Impact of a Net Cage Fish Farm on the Distribution of Benthic Foraminifera in the Northern Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba, Red Sea)

Research Article| January 01, 2000 IMPACT OF A NET CAGE FISH FARM ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF EILAT (AQABA, RED SEA) D.L. Angel; D.L. Angel 1Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, P.O. Box 1212, Eilat 88112, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar S. Verghese; S. Verghese 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J.J. Lee; J.J. Lee 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A.3Department of Biology, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A.4Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A.M. Saleh; A.M. Saleh 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D. Zuber; D. Zuber 1Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, P.O. Box 1212, Eilat 88112, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar D. Lindell; D. Lindell 5Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, P.O. Box 469, Eilat 88103, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Symons A. Symons 3Department of Biology, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information D.L. Angel 1Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, P.O. Box 1212, Eilat 88112, Israel S. Verghese 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. J.J. Lee 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A.3Department of Biology, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A.4Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024, U.S.A. A.M. Saleh 2Department of Civil Engineering, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. D. Zuber 1Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, National Center for Mariculture, P.O. Box 1212, Eilat 88112, Israel D. Lindell 5Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, P.O. Box 469, Eilat 88103, Israel A. Symons 3Department of Biology, City College of the City University of New York, Convent Ave at 138th St., New York, NY 10031, U.S.A. Publisher: Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research Received: 10 Jun 1996 Accepted: 22 Apr 1999 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-264X Print ISSN: 0096-1191 © 2000 Journal of Foraminiferal Research Journal of Foraminiferal Research (2000) 30 (1): 54–65. https://doi.org/10.2113/0300054 Article history Received: 10 Jun 1996 Accepted: 22 Apr 1999 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation D.L. Angel, S. Verghese, J.J. Lee, A.M. Saleh, D. Zuber, D. Lindell, A. Symons; IMPACT OF A NET CAGE FISH FARM ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENTHIC FORAMINIFERA IN THE NORTHERN GULF OF EILAT (AQABA, RED SEA). Journal of Foraminiferal Research 2000;; 30 (1): 54–65. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/0300054 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyJournal of Foraminiferal Research Search Advanced Search Abstract Two sediment transects, at 23 m depth, were sampled below a commercial fish farm at the northern end of the Gulf of Eilat in order to describe the benthic foraminiferal community along an organic enrichment gradient. Sediment organic matter, porewater ammonia and phosphate concentrations reflected the input from the overlying fish cages and there was generally a decrease in these variables with distance from the point source. Rose-bengal stained foraminifera were found at all of the stations sampled below the fish farm, i.e. there were no azoic sediments. Fifty-one species of foraminifera (>45 μm) were found in the sediments around the fish farm but most were rare species. The most abundant (generally > 83% of the foraminifer abundance) species (stained + unstained) found were Amphisorus hemprichii, Amphistegina lessonii, Assilina ammonoides, Borelis schlumbergeri, Challengerella bradyi, Hauerina diversa, and Peneroplis planatus. Five of these foraminifera are algal symbiont bearing forms. The diatom-bearing species, A. lessonii and A. ammonoides, constituted 40 to 50% of the total number of tests. The most abundant stained species were A. ammonoides, B. schlumbergeri, H. diversa and P. planatus. Abundances of foraminifera were highest in the "hypertrophic" zone, adjacent to the fish cages. The most abundant species showed negative correlations between total abundance of tests and organic matter in the upper centimeter of the sediment. Negative correlations were also found between abundances of both total and stained tests of the most abundant species and integrated ammonia concentrations. No clear indicator species of the organically-enriched benthos were identified. Deformed tests (mainly P. planatus) were observed in the samples and it is not clear whether they formed as a result of adverse conditions related to the fish farm because such variants also occurred at unenriched sites. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.