Sathianeson Satheesh

High Mortality of Red Sea Zooplankton under Ambient Solar Radiation

High solar radiation along with extreme transparency leads to high penetration of solar radiation in the Red Sea, potentially harmful to biota inhabiting the upper water column, including zooplankton. Here we show, based on experimental assessments of solar radiation dose-mortality curves on eight common taxa, the mortality of zooplankton in the oligotrophic waters of the Red Sea to increase steeply with ambient levels of solar radiation in the Red Sea. Responses curves linking solar radiation doses with zooplankton mortality were evaluated by exposing organisms, enclosed in quartz bottles, allowing all the wavelengths of solar radiation to penetrate, to five different levels of ambient solar radiation (100%, 21.6%, 7.2%, 3.2% and 0% of solar radiation). The maximum mortality rates under ambient solar radiation levels averaged (±standard error of the mean, SEM) 18.4±5.8% h−1, five-fold greater than the average mortality in the dark for the eight taxa tested. The UV-B radiation required for mortality rates to reach ½of maximum values averaged (±SEM) 12±5.6 h−1% of incident UVB radiation, equivalent to the UV-B dose at 19.2±2.7 m depth in open coastal Red Sea waters. These results confirm that Red Sea zooplankton are highly vulnerable to ambient solar radiation, as a consequence of the combination of high incident radiation and high water transparency allowing deep penetration of damaging UV-B radiation. These results provide evidence of the significance of ambient solar radiation levels as a stressor of marine zooplankton communities in tropical, oligotrophic waters. Because the oligotrophic ocean extends across 70% of the ocean surface, solar radiation can be a globally-significant stressor for the ocean ecosystem, by constraining zooplankton use of the upper levels of the water column and, therefore, the efficiency of food transfer up the food web in the oligotrophic ocean.

Habitat preference and seasonal variability of epifaunal assemblages associated with macroalgal beds on the Central Red Sea coast, Saudi Arabia

Macroalgal communities of coastal ecosystems play a key role in maintaining overall coastal biodiversity. In this study, habitat preference (macroalgal host preference) and temporal changes (season) of epifaunal communities associated to five macroalgal species such as Padina, Sargassum, Ulva, Acanthophora and Gracilaria were observed at seasonal intervals (summer and winter) for 2 years from May 2012 to March 2014 on the Jeddah coastal waters of the Red Sea. Major epifaunal groups observed included polychaetes, amphipods, isopods, gastropods, mussels and crabs. Polychaetes were represented by 10 species followed by amphipods with five species. The abundance of gastropods, polychaetes and mussels showed significant variation between the macroalgae irrespective of morphology. Generally, the abundance of these taxa were high on Padina and low on Sargassum . Significant seasonal changes were observed on the abundance of polychaetes, amphipods and isopods. The abundance of some epifaunal groups showed a significant relationship with environmental parameters such as surface water temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen content.

Temporal changes of diatoms in marine biofilm developed on acrylic panels submerged in a tropical coast

The colonization of diatom groups on the acrylic panels submerged in Kudankulam coastal waters, east coast of India, was studied for one year from October 2004 to August 2005. Results showed temporal variability in the abundance of dominant diatom groups. Diatoms belonging to 19 genera colonized the panels. Navicula and Nitzschia were the dominant diatoms observed throughout the present study. The abundance of diatoms on test panels increased with the length of exposure. Significant variations in the abundance of Navicula and Nitzschia were observed between the sampling months. Temporal changes in biofilm diatom community composition in this study attain significance from the view point of macrofouling community recruitment on marine structures.

Strong Sensitivity of Red Sea Zooplankton to UV-B Radiation

The impacts of UV-B radiation to Red Sea coastal zooplankton was assessed experimentally at the time (May/June) of peak UV-B radiation, using the most abundant zooplankton species in the community (eight copepod genera, a cladoceran, an ostracod, a cumacean, and two meroplankton, including crab zoeae and megalopa). Mortality rates increased greatly in the presence of ambient UV-B radiation for all species tested except for Labidocera, Macrosetella, and the crab megalopa larvae. Mortality rates declined, on average, threefold when UV-B radiation was removed. These results provide evidence that Red Sea zooplankton are highly vulnerable to ambient levels of UV-B radiation.

Extraction of Chitin from the Shell Wastes of Two Shrimp Species Fenneropenaeus semisulcatus and Fenneropenaeus indicus using Microorganisms

ABSTRACT Traditionally, chitin is extracted from crustacean shells using chemical methods involving the use of strong acids and alkali. In this study, chitin was extracted from the shrimp shell waste using microbes isolated from the fermented milk and bread. The chitin yield from the shells of Fenneropenaeus semisulcatus was 14.054% and 16.062%, respectively, for shell:bacterial broth ratios of 1:15 and 1:25; whereas, the yield of chitin from the shells of Fenneropenaeus indicus was 14.93% and 13.871%, respectively, at 1:15 and 1:25 broth ratios. The Fourier transform infrared spectra obtained from the chitin samples showed characteristic chitin peaks in both shell to bacterial broth ratio. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed peaks between 10–15 and 25–30 degrees in the chitin recovered from both species, though some variations between species were observed. In conclusion, results of the present study indicate that application of microorganisms for the extraction of chitin from the shrimp shell waste could be an alternative for the traditional chemical methods.

