Three shallow reef sites were investigated during four seasons Autumn, 2003, Winter, Spring and Summer, 2004) off the Marine Biological Station at Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt. Thirty-eight scleractinian coral species were recorded at the studied sites. Generally, Twenty-six species were affected by more than one factor (such as high temperature, solar radiation, sedimentation and algae), while the last twelve species remained healthy. The affected species (26 species) were divided into the following: five species were affected by combination of high temperature and direct exposure to solar radiation during the neap tide, eleven species only were affected by sedimentation and increasing algal cover and ten species were affected by high temperature, solar... |