Composition, distribution and biometric aspects of sea grasses beds along the Sudanese red sea coast

Abstract

The qualitative and quantitative data of seagrass meadows using line transects and quadrates were collected at each of Marsa Bashayer, Marsa Dama Dama, Eastern part of Port Sudan Harbour (Green Area), Northern part of Port Sudan Harbour (Shipyard), Marsa Halout and Dungonab Bay in the Sudanese Red Sea Coast. The seagrass species were identified and their distribution, shoots density, shoots height, and above ground biomass were measured. Water depth and transparency, sediment thickness and grain size were analyzed. Ten species of seagrasses were encountered (Thalassia hemprichii, Halophila ovalis, Halophila minor, Halophila stipulacea, Enhalus acoroides, Halodule uninervis, Syringodium isoetifolium, Thalassodendron ciliatum, Cymodocea rotundata and Cymodocea serrulata) for the first time in the Sudanese Red Sea coast. The mean shoot density varied between 2 and 8050 shoot/m2. The mean shoot height ranged between 1 and 72 cm. and the mean above ground biomass ranged between 8.9 and 985.9 g dry weight/m2. Generally, sites showed no major physical parameters differences among them excluding the water transparency which was lower in sites in the vicinity of high coastal activities area.