Identifying Suitable Fin Fish Cage Farming Sites in the Eastern Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia

The present study was aimed to survey the eastern Red Sea region of Saudi Arabia for selecting suitable cage farming sites. Nine stations along the Red Sea coast were selected for this study. Water, sediment, and biological samples were collected from the stations for the analysis of physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Results indicate that the environmental parameters such as water temperature, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen content of the coastal waters were within the normal range reported for a suitable cage fish farming site. Most of the stations are located near to residential or industrial areas and hence not suitable for a cage farming project. Two stations which are far away from the industrial and residential areas and showed optimal environmental conditions are recommended for possible cage farming after further feasibility studies.

Larval development and settlement of the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite from the Red Sea: Influence of the nauplii hatching season

Barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite adults were collected from the Jeddah coast of the Red Sea during different seasons. The nauplii released by adults in autumn, winter, spring and summer were reared under laboratory conditions to know the larval development duration and settlement in relation to the hatching season. The nauplii reared during winter (11 days) and autumn (13 days) took longer to reach the cypris stage compared to nauplii reared in summer (6 days) and spring (7 days). The most successful settlement of larvae was observed in spring and summer and the least successful — in winter. The observations of gonads showed that summer and spring are the active breeding season for A. amphitrite in the Red Sea. The results of this study indicated that the nauplii hatching season plays a significant role in the larval development and settlement of barnacles in the Red Sea.

Antifouling activities of methanolic extracts of three macroalgal species from the Red Sea

Marine macroalgae are considered as a potential source for various bioactive secondary metabolites. In this study, antifouling activities of three macroalgal species (Chaetomorpha linum, Turbinaria ornata, and Sargassum polycystum) collected from the Rabigh coast of the Red Sea were assessed against the larvae of barnacle, Amphibalanus amphitrite. Crude extracts of the macroalgae also were mixed with varnish and coated on nylon net panels for field studies. The methanol extract of all the three algae inhibited the settlement of cypris larvae on Petri dishes. Of the three macroalgal species, the extracts of T. ornata and S. polycystum significantly reduced the biofouling growth on nylon net panels in field antifouling trials conducted for a period of three months. GC-MS analysis of the crude extracts revealed the presence of fatty acids and their derivatives, phytosterols, and terpenoids along with some other compounds. These results indicate that bioactive metabolites present in the crude extracts of the macroalgae could be used potentially as natural product antifoulants for reducing biofouling growth on marine structures.

Ontogenetic Changes in Vulnerability of the Prawn Fenneropenaeus indicus to UV-B Radiation Help Explain Ontogenetic Habitat Shifts

The Indian Ocean white prawn (Fenneropenaeus indicus H. Milne Edwards, 1837) is distributed across the Indian Ocean, from southern Africa to northern Australia and the Red Sea, and is also present in all of South-East Asia, where F. indicus is a major commercial fishery species. F. indicus has been domesticated for aquaculture and is extensively cultured in farms throughout South-East Asia, India, the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and eastern Africa (Ling et al. 1999). F. indicus is a non-burrowing prawn species preferring a sandy or muddy bottom, and although active at both day and night, it has been shown to display clear daily rhythms in activity, being less active at night (Natarajan 1989). F. indicus has a complex ontogenetic developmental cycle involving 12 stages distributed in three planktonic larval forms (6 nauplii stages, N-1 to N-6; 3 zoea stages, Z-1 to Z-3; and 3 mysis stages, M-1 to M-3). F. indicus develops from hatching to the post larva (PL) stage over 10 to 18 days in natural conditions (Muthu et al. 1978) and 13 to 14 days under hatchery conditions (Silas et al 1985). As many decapods, F. indicus also has a tri-phasic life cycle (Pitman and McAlpine 2003). The prawn matures and breeds mostly in offshore coastal waters, and the larvae are advected in the neuston until recruiting to their estuarine habitats (Forbes and Cyrus 1991). The PL grows in coastal estuaries, backwaters, or lagoons with a particular preference for mangrove habitats (De Freitas 1986; Mohan and Siddeek 1996; Ronnback et al. 2002), where they spend the juvenile and sub-adult stages, before migrating to open coastal habitats for breeding. Larvae are often present in the neuston, except in the period of maximum solar radiation. Seasonal studies off Kochi (Arabian Sea, India) showed that F. indicus larvae are rare in the plankton from May to September (George 1962; Rao 1964). Whereas late larval stages, PL, and juveniles inhabit shaded environments, such as mangrove creeks, the larvae are pelagic and can be subjected to high irradiance in the water column in tropical and subtropical regions. Moreover, this species is reared in shallow aquaculture ponds and floating cages (Walford and Lam 1987), which can also receive high solar radiation in tropical and subtropical regions. High light intensities have been reported to be detrimental for the survival of larval stages of penaeid prawn, which are reared under dim light conditions to increase spawning and early survival success in aquaculture (Wurts and Stickney 1984). The shaded habitat of the PL, in mangrove creeks, the low abundance of planktonic larvae during the months of peak solar radiation, and the light-sensitivity of early life stages all point at a vulnerability of F. indicus larvae to high solar radiation and particularly ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation as the most damaging component of solar radiation (Hader et al. 2007; Hansson and Hylander 2009). Because of its commercial importance, the physiology, growth, and behavior of F. indicus have been extensively studied (Kutty et al. 1971; Colvin 1976; Emmerson 1984). The resistance of PL to changes in environmental conditions, Communicated by Charles Simenstad