title: Phenology and Growth dynamics of Avicennia marina in the Central Red Sea.
abstract: The formation of nodes, stem elongation and the phenology of stunted Avicennia marina was examined in the Central Red Sea, where Avicennia marina is at the limit of its distribution range and submitted to extremely arid conditions with salinity above 38 psu and water temperature as high as 35° C. The annual node production was rather uniform among locations averaging 9.59 node y-1, which resulted in a plastocron interval, the interval in between production of two consecutive nodes along a stem, of 38 days. However, the internodal length varied significantly between locations, resulting in growth differences possibly reflecting the environmental conditions of locations. The reproductive cycle lasted for approximately 12 months, and was characterized by peak flowering and propagule development in November and January. These phenological observations provide a starting point for research and restoration programs on the ecology of mangroves in the Central Red Sea, while the plastochrone index reported here would allow calculations of the growth and production of the species from simple morphological measurements.
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Biology Department, University of Dammam (UOD), Dammam 31441-1982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hanan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Almahasheer
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Carlos M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center, Thuwal 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Xabier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Irigoien
mesh_terms: D032407:Avicennia / Q000254:growth & development*; D002980:Climate; D006813:Humidity; D019156:Indian Ocean; D018547:Plant Stems / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D011891:Rain; D012098:Reproduction; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014197:Trees / Q000254:growth & development