Temporal Variation in the Epiphytes of Laurencia obtusa and Cystoseira myrica from South Sinai, Northern Red Sea

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Marine Sciences Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

2 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

Algal epiphytes were examined for 12 months at Shura El-Roweysia and several tidal levels on the shore
of South Sinai dominated by Laurencia obtusa and Cystoseira myrica. Sixty seven species of the
epiphytes were recorded (41 Bacillariophyta, 20 Cyanophyta, 3 Chlorophyta and 3 Pyrrhophyta). An
inverse relationship between percentage cover of L. obtusa and their epiphytes were observed to be
affected by desiccation stress due to frequent emersion of the intertidal flat and exposure to strong
radiation, while high cover percentage of C. myrica was associated with the high number of epiphytes.

Keywords