Kuwait's marine biodiversity: Qualitative assessment of indicator habitats and species.

The tropical waters of the Northern Arabian Gulf have a long history of maritime resource richness. High levels of biodiversity result from the complex matrix of coastal habitats, coral reefs and sea grass beds that characterise the region. Insight into the ongoing health of such habitats and the broader Kuwait maritime environment can be gauged by the status of indicator species found within these habitats. Here we review information on the occurrence, distribution and threats to key marine habitats and associated indicator species to provide an updated assessment of the state of the Kuwait's marine biodiversity. Critical evaluation of historic data highlights knowledge gaps needed inform the focus of future monitoring and conservation efforts. This assessment is designed to evaluate performance against environmental policy commitments, while providing a solid foundation for the design of comprehensive marine ecosystem management strategies.

Screening for contaminant hotspots in the marine environment of Kuwait using ecotoxicological and chemical screening techniques.

Kuwait is a country with low rainfall and highly concentrated industrial and domestic effluents entering its coastal waters. These can be both treated and untreated. In this study we sampled a series of coastal and open-sea sites and used a variety of analyses to identify those sites requiring the most attention. We used a high throughput GC-MS screen to look for over 1000 chemicals in the samples. Estrogen and androgen screens assessed the potential to disrupt endocrine activity. An oyster embryo development screen was used to assess biological effect potential. The chemical screen identified sites which had high numbers of identified industrial and domestic chemicals. The oyster screen showed that these sites had also caused high levels of developmental abnormalities with 100% of embryos affected at some sites. The yeast screen showed that estrogenic chemicals were present in outfalls at 2-3 ng/l E2 equivalent, and detectable even in some open water sites.

Baseline survey of marine sediments collected from the State of Kuwait: PAHs, PCBs, brominated flame retardants and metal contamination.

A geographically extensive baseline survey of sediment contamination was undertaken at twenty nine locations around Kuwait. Samples were assessed in relation to a wide range of industrial pollutants, including metals, PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs. The data generated indicated that levels of pollutants were generally low and below commonly applied sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). However, naturally high background concentrations of certain metals present in sediment from the region may prohibit the direct assessment against some of the routinely applied SQGs. Hot spots of contamination were identified for PAHs, PCBs and PBDEs, that were mainly associated with the Shuaiba Industrial Area, located south of the city, and known to contain a diverse mix of both light and heavy industry.

Microbial water quality and sedimentary faecal sterols as markers of sewage contamination in Kuwait.

Microbial water quality and concentrations of faecal sterols in sediment have been used to assess the degree of sewage contamination in Kuwait's marine environment. A review of microbial (faecal coliform, faecal streptococci and Escherichia coli) water quality data identified temporal and spatial sources of pollution around the coastline. Results indicated that bacterial counts regularly breach regional water quality guidelines. Sediments collected from a total of 29 sites contained detectable levels of coprostanol with values ranging from 29 to 2420 ng g(-1) (dry weight). Hot spots based on faecal sterol sediment contamination were identified in Doha Bay and Sulaibikhat Bay, which are both smaller embayments of Kuwait Bay. The ratio of epicoprostanol/coprostanol indicates that a proportion of the contamination was from raw or partially treated sewage. Sewage pollution in these areas are thought to result from illegal connections and discharges from storm drains, such as that sited at Al-Ghazali.

Histopathology and contaminant concentrations in fish from Kuwait's marine environment.

Kuwait has witnessed major socioeconomic and industrial development in recent decades. Consequently, a variety of contaminants related to these activities have been discharged directly into the marine environment. This paper describes the application of a histopathology baseline survey in two potential sentinel species, the Giant sea catfish (Arius thalassinus) and the Fourlined terapon (Pelates quadrilineatus) to assess the health of biota inhabiting Kuwait's marine environment. Histological analysis revealed several lesion types in both species, although the prevalence was generally considered low with no discernible differences between sampling locations. The analysis of contaminant burdens (metals, PCBs, PBDEs, HBCDD) in A. thalassinus, along with the analysis of bile for PAH metabolites in both species, indicated that levels of contaminant exposure was low. Overall the data show that both species appear to be susceptible to pathologies associated with environmental contaminants and therefore suitable for further investigation as sentinel organisms for biological effects monitoring.