Abstract
Studies on phytoplankton and primary production in the Red Sea are few and far between, and even in the few that have been conducted, most cover only a limited area. The last review of phytoplankton and primary production by Ismael (2015) reaffirmed the oligotrophic nature of the Red Sea and the north-to-south increasing trend in chlorophyll concentrations and rates of primary production. Also, in the above review the inventory of phytoplankton species was enlarged to 389 from the earlier record of 181 by Halim (1969). Since then, four research cruises undertaken in the Saudi Arabian waters of the Red Sea (2012–2015) have added a considerable amount of data on the patterns of primary production in the Red Sea and this review builds on that of Ismael (2015) by presenting the new findings. The levels of biomass and production in the Red Sea are relatively low, with a discernable north-south gradient. Their distribution is influenced by anticyclonic eddies, which entrain the nutrient-rich Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water across the Red Sea basin. Biomass and production in regions of eddy currents are twice as high as those elsewhere, suggesting that the notion that the Red Sea is oligotrophic needs to be revised. The injection of nutrients into the euphotic zone in the eddy boundary currents favours the proliferation of producers across a range of size classes rather than of a single class. As with any nutrient-poor tropical sea, the primary production in the Red Sea is supported up to 80% by nano- and picoplankton. Though the contributions of microplankton (diatoms and dinoflagellates) appear to be less significant, the phytoplankton diversity is quite high. With additional records of 74 species from the samples in the four cruises, the current inventory of phytoplankton stands at 463 species. The review also provides suggestions on prospective avenues of phytoplankton research in the Red Sea waters. These include extensive spatial and seasonal coverage of primary production, the importance of benthic production, a better evaluation of nitrogen (N) fixation by Trichodesmium spp., the role of allochthonous nutrient sources (such as dust) in increasing the productivity, additional inventories of phytoplankton species, especially those belonging to the nano- and picoplankton size classes, and the assessment of the importance of the heterotrophy and microbial loop in the food chain dynamics. Experimental studies on the physiology of phytoplankton that already live at extreme conditions of temperature and salinity in the Red Sea could also help to understand how phytoplankton in other seas would react to the effects of global warming and climate change.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Acker J, Leptoukh G, Shen S, Zhu T, Kempler S (2008) Remotely-sensed chlorophyll a observations of the northern Red Sea indicate seasonal variability and influence of coastal reefs. J Mar Syst 69:191–204
Al-Harbi SM, Khomayis HS (2010) Eutrophication and chlorophyll-a in a severely polluted coastal water of Jeddah, Red Sea. JKAU Mar Sci 21:15–29
Baars MA, Schalk PH, Veldhuis MJW (1998) Seasonal fluctuations in plankton biomass and productivity in the ecosystems of the Somali current, Gulf of Aden, and southern Red Sea. In: Sherman K, Okemwa E, Ntiba M (eds) Large marine ecosystems of the Indian Ocean: assessment, sustainability, and management. Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 143–174
Badran MI (2001) Dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and nutrients: Seasonal cycles in waters of the Gulf Aqaba, Red Sea. Aquat Ecosyst Health Manage 4:139–150
Badran MI, Foster P (1998) Environmental quality of the Jordanian coastal waters of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Aquat Ecosyst Health Manage 1:75–89
Badran M, Rasheed M, Manasrah R, Al-Najjar T (2005) Nutrient flux fuels the summer primary productivity in the oligotrophic water of the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Oceanologia 47:47–60
Churchill JH, Bower A, McCorkle DC, Abualnaja Y (2014) The transport of nutrient-rich Indian Ocean water through the Red Sea and into coastal reef systems. J Mar Res 72:165–181
Dham VV, Wafar M, Heredia AM (2005) Nitrogen uptake by size-fractionated phytoplankton in mangrove waters. Aquat Microb Ecol 41:281–291
Dorgham MM, El-Sherbiny MM, Hanifi MH (2012) Environmental properties of the southern Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. Egypt. Medit Mar Sci 13:179–186
Edwards FJ (1987) Climate and oceanography. In: Edwards AJ, Head SM (eds) Key environments: Red Sea. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 45–70
Elawad AES (2012) Study of inter-annual variability of chlorophyll in the Red Sea. Thesis, University of Bergen, M.Sc, p 49
Fahmy MA (2003) Water quality in the Red Sea coastal waters (Egypt): analysis of spatial and temporal variability. Chem Ecol 19:67–77
Fahmy MA, Sheriadah MA, Soeud AA, Rahman SMA, Shindy M (2005) Hydrography and chemical characteristics of the coastal water along the Gulf of Suez. Egypt J Aquat Res 31:1–14
Halim Y (1969) Plankton of the Red Sea. Oceanogr Mar Biol Ann Rev 7:231–275
