Modern Benthic Foraminiferal Diversity: An Initial Insight into the Total Foraminiferal Diversity along the Kuwait Coastal Water

Abstract

Kuwait territorial water hosts an important part of national biodiversity (i.e., zooplankton and phytoplankton), but very limited information exists on the overall diversity of benthic foraminifera. On the basis of the integration of publications, reports and theses with new available data from the Kuwait Bay and the northern islands, this study infers the total benthic foraminiferal diversity within Kuwait territorial water. This new literature survey documents the presence of 451 species belonging to 156 genera, 64 families, 31 superfamilies and 9 orders. These values are relatively high in consideration of the limited extension and the shallow depth of the Kuwait territorial water. Kuwait waters offer a variety of different environments and sub-environments (low salinity/muddy areas in the northern part, embayment, rocky tidal flats, coral reef systems, islands and shelf slope) that all together host largely diversified benthic foraminiferal communities. These figures are herein considered as underestimated because of the grouping of unassigned species due to the lack of reference collections and materials, as well as the neglection of the soft-shell monothalamids (‘allogromiids’).

Biostratigraphy and Paleoenvironmental Analysis of the Lower Miocene Qom Formation (Jaam Area, Central Iranian Basin)

“…This created the Gomphotherium Landbridge, thus connecting Africa with Eurasia (Rögl 1999). Al-Enezi et al (2020) recently reported the genus Olgita from the coastal zone of Kuwait, the geographically closest, documented occurrence of this taxa to our sampling point. Therefore, our findings of the O. pacifica in the studies samples together with the existing palaeoceanographic data suggest the early Burdigalian age as a possible migration time of the species into the area of the Central Iranian Basin (Fig.…”

Assessing Sediment Contamination in Kuwait Bay: A Comprehensive Environmental Analysis of Effluent Discharge Impact

“…The detection of trace elements in the sediments of Kuwait Bay suggests potential threats to marine fauna from contamination sources such as industries, desalination, power plants, and the influx from the Shatt Al-Arab. The sediment analysis plays a pivotal role in assessing environmental quality within the bay [1]. Trace metals were found in all sediment samples at concentrations below toxic effect thresholds (TET), indicating current contamination levels are low.…”

“…The country shares borders with Iraq to the north and northwest, the Arabian Gulf to the east, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the south and southwest. Spanning an area of approximately 17,818 km 2 , Kuwait's coastline stretches about 500 km, accounting for a significant portion of its territorial waters [1]. The region is characterized by a hyper-arid climate, with long summers and short winters.…”

Editorial for Special Issue “Meiofauna Biodiversity and Ecology”

“…Foraminifera may become a consistent part of meiobenthic communities in marine and transitional environments [22]. Al-Enezi et al [23] document for the first time the biodiversity pattern of benthic foraminifera from Kuwait Bay and the northern islands in this area.…”