First Quantitative Data on Red Sea Deep Benthos

Abstract

The quantitative distribution of the benthos in the deep Red Sea has never been studied before. First data on the meiofauna from depths between 500 and 2000 m are presented, and the low faunal densities are discussed in respect to the low productivity of the Red Sea, its peculiar temperature regime with 21.5 "C down to more than 2000 m depth and the presumably high degradation rates of organic matter. Meiofaunal numbers of bathyal depths in the Red Sea correspond to data obtained from central oceanic, abyssal regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.