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Qatar University Life Science Symposium 2008 (QULSS 2008): Biological Diversity of Qatar, 20 (Sat) – 21 (Sun) December 2008 Abstracts 1 – Keynote Talk Prof Nigel Leader-Williams, Director, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent, UK Qatar's role in conserving biodiversity Humanity’s relationship with the world’s biodiversity has become
 increasingly destructive during the past 70,000 years that people have
 colonised the land and exploited the sea. The pace of destruction has now
 accelerated to the point that scientists believe we have entered a new
 period in the Earth’s history – the Anthropocene. Obvious examples of
 biodiversity loss include the felling of tropical rainforests, the poaching
 if the last few Siberian tigers, or climate change that is pushing the Cape
 Floral kingdom off the bottom of the African continent. Fragile desert
 biodiversity is also under threat. The implications of this degradation for
 humanity are dire. Biodiversity is the life support system upon which
 humanity depends, in providing the food on our tables and the air we
 breathe. The recent Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the first comprehensive
 evaluation of the health of the biosphere, tells us that our planet is
 descending into a dangerous positive feedback loop of biodiversity loss, of
 degraded natural habitats and of the ecosystem services they provide. An
 ambitious international target has been set to slow the tide of extinction
 by 2010. Qatar has an important role to play in this struggle, both in
 ensuring the conservation of its own biodiversity, and in playing a key role
 on the international stage. 2 – Current Status Prof Ekhlas Abdel Bari, Professor of Botany, Environmental Studies Center, University of Qatar Current general status of the biodiversity of Qatar

Dr Mohamed Alaa Abdel-Moati, Ministry of Environment, Qatar Coral Reef Biodiversity and Conservation in Qatar Coral reefs were visited and evaluated at all major localities along the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Qatar where important reef resources are known to exist. Corals reefs in Qatar are facing several stressors both natural and man-made. Natural stresses are increased salinity as well as extreme temperature events (both positive as well as negative excursions that cause wide coral death). Such events occurred in 1996 and 1998 as well as 2002. These events are natural, and mass coral mortality over wide areas is a repeated phenomenon. Man-Made stresses include dredging

activities, thermal plumes, tourism, over-exploitation of the reef resources (in particular fish) as well as physical disturbances. Twenty species around Halul Island, 8 species at Khor Al-Odaid and 4 species at Umm Al-Arshan were recorded during the 2004 and 2005-2007 coral surveys. Umm Al Arshan site (located about 20 Km northeast to Qatar) was the least affected by the 1996/98 coral mortality. Halul Island and Umm Al Arshan had regenerated most of the lost corals and showed healthy populations. Most other sites still express significantly depressed cover and species diversity. Through a joint collaboration between the Ministry of Environment (Qatar), Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD), National Coral Reef Institute, Florida, USA (NCRI), WWF/EWS, and Dolphin Energy, a three years project entitled ‘Inventory and Map: Coral Reefs of Abu Dhabi and Eastern Qatar’ involved recording and mapping coral reefs between Abu Dhabi and Qatar, assessing the condition and potential for recovery of degraded systems and, at the same time, building capacity of national researchers. The overall goal is development of a conservation and management plan for the coral habitats. Corals have been studied, mapped, groundtruthed, photographed; species identified; and inferences drawn. Work revealed that although overall coral biodiversity remains depressed in the region, it is clear that, given protection and with good management, reefs may fully recover from the damage suffered during past stress events. Qatar succeeded recently in relocation of corals that were expected to be damaged by major development projects along the coastline off Ras Laffan Industrial City to other protected areas.

Dr. Atef Kamel, Environmental Health and Safety Expert,
 Ministry of Municipal Affaris & Agriculture, Qatar Terrestrial Biodiversity of Qatar Qatar's terrestrial biodiversity is unique and support approximately 1,000 known species. These include 8 mammals, 255 birds, 29 reptiles, one amphibian and 228 invertebrates. Of the terrestrial species about 27 are at risk. These include according to the IUCN Red List as: Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VN),(LR), and Data Deficient (DD). The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), inhabited the deserts until a century ago (Brook et.al.2006). It is now extinct in the wild (EW) but reintroduction programs are attempting to introduce the captively bred Reem or sand gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) and Ostrich (Struthio camelus) which have been successfully re-introduced in Boroug releasing sites (2003 &2006), respectively. Other mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates species are present now in Qatar's environment in low numbers and without sufficient data showing their population estimates, species distribution, habitat evaluation, health and conservation status. Qatar ratified as party to the (CBD), (CCD), CITES Conventions, International conventions for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL) and recently ratified the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol (GMOs) of the CBD in early 2007 and is now implementing (2008). Qatar have completed National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP, 2004) that outline the conservation strategy, policies and procedures of the country to implement the CBD convention to reduce biodiversity loss. Qatar's Protected areas are considered as one among eleven strategic goals for biodiversity conservation after enacting the 2004 law concerning the protection of wildlife and

