Is the development of desalination compatible with sustainable development of the Arabian Gulf?

The development of desalination has been essential to the rapid economic development of the countries bordering the Arabian Gulf. The current production capacity of sea water desalination plants drawing water from Gulf is over 20 million m3 day-1, which may rise to 80 million m3 day-1 by 2050. Whilst supporting aspects of sustainable development related to water and sanitation, desalination impacts the marine environment through impingement and entrainment of organisms in intakes, and through thermal, brine and chemical discharges. This may compromise other objectives for sustainable development related to sustainable use of the oceans. Under business as usual scenarios, by 2050, the impact of individual desalination plants will combine causing a regional scale impact. Without mitigating actions to avoid the business as usual scenario, by 2050, desalination in combination with climate change, will elevate coastal water temperatures across more than 50% of the Gulf by at least 3 °C, and a volume of water equivalent to more than a third of the total volume of water between 0 and 10 m deep will pass through desalination plants each year. This will adversely impact the coastal ecosystem of the Gulf, with impacts on biodiversity, fisheries and coastal communities and may cause potential loss of species and habitats from the Gulf. Given the significant implications of these preliminary findings, and in light of the precautionary approach to management, it is recommended that mitigating options addressing behavioural, regulatory and technological change are rapidly evaluated and implemented to avoid the development of desalination in the region along a business as usual pathway, and multidisciplinary research studies should be conducted to reduce uncertainty in predictions of future impacts.

Synthesis and evaluation of coastal and marine biodiversity spatial information in the United Arab Emirates for ecosystem-based management.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) host valuable coastal and marine biodiversity that is subjected to multiple pressures under extreme conditions. To mitigate impacts on marine ecosystems, the UAE protects almost 12% of its Exclusive Economic Zone. This study mapped and validated the distribution of key coastal and marine habitats, species and critical areas for their life cycle in the Gulf area of the UAE. We identified gaps in the current protection of these ecological features and assessed the quality of the data used. The overall dataset showed good data quality, but deficiencies in information for the coastline of the north-western emirates. The existing protected areas are inadequate to safeguard key ecological features such as mangroves and coastal lagoons. This study offers a solid basis to understand the spatial distribution and protection of marine biodiversity in the UAE. This information should be considered for implementing effective conservation planning and ecosystem-based management.

Symbiont community stability through severe coral bleaching in a thermally extreme lagoon.

Coral reefs are threatened by climate change as coral-algal symbioses are currently living close to their upper thermal limits. The resilience of the algal partner plays a key role in determining the thermal tolerance of the coral holobiont and therefore, understanding the acclimatory limits of present day coral-algal symbioses is fundamental to forecasting corals' responses to climate change. This study characterised the symbiont community in a highly variable and thermally extreme (Max = 37.5 °C, Min = 16.8 °C) lagoon located in the southern Persian/Arabian Gulf using next generation sequencing of ITS2 amplicons. Despite experiencing extreme temperatures, severe bleaching and many factors that would be expected to promote the presence of, or transition to clade D dominance, the symbiont communities of the lagoon remain dominated by the C3 variant, Symbiodinium thermophilum. The stability of this symbiosis across multiple genera with different means of symbiont transmission highlights the importance of Symbiodinium thermophilum for corals living at the acclimatory limits of modern day corals. Corals in this extreme environment did not undergo adaptive bleaching, suggesting they are living at the edge of their acclimatory potential and that this valuable source of thermally tolerant genotypes may be lost in the near future under climate change.

Oman's coral reefs: A unique ecosystem challenged by natural and man-related stresses and in need of conservation.

Oman contains diverse and abundant reef coral communities that extend along a coast that borders three environmentally distinct water bodies, with corals existing under unique and often stressful environmental conditions. In recent years Oman's reefs have undergone considerable change due to recurrent predatory starfish outbreaks, cyclone damage, harmful algal blooms, and other stressors. In this review we summarize current knowledge of the biology and status of corals in Oman, particularly in light of recent stressors and projected future threats, and examine current reef management practices. Oman's coral communities occur in marginal environmental conditions for reefs, and hence are quite vulnerable to anthropogenic effects. We recommend a focus on developing conservation-oriented coral research to guide proactive management and expansion of the number and size of designated protected areas in Oman, particularly those associated with critical coral habitat.

