Sami Mahmoud, Ahmed Fayrouz, Temraz Tarek A, Ali Amira A
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
BMC Ecol Evol. 2025 May 26;25(1):52. doi: 10.1186/s12862-025-02389-5.
Seaweed vegetation is widely distributed along the Red Sea coasts. Therefore, the current study presents an ecological study on the spatial and temporal variations of seaweed vegetation at three different sites (Suez, Hurghada and Marsa Alam) along the western coast of the northern Red Sea. The study was conducted through regular seasonal visits over four seasons, starting from winter 2022. Physicochemical parameters were measured, and the coverage of seaweed species was estimated using the quadrat method. Forty-seven species of seaweeds were collected and identified from the studied sites during the study period. Site II (Hurghada) had the highest number of species (n = 37), whereas site I (Suez) had the lowest (n = 11). The findings reveal significant variations in species composition, and coverage, highlighting the influence of environmental factors and seasonal changes on seaweed communities. Site I (Suez) recorded the highest average percentage cover of Chlorophyta (97%), where Phaeophyceae (50%) and Rhodophyta (38%) recorded the maximum at site II and site III (Marsa Alam), respectively. In general, winter and spring recorded the highest number of species (43 and 38, respectively), while autumn recorded the lowest (n = 33). In spring, Chlorophyta recorded the highest coverage (35.7%) mostly represented by Ulva lactuca, Caulerpa racemosa, Dictyosphaeria cavernosa, Valonia aegagropila and Cladophora prolifera, followed by Rhodophyta (34.3%) with a dominance of Actinotrichia fragilis and Jania rubens. Furthermore, regular biodiversity monitoring is necessary to continuously update the species and detect any changes that may occur in the physicochemical and biological parameters of the ecosystem, including the effects of climate change.
海藻植被广泛分布于红海沿岸。因此，本研究对红海北部西海岸三个不同地点（苏伊士、胡尔加达和马尔萨阿拉姆）的海藻植被的时空变化进行了生态研究。该研究从2022年冬季开始，通过在四个季节进行定期的季节性考察来开展。测量了理化参数，并使用样方法估算了海藻物种的覆盖度。在研究期间，从研究地点收集并鉴定出了47种海藻。地点二（胡尔加达）的物种数量最多（n = 37），而地点一（苏伊士）的物种数量最少（n = 11）。研究结果揭示了物种组成和覆盖度的显著差异，突出了环境因素和季节变化对海藻群落的影响。地点一（苏伊士）记录到绿藻门的平均覆盖百分比最高（97%），而褐藻门（50%）和红藻门（38%）分别在地点二和地点三（马尔萨阿拉姆）记录到最高覆盖度。总体而言，冬季和春季记录到的物种数量最多（分别为43种和38种），而秋季记录到的物种数量最少（n = 33）。在春季，绿藻门记录到最高覆盖度（35.7%），主要由石莼、总状蕨藻、囊藻、团扇藻和丛生刚毛藻代表，其次是红藻门（34.3%），优势种为脆弱刚毛藻和红瘤江蓠。此外，定期进行生物多样性监测对于持续更新物种以及检测生态系统理化和生物参数中可能发生的任何变化（包括气候变化的影响）是必要的。
