JERUSALEM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli-led research found that the accelerated urban development in Israel's Red Sea resort city of Eilat significantly affected the local marine environment, Bar Ilan University (BIU) said Wednesday.
In the year-long study, published in the journal Global Change Biology, BIU researchers and their colleagues from Israel, Germany and Australia found damage to the biological function of corals in the Red Sea's northern Gulf of Eilat off southern Israel.
The team noted that Eilat releases pollutants such as chemicals, light and noise, which can be harmful to marine environments.
The researchers incorporated sampling at diel, monthly, and seasonal time points, in which they compared corals from an urban area to those from a nearby non-urban area.
It was found that despite the relatively healthy look of the urban corals, their natural biological rhythms and environmental sensory systems were disrupted.
The lunar cycles associated with coral metabolism, predation and biological clock functions have been hampered by urban conditions, resulting in lower physiological performance and the disappearance of reproductive cycles in urban corals, said the study.
"Following the results, scientists should be involved in assessing the potential impact of urbanization on marine areas ahead of urban development decisions," they concluded. ■
