Assiut university researches
Common zooplankton of North-west region
(Tabuk) of Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Hamed Obuid-Allah and Adelhadi Aloufi
Abstract:
Introduction No one can deny the importance of taxonomy in
the field of science. One of its major goals is to identify
species that inhabit a certain habitat. Zooplankton refers to
the weak swimming animals or those which move under the
mercy of water current. They occupy a central position in the
food chain in the aquatic ecosystems between primary
producers and higher consumers. Zooplankton plays an
important role in a lake’s ecosystem and food chain. Unlike
algae, or phytoplankton, zooplanktons are microscopic
animals that do not produce their own food. They are
responsible for eating millions of little algae that may
otherwise grow to an out-of control state. Through their
consumption and processing of phytoplankton and other food
sources, zooplankton plays a role in aquatic food webs, as a
resource for consumers on higher trophic levels (including
fish), and as a conduit for packaging the organic material in
the biological pump. Since they are typically small,
zooplankton can respond rapidly to increases in
phytoplankton abundance for instance, during the spring
bloom. The present book is an attempt to identify the
common species of zooplankton inhabiting north-west region
of Saudi Arabia (Tabuk). The species recorded in the book
were collected by the authors through a project funded by
Tabuk University in 2014 (project No. 0151-1434-S). The
sites of collection included 76 sites covered the region. The
sites included a variety of habitat that covered temporary and
permanent ponds, streams, wells, reservoirs, and hot springs.
Some specimens were identified till species level but others
could not be identified due to that they were larvae or
immature stages which make the task very difficult. The book
is considered as a preliminary guide to identify common
zooplankton inhabiting inland waters of Tabuk region and
other regions of Saudi Arabia. The need for such a book
arises from the fact that few previous attempts were made to
record zooplankton in the region. In addition that the region
can be considered as a unique habitat in its characteristics as
an arid habitat. The nature of the habitat is mainly desert, so
it is not easy to reach the areas of collecting without a guide
and the majority of sites were temporary lakes or ponds. So,
the authors of the book hope that this work will initiate future
works in this field in Tabuk and other regions of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia to cover the whole region. It was found better
and more beneficial to add some information about the
collected taxa from different references published around the
world. The book includes the following main topics: an
overview on zooplankton, the investigated sites for collecting
zooplankton at Tabuk region, review on zooplankton of Saudi
Arabia, List of zooplankton recorded at Tabuk region,
description of the common species and the references. The
authors hope that the guide will help the taxonomists to
identify common zooplankton taxa inhabiting inland water of
Tabuk region and other regions in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. Consequently, we hope that this identification of the
taxa will initiate further studies on this important group of
animals. The authors
Key words:
Zooplankton -Freshwater -Tabuk - Saudi arabia
Published in:
Lambert Academic Publishing (LAP),159 pp,159