Marine biologist has high hopes for new Red Sea Research Center
"There is massive potential for marine science research in the Red Sea as it is under studied compared to other oceans around the world, " explains, Professor Terry Hughes, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University (Australia), a keynote speaker at the recent Red Sea Research Center (RSRC) Symposium.
"We know less about the coral reefs in the Red Sea compared to others around the world. For example the Caribbean reefs have a huge selection of literature on them, as do the Pacific and Australian reefs. These reefs have been studied for nearly 40 years," said Professor Hughes.
Professor Hughes is one of the world's leading marine biologists. In Australia he leads several coral reef research initiatives and has directed scientific teams to 15 islands along the Indo-Pacific Biodiversity Gradient (from Indonesia to French Polynesia). Currently he is investigating the links between coral reef ecology and the welfare of human society.
The biodiversity (variety of life present in an ecosystem) of the Red Sea is the second largest in the world after the Coral Triangle (Indonesian-Philippines region, and far Southwestern Pacific). Many of the species present in the waters are endemic, in that they can only be found in the Red Sea.
Professor Hughes said that the development of a basic taxonomy of this biodiversity– one of the RSRC's core aims – will be crucial to future marine research in the region.
"Fundamental marine research has to be done as a basis for future investigation. Developing it will be a never-ending task, but establishing it will be a great step forward," explained Professor Hughes.
Giving the RSRC a multi-disciplinary approach, Professor Hughes said, is a "very intelligent move." He explained that center had "identified several quality research areas to focus on" at a "very early stage".
"Researchers are scaling up projects and are looking at more expansive, system-wide biological questions. So you cannot determine what is going on in the Red Sea in the next 30 years from a six-week expedition." said Professor Hughes.
"Long-term data and large-scale focus are required. The RSRC is at the start of this, but it has scarcely begun."
RSRC Symposium
To celebrate the Inauguration of the RSRC, the University hosted a three-day symposium that brought together researchers from around the world who are working to understand the Red Sea's environment.
The Symposium emphasized two main research aspects - results from recent expeditions, field and modeling work in the Red Sea and potential application of research results on similar systems.
Red Sea Research Center
The Red Sea Research Center at KAUST will develop an integrated understanding of coral reef ecosystems and their oceanographic context - the physical, chemical, biological and geological environment, the stresses arising from natural as well as anthropogenic factors including overfishing, pollution, coastal development, and global climate change.
The primary focus of the Red Sea Research Center is to develop a scientific basis for sustaining and conserving coral reef environments along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.