Glimpse into the Blue: Corals of the Arabian Gulf

The Arabian Gulf harbors not only a long history of heritage in its waters, but also special coral reefs that, like the inhabitants of the surrounding lands, adapted to harsh environmental conditions.

“I hope our coral reefs are doing okay today.” I had once woken up to that thought. It seemingly is random (and quite nerdy), but coral reefs are in a state of deterioration, especially due to coral bleaching. Many of us know it, and vaguely know how we played into this. But how much should we care?

First, it is important to note that color is far from the only thing corals lose in the bleaching process. This phenomenon is caused by another loss of itself. Coral reefs have an endosymbiotic relationship (a relationship between two organisms wherein one lives in the other and they both benefit) with single-celled photosynthetic organisms called “zooxanthellae”. The endosymbiosis is based on the zooxanthellae’s ability to provide nutrition to the corals, while corals provide carbon dioxide for the zooxanthellae to carry out photosynthesis.

Environmental stresses, most notably global warming, cause the corals to become unable to fulfill their side of the deal, and they then eject their tenants and lose the providers of their nutrition. Bleached corals do not die immediately but gradually starve. And being considered one of the most biologically active ecosystems, coral reefs provide a habitat for critical species, sustaining with that the balance of complex food webs.

In the UAE’s most important water body, the Arabian Gulf, very peculiar corals live. Our waters are naturally warm, saline, and susceptible to thermal fluctuations due to climate and geography. These factors are considered natural stress-inducers to corals, but the ecosystem thrived nonetheless.

Currently, however, given that the ecosystem had already been functioning at the environmental threshold, human activities have pushed them beyond. More than 85% of the coral reefs in the Arabian Gulf are now considered endangered, and an increase of even 1°C – 2°C can trigger mass bleaching events (WWFUAE, 2015), taking along a major pillar of economic prosperity and a long history of culture and heritage.

The genetic composition of the corals of this region and their algae is the basis of their resilience. Studies conducted by researchers at the New York University Abu Dhabi suggests that the discovery of means for the genetic thermal tolerance to spread may hold the key for global coral resilience against climate change. But human-aided migration could introduce diseases, parasites, and invasive species, which compete with native species and cause other threats. And natural dispersal and breeding between species that can tolerate heat and those that cannot may backfire and dilute the tolerance.

The hope is that corals elsewhere will seek out thermotolerant algae like those the Arabian Gulf had (Beyer, 2017). The response to extreme conditions through physiological adaptations, despite the rapid pace of climate change in comparison to the periods that stretch across generations that takes organisms to adapt, provide the slight hope that coral reefs around the world will continue to function, but will not undermine the importance of mitigating the impacts of global warming.

And while urbanization, tourism, and land-use changes also pose the challenge of physical destruction, we also have a bigger hand in bleaching than we might think. For instance, other triggers of the bleaching phenomenon include pollution, increased sea-water levels (a direct result of climate change, and considering that coral reefs exist in shallow waters), and even overfishing, as it causes the uncontrolled increase of oxygen-consuming organisms in the absence of fish that originally would control their numbers.

The UAE’s marine sustainability efforts have been evident. For instance, coral reefs are a conservation target of the World Wildlife Fund UAE marine conservation programme, and pollution and overfishing (despite many species having been exploited up to five times the sustainable levels) have been controlled through federal laws and ministerial decrees by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (UAESDG, 2017).

But John Burt, head of the marine biology laboratories at the New York University Abu Dhabi, has stated that “Coral reefs, marine systems—they don’t recognize borders. The Arabian Gulf is one shared body of water that needs to be managed cohesively by all states. It doesn’t make any sense to limit collaboration when it comes to coastal management and science,” (Beyer, 2017)

So above the politics of the region and the notion of the definitiveness of unsustainable urbanization and human activities, coastline management should become a clear international effort. The loss of these special coral reefs will not only be an ecological disaster for the region, but will stand in the way of further studies that could be carried out to sustain these delicate habitats worldwide.

References:

Beyer, R. (2017) New York University. Lessons from the Arabian Coral Reefs. Retrieved December 14^th, 2017 from https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2017/september/climate-change-lessons-from-arabian-gulf-coral-reefs.html

Emirates Wildlife Society – World Wildlife Fund UAE (2015). EWS-WWF Strategy 2015-2020. World Wildlife Fund UAE. Retrieved December 10^th, 2017 from http://uae.panda.org/about_us/ews_wwf_strategy_2015_2020/?

UAE Portal for Sustainable Development Goals (UAESDG). (2017). Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. UAESDG. Retrieved December 19^th, 2017 from http://uaesdgs.ae/en/goals/life-below-water