Eight years of community structure monitoring through recreational citizen science at the “SS Thistlegorm” wreck (Red Sea)

Abstract

Large artificial coral reef communities, such as those thriving on sunken shipwrecks, tend to mirror those of nearby natural coral reefs and their long-term dynamics may help future reef resilience to environmental change. We examined the community structure of the world-renown “SS Thistlegorm” wreck in the northern Red Sea from 2007 through 2014, analyzing data collected during the recreational citizen science Red Sea monitoring project “Scuba Tourism for the Environment”. Volunteer divers collected data on 6 different diving parameters which included the date of the dive, maximum depth, average depth, temperature, dive time, hour of dive, and gave an abundance estimation of sighted taxa from a list of 72 target taxa. Although yearly variations in community structure were significant, there was no clear temporal trend, and 71 of all 72 target taxa were sighted throughout the 8 years. The 5 main taxa driving variations among year clusters in taxa presence/absence (Soft Tree Coral—Dendronephthya spp., Giant Moray—Gymnothorax javanicus, Squirrel Fish—Sargocentron spp., Humpback Batfish—Platax spp., and Caranxes—Carangidae) and taxa abundance (Soft Tree Coral, Giant Moray, Red Sea Clownfish—Amphiprion bicinctus, Napoleon Wrasse—Cheilinus undulatus, and Caranxes) data were determined. The “SS Thistlegorm” provides a compelling example of how artificial coral reefs can sustain a well-established community structure similar to those of their natural counterparts.