ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Molecular Biology and Ecology
Environmental DNA-based metabarcoding reveals a high animal biodiversity level within Red Sea mangrove beds
Provisionally accepted
Khaled Mohammed Geba1
Ahmed Mohamed Elamin2Arwa Hassan2
Essmat Mohammed2
Alaa-Eldin Salah-Eldin2
Eric James Schott3
Asmaa Galal-Khallaf4*- 1Menoufia University, Shebeen El-Kom, Egypt
- 2Aswan University, Sahary City, Egypt
- 3University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, United States
- 4Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Alexandria, Egypt
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Abstract Mangroves play a vital role in stabilizing coastlines, supporting biodiversity, and delivering essential ecosystem services. To assess animal biodiversity in Avicennia marina (grey mangrove) habitats along Egypt's Red Sea governorate's coast, seawater samples were collected for environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis from six key mangrove sites: 17 km and 40 km south of Safaga City, El-Sharm El-Bahary, Wadi El-Gemal, El-Qolaan, and Hamata. For comparison, eDNA was also obtained from two non-mangrove sites in the same region. The eDNA was analyzed via COI gene metabarcoding, and diversity metrics were used to compare habitats. Results revealed 13 fish species exclusive to mangroves, alongside diverse arthropods, poriferans, and cnidarians. Moolgarda sp. (mullets) and Psettodes erumei (Indian halibut) were the most abundant fish species detected. Relative read abundances differed significantly between mangrove and non-mangrove sites, with some species exhibiting dual habitat use (e.g., transitioning between coral and mangrove systems). Diversity and evenness indices showed that biodiversity in mangrove habitats, especially Wadi El-Gemal location, overtook that in non-mangrove locations. Notably, DNA from two marine alien species could be identified, i.e., Anthopleura fuscoviridis (Cnidaria) in a mangrove site, and Callinectes sapidus (Decapoda) in non-mangrove sites. The presence of C. sapidus could be verified by conventional PCR. This study underscores the high biodiversity supported by Red Sea mangroves, emphasizing their ecological and economic value. These findings can inform sustainable management strategies to protect these critical ecosystems for future generations. Deleted: Callinectes Deleted: a conventional
Keywords: eDNA metabarcoding, Mangroves, invasive species, Red Sea, Biodiversity
Received: 15 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Geba, Elamin, Hassan, Mohammed, Salah-Eldin, Schott and Galal-Khallaf. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Asmaa Galal-Khallaf, as_kh_22@yahoo.com
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