The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba
Objective: The reef flats at the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan, are exposed to the accelerated development associated with increased interest in recreational marine activities such as diving and snorkeling. The physical damage from net entanglement and overfishing has also affected the coral reef. This rese...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Istanbul University Press
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Turkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7DEC6B0690A64D0BADAE302456D841F4 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850278432297975808 |
|---|---|
| author | Omar Attum Mohammad Al Tawaha Zachary Giuffre Ehab Eid Abdullah Abu Awali |
| author_facet | Omar Attum Mohammad Al Tawaha Zachary Giuffre Ehab Eid Abdullah Abu Awali |
| author_sort | Omar Attum |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: The reef flats at the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan, are exposed to the accelerated development associated with increased interest in recreational marine activities such as diving and snorkeling. The physical damage from net entanglement and overfishing has also affected the coral reef. This research evaluated the effects of aquatic, commercial, and land-based activities on the total coral cover in the Aqaba Marine Park (Now the Aqaba Marine Reserve) and the power station located north of the reserve.Materials and Methods: The line transect method was used to estimate the coral cover, followed by measuring the distance of the 13 diving sites to the different landscape disturbances and applying a linear regression analysis.Results: The results showed no significant relationship between the distance to the nearest human disturbance and the entire coral cover in the depth categories. In addition, there was no significant difference between low and high-frequency diving pressure and the mean coral cover at any depth category and no significant difference in the mean coral cover between low and high-frequency snorkeling sites. Sites with higher fishing activity had significantly lower coral cover than sites with lower fishing activity. However, there was no significant difference in the mean coral cover between sights with higher and lower fishing activity at the 21-30 m depth range.Conclusion: The study illustrated that local marine recreational activities (diving and snorkeling) do not affect the coral cover structure up to 10 meters depths. However, considerable coral degradation was found in high fishing zones less than 10 meters deep, which correlates with illegal fishing activities. We believe illegal fishing has negatively affected the coral cover, and recreational marine activities reduced coral cover, especially in diving areas requiring shore entrance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e68eb2e4d68405299790bccda1e08bb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2602-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Istanbul University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Turkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e68eb2e4d68405299790bccda1e08bb2025-08-20T01:49:30ZengIstanbul University PressTurkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections2602-42922024-02-01811710.26650/tjbc.1305161123456The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of AqabaOmar Attum0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4489-5542Mohammad Al Tawahahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8696-7172Zachary Giuffre1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6082-0313Ehab Eidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5085-6515Abdullah Abu Awalihttps://orcid.org/0009-0000-2399-9804Indiana Üniversitesi, Indiana, United-StatesIndiana Üniversitesi, Indiana, United-StatesObjective: The reef flats at the Gulf of Aqaba, Jordan, are exposed to the accelerated development associated with increased interest in recreational marine activities such as diving and snorkeling. The physical damage from net entanglement and overfishing has also affected the coral reef. This research evaluated the effects of aquatic, commercial, and land-based activities on the total coral cover in the Aqaba Marine Park (Now the Aqaba Marine Reserve) and the power station located north of the reserve.Materials and Methods: The line transect method was used to estimate the coral cover, followed by measuring the distance of the 13 diving sites to the different landscape disturbances and applying a linear regression analysis.Results: The results showed no significant relationship between the distance to the nearest human disturbance and the entire coral cover in the depth categories. In addition, there was no significant difference between low and high-frequency diving pressure and the mean coral cover at any depth category and no significant difference in the mean coral cover between low and high-frequency snorkeling sites. Sites with higher fishing activity had significantly lower coral cover than sites with lower fishing activity. However, there was no significant difference in the mean coral cover between sights with higher and lower fishing activity at the 21-30 m depth range.Conclusion: The study illustrated that local marine recreational activities (diving and snorkeling) do not affect the coral cover structure up to 10 meters depths. However, considerable coral degradation was found in high fishing zones less than 10 meters deep, which correlates with illegal fishing activities. We believe illegal fishing has negatively affected the coral cover, and recreational marine activities reduced coral cover, especially in diving areas requiring shore entrance.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7DEC6B0690A64D0BADAE302456D841F4aqaba marine reservecoral coverfishing activitiesjordanrecreational marine activities |
| spellingShingle | Omar Attum Mohammad Al Tawaha Zachary Giuffre Ehab Eid Abdullah Abu Awali The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba Turkish Journal of Bioscience and Collections aqaba marine reserve coral cover fishing activities jordan recreational marine activities |
| title | The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba |
| title_full | The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba |
| title_fullStr | The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba |
| title_short | The Effects of Local Aquatic Activities on Coral Cover in the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba |
| title_sort | effects of local aquatic activities on coral cover in the jordanian gulf of aqaba |
| topic | aqaba marine reserve coral cover fishing activities jordan recreational marine activities |
| url | https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/7DEC6B0690A64D0BADAE302456D841F4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT omarattum theeffectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT mohammadaltawaha theeffectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT zacharygiuffre theeffectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT ehabeid theeffectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT abdullahabuawali theeffectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT omarattum effectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT mohammadaltawaha effectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT zacharygiuffre effectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT ehabeid effectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba AT abdullahabuawali effectsoflocalaquaticactivitiesoncoralcoverinthejordaniangulfofaqaba |