Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea
ABSTRACT The coral genus Madracis has a global distribution from shallow waters to over 1200 m depth. In the Red Sea, the azooxanthellate endemic species Madracis interjecta is known to occur from depths of 120 to 350 m. This species is often observed in mesophotic ecosystems and has been reported t...
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| Format: | Article |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71456 |
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| author | Megan K. B. Nolan Pauline Falkenberg Fabio Marchese Marta A. Ezeta Watts Natalie Dunn Laura Macrina Viktor Nunes‐Peinemann Giovanni Chimienti Silvia Vimercati Tullia I. Terraneo Mohammed Qurban Vincent Pieribone Carlos M. Duarte Francesca Benzoni |
| author_facet | Megan K. B. Nolan Pauline Falkenberg Fabio Marchese Marta A. Ezeta Watts Natalie Dunn Laura Macrina Viktor Nunes‐Peinemann Giovanni Chimienti Silvia Vimercati Tullia I. Terraneo Mohammed Qurban Vincent Pieribone Carlos M. Duarte Francesca Benzoni |
| author_sort | Megan K. B. Nolan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT The coral genus Madracis has a global distribution from shallow waters to over 1200 m depth. In the Red Sea, the azooxanthellate endemic species Madracis interjecta is known to occur from depths of 120 to 350 m. This species is often observed in mesophotic ecosystems and has been reported to form sediment‐binding bioherms, yet the conditions required for these formations are not understood. Here, we extracted quantitative data from video footage to identify the distribution of M. interjecta for the first time along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast. We present a habitat suitability model to identify potential habitats in the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba for this species. Combining presence data with geomorphometric variables and environmental data, we identified both depth and seafloor ruggedness as main drivers of this species distribution. Through multivariate statistics, we found that bioherms were found in deeper and cooler waters than individual M. interjecta colonies. Due to the narrow continental shelf and steep slopes of the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, the effects of coastal development are threatening shallow, mesophotic and deep ecosystems. This work provides both a baseline survey and predicted distributions of an important habitat‐forming scleractinian coral, which can inform conservation planning in the region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3333d166316d4cac9e4e606a1a4710b4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-3333d166316d4cac9e4e606a1a4710b42025-08-20T03:10:09ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-05-01155n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71456Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red SeaMegan K. B. Nolan0Pauline Falkenberg1Fabio Marchese2Marta A. Ezeta Watts3Natalie Dunn4Laura Macrina5Viktor Nunes‐Peinemann6Giovanni Chimienti7Silvia Vimercati8Tullia I. Terraneo9Mohammed Qurban10Vincent Pieribone11Carlos M. Duarte12Francesca Benzoni13Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biosciences, Biotechnology and Environment University of Bari Aldo Moro Bari ItalyDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaNational Center for Wildlife Riyadh Saudi ArabiaOceanX New York USADivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Thuwal Saudi ArabiaABSTRACT The coral genus Madracis has a global distribution from shallow waters to over 1200 m depth. In the Red Sea, the azooxanthellate endemic species Madracis interjecta is known to occur from depths of 120 to 350 m. This species is often observed in mesophotic ecosystems and has been reported to form sediment‐binding bioherms, yet the conditions required for these formations are not understood. Here, we extracted quantitative data from video footage to identify the distribution of M. interjecta for the first time along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast. We present a habitat suitability model to identify potential habitats in the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba for this species. Combining presence data with geomorphometric variables and environmental data, we identified both depth and seafloor ruggedness as main drivers of this species distribution. Through multivariate statistics, we found that bioherms were found in deeper and cooler waters than individual M. interjecta colonies. Due to the narrow continental shelf and steep slopes of the northern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba, the effects of coastal development are threatening shallow, mesophotic and deep ecosystems. This work provides both a baseline survey and predicted distributions of an important habitat‐forming scleractinian coral, which can inform conservation planning in the region.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71456biohermdeep seahabitat suitability modelsMadracis interjectamesophotic zonered Sea |
| spellingShingle | Megan K. B. Nolan Pauline Falkenberg Fabio Marchese Marta A. Ezeta Watts Natalie Dunn Laura Macrina Viktor Nunes‐Peinemann Giovanni Chimienti Silvia Vimercati Tullia I. Terraneo Mohammed Qurban Vincent Pieribone Carlos M. Duarte Francesca Benzoni Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea Ecology and Evolution bioherm deep sea habitat suitability models Madracis interjecta mesophotic zone red Sea |
| title | Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea |
| title_full | Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea |
| title_fullStr | Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea |
| title_short | Modelling the Habitat Distribution of the Endemic Azooxanthellate Coral Madracis interjecta From the Mesophotic to the Deep Red Sea |
| title_sort | modelling the habitat distribution of the endemic azooxanthellate coral madracis interjecta from the mesophotic to the deep red sea |
| topic | bioherm deep sea habitat suitability models Madracis interjecta mesophotic zone red Sea |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71456 |
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