Environmental Constraints for Reef Building in the Gulf

Riegl, Bernhard; Purkis, Sam J.

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-3008-3_2

Cited by 25 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The density ranged from 0 to 0.8 urchins/m 2 , with an overall mean of 0.38 urchins/m 2 . Nonetheless, the density was still less than the reported typical density of 7 urchins/ m 2 in the region (Riegl and Purkis, 2012).…”

Section: Sediment Accumulationcontrasting

confidence: 55%

Coral Relocation as Habitat Mitigation for Impacts from the Barzan Gas Project Pipeline Construction, Offshore Qatar

Deb

McCarthy²,

Harkanson³

2014

SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment

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The Barzan Gas Project is a critical program to deliver natural gas to Qatar's future industries. This project was expected to cause impacts to shallow coral communities during pipeline construction from Qatar's North Field to onshore. To partially meet the state's environmental clearance for the project whilst supporting the state's national vision, RasGas Company Limited developed a project-specific Coral Management, Relocation, and Monitoring Plan that incorporated proven methodologies to relocate at-risk coral colonies to a suitable location. The coral relocation project includes the following:i.an initial Benthic Environmental Survey (BES) to assess coral colonies' health and suitability for relocation; ii.relocation of more than 1,600 corals from the pipeline corridor to a habitat specifically created for the reattachment of the coral colonies due to the lack of available hard bottom substrate containing 550 native quarried limestone boulders; and iii.a five (5) year monitoring program to assess the health of the reattached coral colonies, colonization of the artificial habitat and document reef fish associated with the recipient site.Preliminary monitoring results indicate that the relocated corals were of comparable health and exhibited similar signs of stress as the reference corals. This paper presents monitoring results from Surveys II (January 2013) and III (July 2013) which were assessed for the following categories -reattached colony bonding status, colony health assessment, benthic characterization, reef fish assemblage, sediment accumulation, sea urchin density and water column data.RasGas will continue to monitor and report on the Barzan coral monitoring program as it matures and incorporate lessons learned. This paper has reported on the data from the two 2013 surveys following the post-relocation baseline survey in 2012. Despite the initial challenges to find a suitable substrate, the quarried limestone boulders have proven to be a sustainable habitat for the relocated corals, associated fauna and reef fish populations. The project will hopefully contribute to the body of existing knowledge for building successful coral relocation programs in the Gulf and stand as testament to RasGas' commitment to protecting Qatar's precious offshore biodiversity.

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Section: Sediment Accumulationcontrasting

confidence: 55%

Coral Relocation as Habitat Mitigation for Impacts from the Barzan Gas Project Pipeline Construction, Offshore Qatar

Deb

McCarthy²,

Harkanson³

2014

SPE International Conference on Health, Safety, and Environment

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“…Here, summer temperatures remain above 34 • C for several consecutive weeks and reach highs of 36 • C, exceeding the survival limits of most corals living in other locations and regions by 2-6 • C (Riegl et al, 2011). Due to the shallow and semi-enclosed nature of the Gulf, corals in this region are routinely exposed to not only extremely high temperatures but to a suite of additional harsh conditions (Sheppard, 1993;Riegl and Purkis, 2012). Winter temperatures can reach lows of 18 • C, approaching the lower limit for reef development (Kleypas et al, 1999), the seawater is chronically hypersaline (39-46 psu), and frequent sediment resuspension causes periods of light limitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species-Specific Coral Calcification Responses to the Extreme Environment of the Southern Persian Gulf

