Coralline red algae are highly abunadant and well diversified in the well exposed carbonate deposits of the Lower Pliocene Shagra Formation at Wadi Wizer, Red Sea coast, Egypt. Lithostratigraphically, the Shagra Formation unconformably overlies the Late Miocene Marsa Alam Formation and underlies the Quaternary deposits. This carbonate facies is dominated by different assemblage of coralline red...

Reconstructing pH from biogenic carbonates using boron isotopic compositions relies on the assumption that only borate, and no boric acid, is present. Red coralline algae are frequently used in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction due to their widespread distribution and regular banding frequency. Prior to undertaking pH reconstructions using red coralline algae we tested the boron composition of...

Marine algae are key sources of the biogenic sulfur compound dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), a vital component of the marine sulfur cycle. Autotrophic ecosystem engineers such as red coralline algae support highly diverse and biogeochemically active ecosystems and are known to be high DMSP producers, but their importance in the global marine sulfur cycle has not yet been appreciated. Using ...

Marine pCO2 enrichment via ocean acidification (OA), upwelling and release from carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities is projected to have devastating impacts on marine biomineralisers and the services they provide. However, empirical studies using stable endpoint pCO2 concentrations find species exhibit variable biological and geochemical responses rather than the expected negative patte...

The Lower Miocene deposits in Gabal Gharra, Cairo – Suez District, unconformably overlies the Oligocene and Eocene deposits. They consist predominantly of regressive and transgressive mixed siliciclastic / carbonate sediments of shallow marine environments. The Lower Miocene deposits are represented lithostratigraphically by the Gharra Formation that comprises four members, from base to top: Ag...

Mediterranean gorgonian forests are threatened by several human activities and are affected by climatic anomalies that have led to mass mortality events in recent decades. The ecological role of these habitats and the possible consequence of their loss are poorly understood. Effects of gorgonians on the recruitment of epibenthic organisms were investigated by manipulating presence of gorgonians...

The photosynthetic performance of sea ice microalgae, benthic microalgae, coralline red algae (Phymatolithon foecundum) and brown macroalgae (Laminaria saccharina, Fucus evanescens and Desmarestia aculeata) in an ice-covered high-Arctic fjord (Young Sound, NE Greenland) was studied with in situ instruments for oxygen microprofiling and active chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. In situ measu...

The anatomy of coralline algae is relatively simple. This, together with high intraspecific variability, reduces characters used as diagnostic criteria in delimiting species in present-day coralline algae to a very few, most of which can be recognized in fossil representatives of this family. Similar taxonomic procedures may thus be used at the species level both in modern and fossil coralline ...

Overfishing and land-derived eutrophication are major local threats to coral reefs and may affect benthic communities, moving them from coral dominated reefs to algal dominated ones. The Central Red Sea is a highly under-investigated area, where healthy coral reefs are contending against intense coastal development. This in-situ study investigated both the independent and combined effects of ma...