Sea urchins are major components of marine communities. Their grazing limits algal biomass, and they are preyed upon by many predators. Purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) are among the best studied species. They live in environments that alternate between two stable states: luxuriant, species-rich kelp forests and sea urchin-dominated "barrens." The transition from one state to ...

Two Thiomicrospira strains, WB1 and XS5, were isolated from the Kebrit Deep brine-seawater interface in the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Here, we present the draft genome sequences of these gammaproteobacteria, which both produce sulfuric acid from thiosulfate in culture.

The Red Sea species, the Orangeface Butterflyfish, Chaetodon larvatus, is recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean. Its occurrence there is evidentially the result of entering the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal.

In spite of significant differences in their sizes, depths, salinity and other properties, the Aral Sea and the Dead Sea share many features, as illustrated by a comparison of the histories of both water bodies. Fifteenth and early sixteenth century maps, based on the ‘Geography’ of Ptolemy, contain both lakes. The first successful limnological surveys of the lakes were made in the same year 18...

Members of the oyster family Chamidae are common in Indo-Pacific subtidal habitats, adhering to the sides of rocks, where they are usually well hidden by a fine growth of algae that extends equally over the rocks and the oyster shells (Purchon 1968). Chamidae species are known for their efficient filter-feeding abilities and thus may compete with other benthic filter-feeders for both space and ...