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Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution
A study of 50 samples of Polychaeta mainly from a northern profile (0.5 - 550 m) and down to 800 m, reveals that the fauna is characterised by extremely small specimens and a great taxonomic divergence. Techniques of handling minute specimens are described, together with 21 new species, including th...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Biological Sciences
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613641332752384 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Gitay, Asher |
| author2 | Day, J H |
| author_browse | Day, J H Gitay, Asher |
| author_facet | Day, J H Gitay, Asher |
| author_sort | Gitay, Asher |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | A study of 50 samples of Polychaeta mainly from a northern profile (0.5 - 550 m) and down to 800 m, reveals that the fauna is characterised by extremely small specimens and a great taxonomic divergence. Techniques of handling minute specimens are described, together with 21 new species, including three subspecies, six new genera and a new subgenus. The discovery of aberrant genera indicates a substantial endemism, the evolution of which is enabled by: (a) the narrow Straits of Tiran which separates the Gulf from the Red Sea proper; (b) the hydrographical factors causing vertical homogeneity of temperature, salinity and oxygen, as well as (c) a possible zone of convergence which isolates the Gulf's northern part to an as yet unknown degree. The pattern of family distribution and specimen frequencies confirms the existence of six successive benthic associations along an analysed sediment profile. The poor biomass of the fauna indicates that the Gulf has an overall low productivity, caused by the limited amount of fresh water run-off, low content of organic matter and small quantities of nutrients. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17728 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:39:22.709Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/17728 Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution Gitay, Asher Day, J H Zoology A study of 50 samples of Polychaeta mainly from a northern profile (0.5 - 550 m) and down to 800 m, reveals that the fauna is characterised by extremely small specimens and a great taxonomic divergence. Techniques of handling minute specimens are described, together with 21 new species, including three subspecies, six new genera and a new subgenus. The discovery of aberrant genera indicates a substantial endemism, the evolution of which is enabled by: (a) the narrow Straits of Tiran which separates the Gulf from the Red Sea proper; (b) the hydrographical factors causing vertical homogeneity of temperature, salinity and oxygen, as well as (c) a possible zone of convergence which isolates the Gulf's northern part to an as yet unknown degree. The pattern of family distribution and specimen frequencies confirms the existence of six successive benthic associations along an analysed sediment profile. The poor biomass of the fauna indicates that the Gulf has an overall low productivity, caused by the limited amount of fresh water run-off, low content of organic matter and small quantities of nutrients. 2016-03-14T07:22:25Z 2016-03-14T07:22:25Z 1973 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17728 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Zoology Gitay, Asher Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| title_full | Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| title_fullStr | Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| title_short | Red Sea Polychaetes from the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba) : a contribution to the knowledge of the Polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| title_sort | red sea polychaetes from the gulf of elat aqaba a contribution to the knowledge of the polychaeta fauna and the environmental conditions which affects its distribution |
| topic | Zoology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/17728 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT gitayasher redseapolychaetesfromthegulfofelataqabaacontributiontotheknowledgeofthepolychaetafaunaandtheenvironmentalconditionswhichaffectsitsdistribution |