Seagrass Distribution, Composition and Abundance Along the Saudi Arabian Coast of Red Sea

Abstract

The Red Sea has a unique tectonic history, environment and biology. It is a young ocean basin that along its length has undergone or is undergoing the transition from a continental rift to true oceanic seafloor spreading, the nature of which is still open to vigorous debate. In addition, due to its semi-enclosed nature and location within an arid region, the environment is affected by high evaporation rates that, together with limited contact with the Indian Ocean, result in high temperatures and salinities. Lower sea levels in the past have also led to extensive evaporite deposition within its basin. All of this has had a far-reaching impact on the oceanography, marine and terrestrial life of the region. This is one of a pair of volumes that together follow “The Red Sea: The Formation, Morphology, Oceanography and Environment of a Young Ocean Basin” published in 2015 under our joint editorship. The amount of new information that has become available since then is testament to the range and vigour of research now being carried out in the region, much of it in Saudi Arabia under the sponsorship of the Saudi Geological Survey, and to the level of international interest. Indeed, so much new research has taken place that we have divided the material into two volumes, this one, which concentrates on aspects of the oceanography and biology of the Red Sea, and a second volume concerned with geological, palaeoenvironmental and archaeological issues. A wide range of topics is examined in this volume, and the chapters aim to present some of the current thinking and summaries of research in each field of study, including useful reference lists for further study.