Faiza Al-Yamani

The Gulf: A young sea in decline

This review examines the substantial changes that have taken place in marine habitats and resources of the Gulf over the past decade. The habitats are especially interesting because of the naturally high levels of temperature and salinity stress they experience, which is important in a changing world climate. However, the extent of all natural habitats is changing and their condition deteriorating because of the rapid development of the region and, in some cases from severe, episodic warming episodes. Major impacts come from numerous industrial, infrastructure-based, and residential and tourism development activities, which together combine, synergistically in some cases, to cause the observed deterioration in most benthic habitats. Substantial sea bottom dredging for material and its deposition in shallow water to extend land or to form a basis for huge developments, directly removes large areas of shallow, productive habitat, though in some cases the most important effect is the accompanying sedimentation or changes to water flows and conditions. The large scale of the activities compared to the relatively shallow and small size of the water body is a particularly important issue. Important from the perspective of controlling damaging effects is the limited cross-border collaboration and even intra-country collaboration among government agencies and large projects. Along with the accumulative nature of impacts that occur, even where each project receives environmental assessment or attention, each is treated more or less alone, rarely in combination. However, their combination in such a small, biologically interacting sea exacerbates the overall deterioration. Very few similar areas exist which face such a high concentration of disturbance, and the prognosis for the Gulf continuing to provide abundant natural resources is poor.

Ocean urea fertilization for carbon credits poses high ecological risks

The proposed plan for enrichment of the Sulu Sea, Philippines, a region of rich marine biodiversity, with thousands of tonnes of urea in order to stimulate algal blooms and sequester carbon is flawed for multiple reasons. Urea is preferentially used as a nitrogen source by some cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates, many of which are neutrally or positively buoyant. Biological pumps to the deep sea are classically leaky, and the inefficient burial of new biomass makes the estimation of a net loss of carbon from the atmosphere questionable at best. The potential for growth of toxic dinoflagellates is also high, as many grow well on urea and some even increase their toxicity when grown on urea. Many toxic dinoflagellates form cysts which can settle to the sediment and germinate in subsequent years, forming new blooms even without further fertilization. If large-scale blooms do occur, it is likely that they will contribute to hypoxia in the bottom waters upon decomposition. Lastly, urea production requires fossil fuel usage, further limiting the potential for net carbon sequestration. The environmental and economic impacts are potentially great and need to be rigorously assessed.

The effects of the river diversion, Mesopotamian Marsh drainage and restoration, and river damming on the marine environment of the northwestern Arabian Gulf

This paper summarizes the results of a study, which was conducted during the period of 1996-2005. It assesses the impact of river diversion (Third River), marsh drainage, and marsh restoration on Kuwaits marine environment. The results indicated lower salinity, higher nitrate concentration, higher chlorophyll-a, and higher sedimentation in the northern waters of Kuwait influenced by the discharge of the man-made Third River and marsh drainage. Five estuarine copepod species, which occur only in the northern waters of Kuwait due to their proximity to the mouth of the river, are reported here for the first time. Lower turbidity levels were observed in the northern waters of Kuwait during 2004 and 2005 possibly influenced by the marsh restoration process. The above results indicate the close interrelationship between the upstream river environment and the northern Arabian Gulf. River-related activities in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin have transboundary impacts downstream. Assumptions on the potential effects of the upstream damming of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers on Kuwaits marine environment are included. It is expected that recent and planned river basin modifications in Turkey, Iran and Iraq will significantly reduce river discharge, permanently remove seasonal flooding, and impact the northern Gulfs marine environment, with serious implications for fisheries.

Importance of the freshwater influx from the Shatt-Al-Arab River on the Gulf marine environment

In the northern Gulf, the main source of freshwater is the Shatt Al-Arab River, which is formed by the confluence of Euphrates, Tigris and Karun Rivers. The river and its associated marshes present potential sources of nutrients, organics and pollutants (e.g., hydrocarbons, trace elements, and pesticides) to the Gulf. The importance of the Shatt Al-Arab on the northern Gulf ecosystem is undisputed. This chapter outlines the significance of the freshwater influx to the health of the Gulf ecosystem. However, ongoing and planned river basin modifications in upstream countries will have adverse impacts on the coastal marine environments. Since reliable recent discharge data are not available it is essential to establish immediately a monitoring system (for measuring river discharge and water quality) and in order to assess the current situation as well as expected future impacts on the aquatic environments. The environmental issues of the region have to be discussed and resolved at local, regional and international levels.

Environmental Concerns for the Future of Gulf Coral Reefs

The Gulf is located in a subtropical, hyper-arid region. It is shallow, and bordered by several wealthy states (Fig. 16.1) undergoing rapid economic growth involving substantial construction along shores and offshore regions, underpinned by its oil and gas industry, and by wealth derived from financial centres. Thriving economic activity has, over the past few decades, begun to exert significant pressure on the Gulf’s marine environment. It is changing rapidly, by developments which include construction, substantial coastline alterations, habitat loss, creation of beds of shifting or suspended sediments, and temperature and salinity changes in restricted water flows along the coast, as well as by climate warming. The Gulf suffers from a “shifting baseline syndrome” (Pauly 1995; Sheppard 1995) and it is difficult to find any meaningful baselines, not only because of ongoing, intensive constructions that cause large-scale alterations of the environment, but also because of several recent episodes of marine mortality from seawater warming.

