R. Motro, S. Eckstein, R. Holzman, T. Zalogin, V. Farstey, A. Rivlin, R. Shem–Tov, M. Reidenbach, and Lieu. Cdr. Amr Attia for their professional and most dedicated help in the field and laboratory, and G. Kave and K. Madmoni for editorial assistance. Comments by P. Sale and two anonymous reviewers significantly improved the manuscript. We thank the Eilat Underwater Observatory Park, the Israel Nature Reserves Authority and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) for permission to use facilities and sites. We are grateful to the Interuniversity Institute of Eilat for logistic support. This study was supported by US–Israel Binational Science Foundation, the Stanford University Bio-X Interdisciplinary Research Initiative, and the Israel Ecology Fund. The cruise to Sinai was part of the “Red-Sea Program”, a joint German, Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli program funded by the German Ministry of Science, Technology and Education (BMBF). RY and GY thank the Rieger Foundation and the Reshef family for their support.

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Author notes

  1. Ruthy Yahel

    Present address: Venus project, Centre for Earth and Ocean Research, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada

  2. Gitai Yahel

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, PO Box 3020 Stn CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3N5, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences of Eilat and Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 469, Eilat, 88103, Israel

    Ruthy Yahel, Gitai Yahel & Amatzia Genin

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  1. Ruthy Yahel
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Correspondence to Ruthy Yahel.

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Communicated by Ecological Editor P.F. Sale

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Yahel, R., Yahel, G. & Genin, A. Near- bottom depletion of zooplankton over coral reefs: I: diurnal dynamics and size distribution. Coral Reefs 24, 75–85 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0449-z

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