Quantitative Seasonal Study on the Standing Crop of Cystoseira myrica along the Jeddah Coast, Red Sea PDF

Keywords

Jeddah, algae crops, biomass

Abstract

The standing crop of Cystoseira myrica along the Jeddah coast was assessed. Two peaks were found during the year; a major one was observed in May and a minor in October. Spring proved to be the more productive season. The biomass values ranged from 0.78 kg/m2 at Obhur in January to 3.9 kg/m2 at Hatibah in May. The monthly average of the biomass in the whole area of study was estimated as 1.8 kg/m2. The biomass of Cystoseira myrica at North Jeddah is about three times of that observed at south Jeddah. No sharp fluctuation in the seasonal values of biomass of Cystoseira myrica was noticed in Jeddah area, as a result of the relative stability of the environmental factors. The productivity of Cystoseira myrica along the Jeddah coast is in general low, relative to that of Cystoseira spp. in the Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea and Black Sea. Sixty species belonging to the main three classes of algae were found among the associations of Cystoseira myrica