New records of the genus Gambierdiscus in marginal seas of the Indian Ocean

The occurrence of the dinoflagellates belonging to the ciguatera-related genus Gambierdiscus is reported for the first time from the north-western Arabian Gulf and northern Red Sea in the Indian Ocean basin. Gambierdiscus yasumotoi was recorded from two sampling sites on the southern Kuwait coast, and co-occurrence of G. cf. belizeanus and G. yasumotoi was found also in the Gulf of Aqaba in Jordan. The morphology of cells is described on the basis of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy examination.

Post-spill zooplankton distribution in the NW Gulf

The Gulf, a warm and relatively shallow body of water, provides habitat for a rich collection of marine fauna and flora. The acute oil spill in January 1991 (about 6 million barrels of oil), threatened the sensitive ecosystems of the Gulf marine environment and affected 644 km of the coastline of Saudi Arabia. This short-term plankton investigation was conducted as part of the Mt Mitchell 100-day cruise in the Arabian Gulf. The results of the zooplankton survey indicate that there is no detectable effect of the oil pollution on the Gulf zooplankton abundance and distribution at the population level.

PROROCENTRUM BIMACULATUM SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE, PROROCENTRALES), A NEW BENTHIC DINOFLAGELLATE SPECIES FROM KUWAIT (ARABIAN GULF)1

A new benthic dinoflagellate species, Prorocentrum bimaculatum sp. nov., is studied from Kuwait’s marine sediments, based on detailed morphological and molecular data. Cells are large, oblong oval in shape. They are 49.9–55.3 μm long and 38.4–43.2 μm wide. The ornamentation of this new species is peculiar, and characterized by smooth valves with large pores (0.32–0.50 μm) scattered on their surface, except in two circular patches of ∼15 μm in diameter, devoid of ornamentation and located on both sides of the valve centers. The periflagellar area is widely triangular, located in a moderate excavation of the right valve, and comprises nine platelets. The intercalary band of P. bimaculatum is smooth. The molecular phylogenetic position of this new taxon was inferred from SSU and LSU rDNA genes. In both phylogenetic analyses, P. bimaculatum branched with high support with Prorocentrum consutum and formed a clade sister to the one including P. lima and related species such as P. arenarium, P. belizeanum, P. hoffmannianum, and P. maculosum. From the phylogenetic study, since most species related to P. bimaculatum are known for their toxic effects and production of okadaic acid, this new species can be considered as a potential toxin producer, but this has to be analyzed.

Dynamic hydrographic variations in northwestern Arabian Gulf over the past three decades: Temporal shifts and trends derived from long-term monitoring data

Hydrographic variables were monitored in northwestern Arabian Gulf over the past three decades and the time-series data were statistically analyzed. The results show that while salinity has undergone several shifts, seawater temperature exhibited a steady increasing trend since the 1980s. The observed salinity shows strong correlation with Shatt Al-Arab River discharge indicating primary contribution of freshwater to salinity among other factors (evaporation and desalination effluent). Recent data show that salinity is at its highest level in the last 30years with less pronounced seasonal variability in response to severe decline in the freshwater runoff into the northwestern Arabian Gulf. The changes in hydrographic conditions may have significant implications on hydrodynamics, water quality, and ecosystems in the Gulf. Thus, cooperation among the concerned countries - both coastal and riparian nations - would be essential for prevention of further major changes in the Gulf.

A preliminary assessment of harmful algal blooms in Kuwait's marine environment

Microalgal blooms occur in Kuwaits waters year round. Seasonal non-harmful blooms are part of the annual succession in marine ecosystems and are a typical phenomenon in Kuwaits waters as well as in the Gulf region. The ecology and taxonomy of phytoplankton in Kuwaits waters have been studied during the past few decades; however, only very limited detailed taxonomical studies have been done on marine phytoplankton as a whole, as well as on potentially harmful species. Together with the phytoplankton, benthic microalgae are important primary producers and an essential component of the intertidal zone in Kuwaits marine environment. Potentially toxic microalgae were found in the intertidal sediments of Kuwait. A total of 62 identified taxa can be categorized as potentially harmful species in the collected samples from Kuwaits waters and intertidal flats. Among them, 43 taxa are potentially toxic to humans and marine biota, and 10 taxa are potentially harmful to fish and invertebrates. Potentially toxic species are usually recorded in low densities in Kuwaits waters. However, the presence of a significant number of potentially harmful species in its phytoplankton can be regarded as a significant finding with latent hazards for humans and marine ecosystems. Documentation of this sporadic high abundance together with significant species richness of the potentially toxic phytoplankton, requires more intensive and comprehensive studies of Kuwaits marine environment.