Klemens von Metternich played an important role as leader of the Austrian bureaucrats and diplomats in supporting construction of the Suez Canal. He participated in many ways, often informal ones, which before 1848 resulted from his political circumspection and afterward from the fact that he was just a private individual. His so-to-speak informal diplomacy is interesting not only because it discloses the high level of interest he and other Austrian dignitaries paid to the issue but also because it reveals how accessible Metternich was to those involved in the project regardless of nationality, political leanings, and religion. Metternich's interest in the Suez Canal brought him into contact with Europeans as well as Ottomans, conservatives as well as liberals, and even Saint-Simonians: in other words, all who wished to cooperate for the benefit of central Europe and beyond.

Plocamopherus ocellatus, a conspicuous but very rare Erythraean nudibranch, was first collected in the Mediterranean Sea off the Israeli coast in 1977, but no additional observations from Israeli waters were recorded in the scientific literature. Biodiversity assessment surveys of the hard bottom biota off the Mediterranean coast of Israel and sightings by recreational divers/underwater photographers in the past dozen years seem to support the presence of a local self-sustaining population off the Israeli coast.

Saron marmoratus, a colourful Indo-Pacific ‘marble shrimp’, is newly recorded in the Mediterranean Sea from specimens recently photographed along the Israeli coastline. The colour pattern of the species is described and illustrated. It is the second Indo-Pacific hippolytid species recorded in the Mediterranean.

This study aims to describe the epibiota of the spider crab, Schizophrys dahlak with special reference to epizoic diatoms. Specimens were collected from the Suez Canal between autumn 2008 and summer 2009. Macro-epibionts consisted of the tube worm Hydroides elegans, the barnacles Balanus amphitrite and B. eburneus, the bivalve Brachidontes variabilis and the urochordate Styela plicata. Total coverage of macro-epibionts was greater on females' carapaces than those of males with apparent seasonal variations. The highest coverage was noticed in spring and winter for both males and females. Sixty-five diatoms taxa were recorded as epibionts belonging to 25 genera. The maximal total averages of cell count were observed during summer and spring with the highest average of 10.9 and 4.4 × 103 cells dm−2 for males and females, respectively. A single diatom taxon, Fragilaria intermedia, comprising 73.5% of all epizoic diatoms, was the most dominant species during spring, whereas Amphora coffeaeformis and Cocconeis placentula were the dominants during summer. The masking behaviour of S. dahlak was discussed in terms of the significant role of epizoic diatoms.

The reproductive biology of the commercial seabait polychaete species Perinereis nuntia brevicirris, Lumbrineris funchalensis and Halla parthenopeia was investigated from samples obtained from the Suez Canal, Egypt, to determine sex-ratio, reproductive maturity stages, spawning season, and fecundity. Samples were collected monthly from January 2002 to February 2003. The results of sex-ratio indicated that males of the three studied worms outnumbered females through the whole study period. Based upon histological features of the coelomic contents, four maturity stages were described in females of P. nuntia brevicirris, three stages were described for females of L. funchalensis and three stages for females of H. parthenopeia. The spawning season of P. nuntia brevicirris was found to take place during spring and L. funchalensis does not have a defined breeding season, while H. parthenopeia has two reproductive periods, one in May and the second in November and lasted to January. Fecundity was estimated by counting the number of oocytes per each female—it showed that P. nuntia brevicirris is more fecund (mean = 208.358 ±2080 oocyte/female) than L. fanchalensis and H. parthenopeia (mean = 2660 ±654 and 142,068 ±2005 oocyte/female respectively). This study is the first to document aspects of the reproductive biology of the highly commercial polychaetes in the Suez Canal and adds to our knowledge for understanding their reproductive patterns and strategies.

The radioactivity levels of naturally-occurring 238U, 232Th, 226Ra and 40K and anthropogenic 137Cs in surface water from eight locations in the Suez Canal have been assessed by gamma-ray spectrometry. The samples were further characterized by determination of the common cations and anions using ion chromatography. A comparison of 137Cs radioactivity levels in surface water from the Suez Canal with those of other sea waters is presented. The radioactivity levels of 238U, 232Th, 226Ra and 40K from sea water are also reported. The effect of total dissolved solids (TDS), chloride, sulphate ion concentrations on the radioactivity levels of 238U, 232Th and 226Ra is discussed.