Deep-Sea Calcareous Rhodophycophyta Communities in the Levantine Sea

Abstract

This study is based on materials from two cruises of r/v “Vityaz”: N 24 (1992) and N 27 (1993). In total 13 qualitative samples were collected at 6 stations on southern syrian shelf (depth 25-90 metres) (Figure 1) by means of trawling (Seegsby trawl) and dredging (grabb “Ocean-0,1”) (Table 1). The community discovered there reminds the “ Lithophyllum trotoir”, “trotoir à Tenarea” or “coralligenous bank” [3], well known for the Western Mediterranean. J.M. Pérès [3] mentioned the same structures in the Eastern Mediterranean “covering very large areas -on thousands of square metres” (p.500). The square of discovered by our expeditions “coralligenous meadow” is about some tens of square kilometres. Such formation is being described for the first time. The second pecularity of this biocenosis is its location above silty substratum. The thickness of “coralligenous” layer is no more than 10 cm.