Preliminary study of macro-fouling community in Marina El-Alamein Resort, Egyptian Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Marina El-Alamein Resort is a popular summer destination located on the western shores of the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea. In February, April, July, September, and November 2017, fouling specimens were obtained by scraping the submerged artificial substrata of the resort using (40 × 25 cm rectangular frames) with a metal knife. A total of 61 fouling taxa were identified in the samples. Polychaeta was the most diverse group, comprising 25% of the total number of recorded taxa. Three species of Polychaeta were firstly recorded in the Egyptian Mediterranean Sea, comprising one sedentarian species (Protoaricia oerstedii) and two errantian species (Myrianida brachycephala and Syllis jorgei). Temporal variations in fouling communities showed significantly higher species number in February and April. November showed the highest total abundance of individuals, followed by July, and both events were significantly higher than that in other months. The encrusting bryozoan Schizoporella errata, a habitat-forming species, was the most abundant taxon found in April, September, and November meanwhile, the bivalve Brachidontes pharaonis was the most dominant in February and July. Six of the identified species were non-indigenous for the Mediterranean Sea forming and comprised approximately 10% of the total biodiversity.