Year-long monitoring of physico-chemical and biological variables provide a comparative baseline of coral reef functioning in the central Red Sea

Coral reefs in the central Red Sea are sparsely studied and in situ data on physico-chemical and key biotic variables are missing to provide an important comparative baseline. To fill this gap, we monitored three reefs along a cross-shelf gradient during a full year, simultaneously collecting data on currents, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll-a, turbidity, inorganic nutrients, sedimentation, bacterial communities of reef water, and bacterial and algal composition of epilithic biofilms. Some of these environmental parameters resemble projected ‘future ocean’ conditions. Summer temperatures (29 - 33 °C) and salinity levels (39 PSU) exceeded average maxima for coral reefs globally, while DO levels were comparably low (2 - 4 mg L-1). Reef environments were highly variable over time and between reefs. Temperature and salinity differences were most pronounced between seasons. Conversely, DO, chlorophyll-a, turbidity, and sedimentation varied strongest between reefs. S...

红海中部的珊瑚礁研究较为匮乏，缺乏理化及关键生物变量的原位数据以提供重要的比较基准。为填补这一空白，我们在一整年时间内对跨陆架梯度上的三座珊瑚礁开展监测，同步采集了海流、温度、盐度、溶解氧（DO）、叶绿素a、浊度、无机营养盐、沉积作用、礁体水体细菌群落，以及岩表生物膜的细菌与藻类组成等数据。其中部分环境参数与预测的“未来海洋”条件相似。夏季温度（29-33°C）和盐度水平（39 PSU，Practical Salinity Unit）超过了全球珊瑚礁的平均最大值，而溶解氧水平则相对较低（2-4 mg/L）。珊瑚礁环境随时间变化显著，且礁体间差异较大：温度与盐度的差异在季节间最为突出；反之，溶解氧、叶绿素a、浊度及沉积作用的差异在礁体间表现最强。S...