et al. 2018

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Sustained accretion of calcium carbonate (mostly by scleractinian corals) is fundamental for maintaining the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems, but may be greatly constrained by extreme and rapidly changing environmental conditions. Corals in the southern Persian Gulf already experience extreme temperature ranges (<20 to >34 • C), chronic hypersalinity (>43 psu) and frequent light limitation (<100 µmol photons m −2 s −1). We compared annual rates of calcification for two of the most common coral species in the region (Platygyra daedalea and Cyphastrea microphthalma) along marked gradients in environmental conditions in the southern Persian Gulf and into the Oman Sea. Overall calcification rates were 32% higher in P. daedalea colonies (x = 1.103 g cm −2 y −1 , n = 46) than in C. microphthalma (x = 0.835 g cm −2 y −1 , n = 37), probably reflecting inter-specific differences in energy allocation and skeletal density. There was also considerable variation in calcification rates among individual colonies from the same locations that was unrelated to depth or photosymbiont type. However, most interestingly, P. daedalea and C. microphthalma exhibited contrasting trends in mean annual calcification rates across locations. For P. daedalea, calcification rates were lowest at Delma, where the minimum temperatures were lowest and salinity was highest, and increased across the southern Persian Gulf with increases in minimum temperatures and decreases in salinity. These data suggest that calcification rates of P. daedalea are most constrained by minimum temperatures, which is consistent with the strong relationship between annual calcification rates and minimum local temperatures recorded across the Indo-Pacific. Conversely, linear extension and calcification of C. microphthalma in the southern Persian Gulf was lowest at Ras Ghanada, where there was lowest light and highest maximum temperatures. These data reveal striking taxonomic differences in the specific environmental constraints on coral calcification, which will further reinforce changes in the structure of coral assemblages with ongoing global climate change.

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“…Loss of the coral fragments can only be attributed to the sea sonal weather patterns, when strong northwesterly winds, locally known as 'Shamal', hit the southern basin of Arabian Gulf at a speed of 40-50 km/h with gusts up to 100 km/h during winter (Riegl and Purkis 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Corals in the Arabian Gulf survive dailymean surface water temperatures exceeding 32℃ in summer (June-Septem ber) and as low as 12℃ in winter (January-March), an annual range of 20℃, (Purkis et al 2011;Riegl and Purkis 2012), much higher than other coral reefs of the world. In spite of being remarkably thermotolerant (Hume et al 2013;2015), coral reefs of Arabian Gulf are still declining (Riegl 1999(Riegl , 2002 Once dominant reef building coral, Acropora spp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a coral nursery as a sustainable resource for reef restoration in Abu Al Abyad Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Arabian Gulf

Sen¹,

Yousif²

2016

Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies

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Populations of once dominant reef building coral Acropora clathrata in Arabian Gulf is declining, mainly due to thermal bleaching and anthropogenic fac tors such as rapid urbanization, toxic wastes, destructive fishing practices, land reclamation and sedimentation. To actively restore coral populations, continuous supply of corals is required without causing damage to the existing reefs. In this study, as part of the coral gardening approach, mid water coral nurseries were constructed in Abu Al Abyad Island, United Arab Emirates following the coral tree nursery model. Six hundred fragments, with an aver age length of 6.32 cm (SD ±1.23 cm) of Acropora clath rata were mounted in the nursery and reared for 21 months while monitoring the health of the fragments continuously and estimating the growth rate and survivorship of the corals every three months. Only 9.8% of mortality was recorded in the entire study period, while a linear growth rate of 6.44 cm･year -1 (SD ±0.72) was achieved in the first 12 months and 9.25 cm･year -1 (SD ±0.63) in the re maining 9 months. Almost negligible mortality and satis factory growth of corals during the entire nursery period suggest that the coral tree nursery model is suitable for propagating A. clathrata in Arabian Gulf.

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Environmental Constraints for Reef Building in the Gulf

Cited by 25 publications

References 64 publications

Coral Relocation as Habitat Mitigation for Impacts from the Barzan Gas Project Pipeline Construction, Offshore Qatar

Coral Relocation as Habitat Mitigation for Impacts from the Barzan Gas Project Pipeline Construction, Offshore Qatar

Species-Specific Coral Calcification Responses to the Extreme Environment of the Southern Persian Gulf

Development of a coral nursery as a sustainable resource for reef restoration in Abu Al Abyad Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Arabian Gulf

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