The mangal of Sinai: Limits of an ecosystem

Abstract

The northernmost mangrove forests of the Red Sea are described. Temperature and salinity conditions were found to be extreme, obviously reducing the diversity of the ecosystem and presumably setting the geographical limits of its distribution. The Sinai mangal grows on hard fossil coral bottom, without any influence of estuarine sedimentation. Primary production of the open Red Sea waters is extremely low, therefore, the rich biomass of the Sinai mangal is built up by an autarkic nutrient recycling system. Several biotic zones within the Sinai mangal are described following an inshore-offshore transect. Vertical zonation of algae and animals on the aerial roots of Avicennia is discussed. The Sinai mangal, "Shura" by its local name, is proposed as an ideal model for the study of trophic relations within the mangrove biome. © 1977 Biologische Anstalt Helgoland.