their Natural habitats. Qatar has five designated protected areas for the terrestrial ecosystems and three for the marine environment comprise together about 18% of the terrestrial area of Qatar . These include the newly designated A Reem biosphere reserve, Al Thakira marine protected area, Shahanniya, Khor Al Udaid, Al Weseil, Al Oraiq and Al Mas'habiya. Shahanniya, Al Mas'habiya and Ras Usherig were mainly captive breeding sites for endangered Arabian Oryx , Gazelles species and Ostriches. 3 – Biodiversity Issues Dr Mohammad Albeldawi, Qatar Petrolium, Qatar Biodiversity: legal requirement, mitigation and compensation mechanism Biodiversity is the variety of all life in a given location including the variety of species of plants and animals, variety of genes contained in all individual organisms, the variety of habitats, biological communities and ecological processes. Currently, producers and consumers under value the significance of loss of biodiversity in developing projects, under conserve biodiversity as there is no workable, sound science methodologies and specific guidelines and therefore maintain no explicit biodiversity policy. In fact biodiversity contributes to the quality of life, it yields aesthetic pleasure and hold cultural significance. Therefore, if biodiversity to be conserved, there is a need to change behavior and to replace or modify economic activities that give rise to biodiversity degradation and loss. One of the critical approaches to control biodiversity conservation is to identify and manage the balance between industrial and commercial development and the necessary mitigation and compensation measures taken to create and implement biodiversity offset plan. There is also need to define mechanisms to overcome practice that lead to biodiversity deterioration, and to set in place policy and guidelines for biodiversity conservation. This paper describes the biodiversity principles, environmental legal requirements, means of mitigation and compensation mechanisms for land use and impacts.

Dr. Mehsin Abdullar Al-Ansi; Director, Environmental Studies Centre, University of Qatar, Qatar Turtle conservation in Qatar

Prof Ekhlas Abdel Bari, Professor of Botany, Environmental Studies Center, University of Qatar, Qatar Ecological restoration Ecological restoration plays an important role in major governmental plans in a number of developed countries. They attempt to conserve biodiversity, habitats and landscape where they would normally would have been perished and biodiversity will be lost. Ecological restoration may be considered as a healing process to a damaged habitat and its occupants. There are 4 Rs involved in ecological restoration: Restoration, Rehabitation, Reclamation and Recovery. We shall consider the relevant

information and will discuss the experience of the E.S.Center in Ecological restoration

Dr Jasim Al-Khayat, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar Marine biodiversity of the State of Qatar The study reviews the current status of taxonomic knowledge of marine biodiversity of the State of Qatar, focusing on the macro-fauna and macro-flora of the intertidal, sub-tidal and their various ecosystems. The taxonomy of some biota particularly the invertebrate taxa remains a challenge to specialists and as a result these taxa continue to be inadequately known from Qatari waters. Such groups include polychaetes, sponges and hydrozoa. However, there is a considerable great knowledge on the taxonomy and diversity of groups such as macroalgae, seagrasses, corals, crustacean, molluscs, echinoderms, fishes and marine reptiles. The study suggests that the number of species known could be high and similar to the other places in the Arabian Gulf region. But they are less diverse than those elsewhere as in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea. Finally, the importance of continued taxonomic research in the Qatari waters is discussed, in light of the current threats to marine biodiversity.

Dr Mahmoud Kardousha, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar The inland water fauna of Qatar The diversity of Qatari fauna has been considered mainly through the concentration on the marine water ecosystem and no attention was given to the fauna of inland fresh water. This may related to the scare water resources in the arid conditions of Qatari deserts. However, the seasonal landfill areas after rain fall beside the well basins in farms and the treated wastewater wetlands- which became a permanent water bulksall are representing a good and successful ecosystems which embracing a lot of species which are very important as bio-elements of the fresh water ecosystem. The inland fauna of Qatar seem to have a rich diversity and can play an important role in improving the arid environment.

Mr Mohammed Falamarzi, Head of Fisheries Developing Section, Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, Qatar Fish biodiversity of Qatar 4 – Research Dr Talaat Abdel-Fattah Ahmad, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar

Using DNA barcode in plant biodiversity research DNA barcodes have been proposed as a shortcut that would provide species identifications and the discovery of new species. It offers a highly promising approach to resolve the ‘taxonomic impediment’ that constrains global biodiversity research. A DNA barcode is a relatively short sequence of genomic DNA that can be used to identify species of animals, plants and fungi. DNA barcoding is already a well-established technique in animals. However, it was a dream for plant scientists to find a gene in plants that could be used to identify plant species. Usually, Taxonomists could take tens of years to describe huge number of plant species using traditional methods of description and publication. Work over the last few years has shown that chloroplast is a good place to look for a barcode gene. Kress et al. (2005) compared the utility of two plastid genomes for two species (tobacco Nicotiana tobacum and deadly nightshade Atropa belladonna) and then tested candidate barcode regions on 99 species in 80 genera from 53 plant families. They proposed the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region and the plastid trnH-psbA intergenic spacer as a potential DNA barcode for flowering plants. In 2008, Dr Savolainen and his colleagues in UK found that a small gene (gene matK) located in the chloroplast of the plant, has enough variation to identify between species but is nearly identical in plants of the same species. They used the matK gene to identify around 1,000 species of orchid in the tropical forests of Costa Rica. Orchids are well known to be difficult to identify because they look similar, particularly when sterile.

