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Coral Reefs of the Gulf pp 187–224Cite as

The Hermatypic Scleractinian (Hard) Coral Fauna of the Gulf

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Part of the book series: Coral Reefs of the World ((CORW,volume 3))

Abstract

The harsh climate of the Gulf puts severe constraints on coral survival and, therewith, on biodiversity by restricting the number of coral species that can survive in the harsh conditions. Despite this and despite being at the western high-latitude edge of Indo-Pacific reef coral distribution, the Gulf’s coral fauna is surprisingly rich. Within the region, the richest Gulf coral fauna has been recorded from Saudi Arabia, around the islands of Jana and Karan (50 species, Basson et al. 1977). Fadlallah et al. (1993) subsequently recorded 23 and 19 species in specific sample sites on these two islands and suggested that species richness may actually be lower than suggested by Basson et al. (1977). This is also supported by data in Vogt (1996). The UAE presently has the second-richest documented coral fauna, with 34 scleractinian species (Riegl 1999). More comprehensive studies in other areas and the region would likely reveal a quite homogeneous fauna with little diversity gradient across the Gulf proper. The Iranian coral fauna is rich due to water circulation pattern and better environmental conditions in the northern Gulf. Due to counter clock wise pattern of the water circulation in the Gulf, the northern part and the Iranian coastline has lower temperature, lower salinity, better aragonite saturation, besides also greater depth (see Chap. 2). This results in increasing species richness towards the Straits of Hormuz. In general, coral diversity decreases from east to west and from north to south. This has been seen in octocorals (Samimi-Namin and van Ofwegen 2009) and the same trend exist for hard corals (Samimi-Namin, unpublished data). It is still unclear where the main species boundaries are located and therefore further studies are necessary to fully reveal coral diversity in the Gulf.

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Figure Credits and Acknowledgements

All specimens figured in this chapter were collected (coll.) and photographed by the authors unless indicated so in the figure legends. For fieldwork which allowed in situ images from the U.A.E. R. Al-Mubarak, A. Al-Cibahy, Emirates Wildlife Society and the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi are acknowledged. Some of the images are a result of the WWF/Dolphin Energy coral project. For fieldwork in Halul Island, Qatar we are grateful to E. Dutrieux (Creocean), Dr. A. Abdel-Moati and the Supreme Council of Environment & Natural Reserves (SCENR). For research in Kuwait S. Sartoretto (Safege) and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) are thanked. The image from Bir Ali, Yemen, was taken during the Coral Biodiversity study for which C.H. Chaineau (Total EP) and E. Dutrieux (Creocean), and the Yemen Environment Protection Authority (EPA) are acknowledged. Images and sample of Madracis kirby from Mayotte Island were collected during the Tara Oceans expedition, E Karsenti (EMBL) and the Oceans Consortium are acknowledged. Specimens collected in Kuwait by M. Pichon (Museum of Tropical Queensland) and depicted in this review are currently deposited at the University of Milan-Bicocca. W.E. Piller at Karl-Franzens University Graz took pictures of skeletons and has been curating a collection of Gulf corals from Jebel Ali.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL, USA

    Bernhard M. Riegl

  2. University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza, I-20126, Milano, Italy

    Francesca Benzoni

  3. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), 101 Promenade Roger Laroque, A5, 98848, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia, France

    Francesca Benzoni

  4. Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Kaveh Samimi-Namin

  5. University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

    Charles Sheppard

Authors
  1. Bernhard M. Riegl
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  2. Francesca Benzoni
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  3. Kaveh Samimi-Namin
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  4. Charles Sheppard
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Correspondence to Bernhard M. Riegl .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, 33004, Florida, USA

    Bernhard M. Riegl

  2. , National Coral Reef Institute, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, 33004, Florida, USA

    Sam J. Purkis

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Riegl, B.M., Benzoni, F., Samimi-Namin, K., Sheppard, C. (2012). The Hermatypic Scleractinian (Hard) Coral Fauna of the Gulf. In: Riegl, B., Purkis, S. (eds) Coral Reefs of the Gulf. Coral Reefs of the World, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3008-3_11

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