ALGAL VEGETATION IN THE ELAT CORAL REEF RESERVE

Abstract

During 1993–1996, algal vegetation was studied in three stations in Elat: two stations in the Hof Almog Nature Reserve and a third station at Taba, further south. In the Hof Almog stations, filamentous turf comprised more than half of the algal vegetation, macroalgae were scarce except for Lobophora variegata and crustose red algae, and total algal cover was low. In Taba, cover by macroalgae, e.g., Cystoseira myrica and Sargassum spp., and total algal cover was higher than in Hof Almog. Around the world, Cystoseira and Sargassum have disappeared or decreased in polluted areas. The almost total absence of these genera in the Hof Almog stations, in contrast to their ample occurrence at Taba, indicates pollution in Hof Almog but less in Taba. Numerous species found in earlier studies are absent in Elat, while other species are recorded for the first time in the present study.