Ismael AA (2015) Phytoplankton of the Red Sea. In: Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer Earth System Sciences, Berlin Heidelberg, pp 567–583
Khmeleva NN (1970) On the primary production in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Biol Morja Kiew 21:107–133
Khomayis HS (2002) The annual cycle of the annual cycle of nutrient salts and chlorophyll-a in the coastal waters of Jeddah, Red Sea. J King Abdulaziz Univ Mar Sci 13:131–145
Labiosa RG, Arrigo KR, Genin A, Monismith SG, van Dijken G (2003) The interplay between upwelling and deep convective mixing in determining the seasonal phytoplankton dynamics in the Gulf of Aqaba: Evidence from SeaWiFS and MODIS. Limnol Oceanogr 48:2355–2368
Lenz J, Schneider G, El Hag AGD, Gradinger R, Fritsche P, Moigis A, Pillen T, Rolke M, Weisse T (1988) Planktonological data from the central Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden—RV ‘Meteor’, cruise No. 5/2, January-March 1987. Ber Inst Meereskde Kiel 180
Levanon-Spanier I, Padan E, Reisis Z (1979) Primary production in a desert-enclosed sea—the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba), Red Sea. Deep-Sea Res 26:673–685
Longhurst A, Sathyendranath S, Platt T, Caverhill C (1995) An estimate of global primary production in the ocean from satellite radiometer data. J Plankton Res 17:1245–1271
Maillard C, Soliman GF (1986) Hydrography of the Red Sea and exchanges with the Indian Ocean in summer. Oceanol Acta 9:249–269
Malone TC (1980) Algal size. In: Morris I (ed) The physiological ecology of phytoplankton. Univ Calif Press, pp 433–464
Naqvi SWA, Hansen HP, Kureishy TW (1986) Nutrient uptake and regeneration rations in the Red Sea with reference to the nutrient budgets. Oceanol Acta 9:271–275
Petzold M (1986) Untersuchungen zur horizontalen und vertikalen Verteilung des Phytoplanktons in Roten Meer. Univ Hamburg, Diplomarbeit Institut fur Hydrobiologie und Fischereiwissenschaft
Quadfasel D, Baunder H (1993) Gyre-scale circulation cells in the Red Sea. Oceanol Acta 16:221–229
Qurban MA, Balala AC, Kumar S, Bhavya PS, Wafar M (2014) Primary production in the northern Red Sea. J Mar Syst 132:75–82
Qurban MA, Wafar M, Jyothibabu R, Manikandan KP (2017) Patterns of primary production in the Red Sea. J Mar Syst 169:87–98
Raitsos DE, Pradhan Y, Brewin RJW, Stenchikov G, Hoteit I (2013) Remote sensing the phytoplankton seasonal succession of the Red Sea. PLoS ONE 8(6):e64909. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064909
Rasheed M, Badran MI, Richter C, Huettel M (2002) Effect of reef framework and bottom sediment on nutrient enrichment in a coral reef of the Gulf of Aqaba. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 239:277–285
Shaikh EA, Roff JC, Dowidar NM (1986) Phytoplankton ecology and production in the Red Sea off Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. Mar Biol 92:405–416
Slawyk G, Collos Y, Auclair J-C (1977) The use of the 13C and 15 N isotopes for the simultaneous measurement of carbon and nitrogen turnover rates in marine phytoplankton. Limnol Oceanogr 22:925–932
Souvermezoglout E, Metzl N, Poisson A (1989) Red Sea budgets of salinity, nutrients and carbon calculated in the Strait of Bab-El-Mandab during the summer and winter seasons. J Mar Res 47:441–456
Stambler N (2005) Bio-optical properties of the northern Red Sea and the Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba) during winter 1999. J Sea Res 54:186–203
Wafar M (2016) A note on the flow of Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water in the Red Sea. J Mar Sys 163:125
Wafar M, Ashraf M, Manikandan KP, Qurban MA, Kattan Y (2016a) Propagation of Gulf of Aden Intermediate Water (GAIW) in the Red Sea during autumn and its importance to biological production. J Mar Sys 154:243–251
Wafar M, Qurban MA, Ashraf M, Manikandan KP, Flandez AV, Balala AC (2016b) Patterns of distribution of inorganic nutrients in Red Sea and their implications to primary production. J Mar Sys 156:86–98
Weikert H (1987) Plankton and the pelagic environment. In: Edwards A, Head SM (eds) Red Sea. Pergamon Press, Oxford, Key Environment Series, pp 90–111
Yentsch CS (1965) Distribution of chlorophyll and phaeophytin in the open ocean. Deep-Sea Res 12:653–666
Yentsch CS, Wood L (1961) Measurements of primary productivity in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Ref. 61–6, Appendix 8:6
Zhan P, Subramanian AC, Yao F, Hoteit I (2014) Eddies in the Red Sea: a statistical and dynamical study. J Geophys Res Oceans 119. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013jc009563
Acknowledgements
We thank the Center for Environment and Water, Research Institute, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for encouragement and support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Qurban, M.A.B., Wafar, M., Heinle, M. (2019). Phytoplankton and Primary Production in the Red Sea. In: Rasul, N., Stewart, I. (eds) Oceanographic and Biological Aspects of the Red Sea. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_27
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_27
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99416-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99417-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)