1. Coral reefs of the Gulf: Adaptation to climatic extremes in the world's hottest sea Bernhard Riegl, Sam Purkis -- 2. Environmental constraints for reef building in the Gulf Bernhard Riegl and Sam Purkis -- 3. Geomorphology and Reef Building in the SE Gulf Sam Purkis and Bernhard Riegl -- 4.Environmental Setting and Temporal Trends in Southeastern Gulf Coral Communities Kristi Foster, Greg Foster, Ashraf S. Al Cibahy, Suaad Al Harthi, Sam Purkis, Bernhard Riegl -- 5.Dynamics of Gulf coral communities: observations and models from the world's hottest coral sea Bernhard Riegl and Sam Purkis -- 6.Coral bleaching and mortality thresholds in the SE Gulf: highest in the world Bernhard Riegl, Sam Purkis, Ashraf Al-Cibahy, Suaad Al-Harthi, Edwin Grandcourt, Khalifa Al-Sulaiti, James Baldwin, Alaa Abdel-Moati -- 7.Diseases, harmful algae blooms (HABs) and their effects on Gulf coral populations and communities Bernhard Riegl, Andy W. Bruckner, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Sam Purkis -- 8. Reef Fish and Fisheries in the Gulf Edwin Grandcourt -- 9.Extreme physical factors and the structure of Gulf fish and reef communities David A. Feary, John A. Burt, Georgenes H. Cavalcante, Andrew G. Bauman -- 10.Man-made structures as artificial reefs in the Gulf John A. Burt, Aaron Bartholomew, David A. Feary -- 11.The hermatypic scleractinian (hard) coral fauna of the Gulf Bernhard Riegl, Francesca Benzoni, Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Charles Sheppard -- 12.The octocoral fauna of the Gulf Kaveh Samimi-Namin, Leen van Ofwegen -- 13.Reef-associated macroinvertebrates of the SE Gulf J. David George -- 14.Marine algae (Seaweeds) associated with coral reefs in the Gulf David M. John -- 15.Conservation of Marine Ecosystems with a Special View to Coral Reefs in the Gulf Ashraf Al-Cibahy A., Khlaifa Al-Khalifa, and Benno Böer -- 16.Environmental concerns for the future of Gulf coral reefs Charles Sheppard, Mohsen Al-Husiani, F. Al-Jamali, Faiza Al-Yamani, Rob Baldwin, James Bishop, Francesca Benzoni, Eric Dutrieux, Nicholas K Dulvy, Subba Rao V Durvasula, David A. Jones, Ron Loughland, David Medio, M. Nithyanandan , Graham M. Pilling, Igor Polikarpov, Andrew R.G. Price, Sam Purkis, Bernhard Riegl, Maria Saburova, Kaveh Samimi Namin, Oliver Taylor, Simon Wilson, Khadija Zainal.-. Coral Reefs of the Gulf: Adaptation to Climatic Extremes is a complete review and reference for scientists, engineers and students concerned with the geology, biology or engineering aspects of coral reefs in the Middle East. It provides for the first time a complete review of both the geology and biology of all extant coral areas in the Gulf, the water body between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. In summer, this area is the hottest sea with abundant coral growth on earth and already today exhibits a temperature that is predicted to occur across the topical ocean in 2100. Thus, by studying the Gulf today, much can be learned about tomorrow's world and the capability of coral reefs to adapt to climatic extremes. This volume provides the most authoritative and up-to-date review of the coral reefs in the Gulf. It can be used as a volume of general reference or as a textbook treating recent coral reefs. Written by local and international experts, the text is richly illustrated and will remain a standard reference for the region for decades to come. Contributions stretch from climatology through geology, biology, ecological modelling and fisheries science to practical conservation aspects. The book is useful for the technical expert and casual reader alike.