The Mediterranean coast of Egypt runs 1200km, from Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip to Salum at the Egyptian-Libyan border. Inshore the land slopes more or less steeply depending on where it is along the coastline. The 100m depth of the water is closer to the shore to the west and the distance gradually increases to the east. At Port Said it is furthest from the shore and further east it becomes closer again. This is caused by the alluvial cone that has built up in front of the mouth of the Nile in the Delta area.
The flora and fauna of the coastal waters are affected by the depth of the water and available food sources. In this zone, the biodiversity is relatively lower than in the Red Sea with primary food sources such as planktonic fauna and flora being limited. However, fairly extensive meadows of the sea grass, Posidonia oceanica and other species are found together with some brown algae such as Sargassum spp. especially along the western sector of the coast. Several species of red and green algae are also found. The sea grasses are vital as nurseries and sources of food for a variety of both invertebrates and vertebrates including the endangered Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, the only one of the sea turtles that is almost exclusively vegetarian.
The benthic or bottom-feeding fauna is also greatly influenced by the type of bottom. Thus a sandy or silty bottom is suitable for certain species of echinoderms, mollusks and polychaetes, while a more stony bottom suits different species.
The invertebrate fauna
of the southeastern Mediterranean is also relatively
less diverse but includes a variety of mollusks (the
largest group inshore), echinoderms and polychaetes
(the largest group offshore). Other invertebrates, including
sponges, bryozoans, and crustaceans are also found in
this zone. Four species of commercially important sponges:
Spongia officinalis, S. agarcinia,
S. zimocca, and Hippospongia communis,
have been recorded from Egyptian waters of the Mediterranean.
There are no true stony
corals in the Mediterranean; however, there are several
species of bryozoans. These are tiny, sessile (immobile),
colonial animals that are usually less than half a millimeter
long. Most of the bryozoans form flat colonies that
will encrust almost any hard surfaces such as shipwrecks,
underwater cables and rocks. Other species form plant-like
structures or erect plates and are called "lace
corals."
Among the vertebrates
there are over 350 species of fish in Egyptian waters
of which about 43 are Indo-Pacific species that have
migrated through the Suez Canal. Many of these fish
are commercially important including various species
of Rabbit Fish, Mullet, Sea Bass, and Groupers. Eight
species of marine mammals have been recorded and, additionally,
it is possible that the rare Monk Seal, Monachus
monachus, may still be found, in suitable habitat
west of Mersa Matruh as it is occasionally found off
the coast of Libya not far from the Egyptian border.
Three species of sea turtles are known from the area:
the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, the Loggerhead
Turtle, Caretta caretta, and the Leatherback
Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea. The Green and
Loggerhead Turtles breed sporadically along the Egyptian
coast. The Leatherback has not been known to nest in
Egyptian waters and is, indeed, the rarest of the three
species.
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