Abstract
The living Tridacna maxima shell provides an example of a good substrate for many colonizing marine organisms (sclerobionts). Many factors affect the colonization choices of these organisms, such as morphology and size of the host shell, water depth (related to light penetration), suspended particulate load, and turbidity, among others. In addition to these factors, contamination plays an important role in the colonization choice along the coast of the Red Sea in Egypt. In the present study, 25 specimens of T. maxima shells of different sizes were collected at different depths from eight sites along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. There are two types of contamination at these sites. The first type results from anthropogenic activities, such as tourism, fishing, landfilling, shipping, renewal of ship operations, shipyards, dredging, and petroleum production; this type is represented by the El-Esh area, Hurghada Harbor, Safaga Harbor, and Quseir Harbor. The second type results from the natural inputs from wadis and is represented by the El-Esh area, Quseir Harbour, and Wadi El-Gemal, while the Abu Galawa Lagoon, the Abu Ghusun, and the Hamata Reefs represent uncontaminated areas (control areas). The present study documents the colonization phenomena on T. maxima shells at all of the study sites. These phenomena differed from one another in the abundance and diversity of sclerobionts, and unexpectedly, the contaminated areas recorded the highest abundance and diversity of colonizing organisms.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbott A (1990) Bioadhesives: potential for exploitation. Science Progress (Oxford) 74:131–146
Ammar MSA, Ghobashi AA, Omran MA, Shaaban AM (2007) Status of coral reef affected by different impacts in some sites of the Red Sea. Egypt J Aquat Res 33(1):224–237
Barnes DKA, Rothery P, Clarke A (1996) Colonisation and development in encrusting communities from the Antarctic intertidal and sublittoral. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 196:251–265
Branch GM (1984) Competition between marine organisms: ecological and evolutionary implications. Annu Rev Oceanogr Mar Biol 22:429–593
Bromley RG, D´Alessandro A (1983) Bioerosion in the Pleistocene of southern Italy: ichnogenera Caulostrepsis and Maeandropolydora. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 89:283–309
Bromley RG, D´Alessandro A (1984) The ichnogenus Entobia from the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene of southern Italy. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 90:227–296
Buss LW (1986) Competition and community organization on hard surfaces in the sea. In: Diamond J, Case TJ (eds) Community ecology. Harper & Row, New York, pp 517–536
El-Mamoney MH (1995) Evaluation of terrestrial contribution to the Red Sea sediments, Egypt. Ph.D. thesis. Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 146 p.
El-Taher A, Madkour HA (2011) Distribution and environmental impacts of metals and natural radionuclides in marine sediments in-front of different wadies mouth along the Egyptian Red Sea Coast. Appl Radiat Isot 69:550–558
Gutiérrez JL, Jones CG, Strayer DL, Iribarne OO (2003) Molluscs as ecosystem engineers: the role of shell production in aquatic habitats. Oikos 101:79–90
Jackson JBC (1983) Biological determinants of present and past sessile animal distribution. In: Tevesz MJS, McCall PL (eds) Biotic interactions in recent and fossil benthic communities. Plenum, New York, pp 39–120
Keen SL (1987) Recruitment of Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) larvae is position-dependent, and independent of conspecific density, within a settling surface. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 38:151–160
Kleemann KH (1996) Bioerosion by bivalves. Mar Ecol 17:145–158
Knowlton N, Jackson JBC (2000) The ecology of coral reefs. In: Bertness MD, Gaines SD, Hay ME (eds) Marine community ecology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, pp 395–422
Madkour HA (2004) Geochemical and environmental studies of recent marine sediments and some invertebrates of the Red Sea, Egypt. PhD thesis. South Valley University, Qena, 317 p.
Madkour HA (2005) Distribution and relationships of heavy metals in the giant clam (Tridacna maxima) and associated sediments from different sites in the Egyptian red Sea coast. Egypt J Aquat Res 31(2):45–59
Madkour HA (2011) Impacts of human activities and natural inputs on heavy metal contents of many coral reef environments along the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Arab J Geosci 1–14. doi:10.1007/s517-011-0482-5
Madkour HA, Ali MY (2009) Heavy metals in the benthic foraminifera from the coastal lagoons, Red Sea, Egypt: indicators of anthropogenic impact on environment (case study). Environ Geol 58:543–553. doi:10.1007/s00254-008-1529-0
Madkour HA, El-Taher A, Ahmed AEN, Mohamed AW, El-Erin TM (2012) Contamination of coastal sediments in El-Hamrawein Harbour, Red Sea, Egypt. J Environ Sci Technol 5(4):210–221
Mansour AM, Nawar AH, Madkour HA (2011) Metal pollution in marine sediments of selected harbours and industrial areas along the Red Sea coast of Egypt. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien, Serie A 225:225–244
Mekawy MS, Madkour HA (2012) Studies on the Indo-Pacific Tridacnidae (Tridacna maxima) from the northern Red Sea, Egypt. Int J Geosci 3:1089–1095
Milliman JD (1974) Marine carbonates. Springer, Berlin, 375 p
Mohamed MAE, Madkour HA, El-Saman MI (2011) Impact of anthropogenic activities and natural inputs on oceanographic characteristics of water and geochemistry of surface sediments in different sites along the Egyptian Red Sea Coast. Afr J Environ Sci Technol 5(7):494–511
Oliver PG (1992) Bivalved seashells of the Red Sea. Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, 330 p
Oliver PG (1995) Bivaliva. In: DANCE SP (ed) Seashells of Eastern Arabia. Motivate Publishing, Dubai, pp 194–281
Saunders RJ, Connell SD (2001) Interactive effects of shade and surface orientation on the recruitment of spirorbid polychaetes. Austral Ecology 26:109–115
Taylor PD, Wilson MA (2002) A new terminology for marine organisms inhabiting hard substrates. Palaios 17:522–525
Taylor PD, Wilson MA (2003) Palaeoecology and evolution of marine hard substrate communities. Earth Sci Rev 62:1–103
Wahl M (1989) Marine epibiosis: I. Fouling and antifouling: some basic aspects. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 58:175–189
Witman JD, Dayton PK (2000) Rocky subtidal communities. In: Bertness MD, Gaines SD, Hay ME (eds) Marine community ecology. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, pp 339–366
Yonge CM (1974) Coral reefs and molluscs. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 69/7, 147–166, 10 Figs., Edinburgh
Zuschin M, Baal C (2007) Large gryphaeid oysters as habitats for numerous sclerobionts: a case study from the northern Red Sea. Facies 53:319–327. doi:10.1007/s10347-007-0110-8
Zuschin M, Piller WE (1997) Bivalve distribution on coral carpets in the Northern Bay of Safaga (Red Sea, Egypt) and its relation to environmental parameters. Facies 37:183–194
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Dr. Adam Tomasovych for his critical review of the manuscript and useful comments. Thanks to everyone in the Arabian Journal of Geosciences who contributed toward the progress of this work, especially Jovelyn Ortiz, JEO Assistant to respond to any request I asked her. I am also deeply grateful to the reviewers for their critical review of the manuscript and useful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mekawy, M.S. Environmental factors controlling the distribution patterns and abundance of sclerobionts on the shells of Tridacna maxima from the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Arab J Geosci 7, 3085–3092 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-0966-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-0966-6