Status of Breeding Seabirds in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Abstract

The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden represent a complex and unique tropical marine ecosystem. The Red Sea was formed by the northerly extension of the African rift valley system and is about 2,000 km long. The Gulf of Aden is a branch of the Indian Ocean and has a length of 1,400 km. The region has a remarkably high biological diversity and a high degree of endemism, particularly for fish and corals. Information available on seabirds for the region is limited, with the majority of studies carried out one to two decades ago. Accounts indicate that there are 17 true seabird species and 14 other water bird species. Among these birds the Jouanin’s petrel and swift tern have the smallest sub-populations. The white-eyed gull, endemic to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, has large populations on the northern Egyptian Red Sea islands unlike the sooty gull and spoonbill that are apparently abundant in the southern Red Sea.