Coral spawning in the Gulf of Oman and relationship to latitudinal variation in spawning season in the northwest Indian Ocean.

Despite a wealth of information on sexual reproduction in scleractinian corals, there are regional gaps in reproductive records. In the Gulf of the Oman in the Arabian Sea, reproductive timing was assessed in four common species of broadcast spawning corals using field surveys of gamete maturity and aquarium observations of spawning activity. The appearance of mature gametes within the same month for Acropora downingi, A. hemprichii, Cyphastrea microphthalma and Platygyra daedalea (≥ 75% of colonies, n = 848) indicated a synchronous and multi-specific spawning season. Based on gamete disappearance and direct observations, spawning predominantly occurred during April in 2013 (75-100% of colonies) and May in 2014 (77-94% of colonies). The difference in spawning months between survey years was most likely explained by sea temperature and the timing of lunar cycles during late-stage gametogenesis. These reproductive records are consistent with a latitudinal gradient in peak broadcast spawning activity at reefs in the northwestern Indian Ocean which occurs early in the year at low latitudes (January to March) and progressively later in the year at mid (March to May) and high (June to September) latitudes.

Fish communities on the world's warmest reefs: what can they tell us about the effects of climate change in the future?

To examine the role of climatic extremes in structuring reef fish communities in the Arabian region, reef fish communities were visually surveyed at four sites within the southern Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf and The Gulf), where sea-surface temperatures are extreme (range: 12-35° C annually), and these were compared with communities at four latitudinally similar sites in the biogeographically connected Gulf of Oman, where conditions are more moderate (range: 22-31° C annually). Although sites were relatively similar in the cover and composition of coral communities, substantial differences in the structure and composition of associated fish assemblages were apparent. Fish assemblages in the southern Persian Gulf held significantly lower estimates of abundance, richness and biomass, with significantly higher abundances of smaller sized individuals than Gulf of Oman assemblages. Functionally, southern Persian Gulf sites held significantly lower abundances of nearly all the common fish trophic guilds found on Gulf of Oman sites, although higher abundances of herbivorous grazers were apparent. These results suggest the potential for substantial changes in the structure of reef-associated fish communities, independent of changes in habitat within an environment of increasing fluctuations in oceanic climate.

Investigation of a multiyear multiple critical care unit outbreak due to relatively drug-sensitive Acinetobacter baumannii: risk factors and attributable mortality.

From 1990 to 1993, an outbreak of respiratory Acinetobacter baumannii infection occurred in five intensive care units (ICUs) of a tertiary care center. A. baumannii was subsequently isolated from disinfected temperature probes and ventilator circuits. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis suggested that a single strain accounted for 93% of patient isolates and 88% of environmental isolates. Univariate risk factors for A. baumannii acquisition were tracheostomy (P < .01), ventilation >3 days (P < .01), dialysis (P = .03), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia respiratory colonization (P = .02), parenteral nutrition (P = .05), and enteric feeding (P < .01). Logistic regression analysis showed duration of ventilation and enteric feeding to be independent risk factors. The outbreak strain was relatively antibiotic-susceptible, but the mortality attributable to respiratory A. baumannii acquisition was 23%. Only the APACHE II score was independently associated with increased mortality. Multifaceted control measures, including gas sterilization of temperature probes, terminated the outbreak.

Acoustically resonant pulsed photoacoustic technique for liquids.

The use of resonant piezoceramic transducers in the pulsed photoacoustic technique and the effect of the focusing of the probing beam have been investigated experimentally. The improved sensitivity for resonant detection and for more tightly focused probing beams has been verified. The constraints imposed when working with tightly focused beams are noted.