Dr Nobuyuki Yamaguchi, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar Terrestrial mammalian biodiversity research Researches and surveys have been carried out to understand the biodiversity of Qatar. However, the results have not necessarily been disseminated in the way that is useful for public understanding, and conservation, of the terrestrial mammalian biodiversity of Qatar. For example, a well-accessed webpage entitled “List of mammals in Qatar” listing only three terrestrial mamalian species in comparison to academic publications suggesting 15 or more. The list does not include even the Ethiopian hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus), which is well adapted to the desert environment, and apparently a common species in Qatar. Biodiversity conservation needs not only collection of relevant information, but also dissemination of the information in the society. I discuss the current status of our understanding of terrestrial mamalian biodiversity of Qatar, and what we should do for its conservation in the future.

Dr Abdulrahman Almuftah, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Qatar, Qatar Harmful algae species of Qatar waters A preliminary survey of potentially toxic phytoplankton species was carried out in Qatari waters. The number of HAB species in Qatari estimated and compared with

world flora. The species composition, distribution and ecology of the HABs community was examined. About 80 taxa were recorded during this survey of which Dinoflagellate was most abundant genus represented by 44 species. Bacilariophyceae was represented by 28 species, while the Blue Green and Silicoflagellate was represented by 6 and 2 Trichodesmium erythraeum bloom was found to persist for longer period (May up to October). Pyrodinium bahamense v. compresum was observed in large number in samples collected from Umm-Said area and from northern stations where bloom was observed. Dinophysis caudate and D. miles was noticed to form bloom at the offshore stations and sometimes was found to associate with Trichodesmium bloom during summer months. The occurrence of large numbers of HAB species in the Qatari waters, highlights the need for monitoring and research programs in the area in particular and in the ROPME Sea Area in general. 5 – Management Dr Benno Boer, Ecological Sciences Advisor, UNESCO Arab Region, UNESCO Doha Office, Qatar Activities of UNESCO Doha, and their relation to biodiversity conservation in the region Since the beginning of the new millenium UNESCO has done a lot towards 
 biodiversity research and conservation in Qatar, jointly with it's 
 Governmental and non-Governmental partners. The most prominent results are 
 the establishment of the Al Reem Biosphere Reserve, in conjunction with the 
 SCENR and Shell GTL Qatar, which covers ca 10% of the total landmass of the 
 country. UNESCO was also involved in a catalytic role of developing the 
 first Tentative List of World Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites of Qatar, 
 with SCENR and the Cultural Authorities, and has assisted the authorities 
 with the research into and the development of a nomination file of the 
 potential natural world heritage site Khor al Udayd (with SCENR). More 
 recently a master plan for the establishment of a Quranic Botanic Garden was 
 developed for Qatar Foundation, and supported by Maersk Qatar, aiming at 
 conserving the plants mentioned in the Holy Quran, as well as the natural 
 plants of the Arabain Peninsula. UNESCO also assisted the initial phase of 
 planning for the Qatar Natural History Museum. The presentation shies some 
 light of UNESCO's capacity and achievements in the Gulf and Qatar, in view 
 of biodiversity.

Dr Andrew Jamieson, Safety, Environment and Quality Department, Qatargas, Qatar Biodiversity conservation case studies at Qatargas. Qatargas’ vision is to be a known for our corporation citizenship and by such set the standards for environmental performance. Biodiversity conservation can therefore be seen as critical to the fulfillment of this vision. Industry has played a leading role in the drive for reducing the environmental footprint of facilities through internal research and system development and sponsoring external scientific programmes.

Adoption of globally recognised management systems by industry has facilitated the recognition that asset optimisation can improve environmental, operational and finance performance. Such systems also highlight the need for transparent, accountable and ethical decision making that are key components for sustainable development. With respect to biodiversity conservation this necessitates scientificbased decisions to be at the forefront of development planning. Qatargas will present an overview of two proactive studies concerning biodiversity conservation that engaged the environmental regulator in the development of these pace-setting projects. The case studies of the coral relocation project concentrates on involvement at the planning stage whereas the cooling seawater pulse-chlorination examining the potential benefits that can be achieved through process optimization within an operating scenario. The coral relocation project involves the movement of 4,500 coral colonies from pipeline right of ways to a suitable habitat with on-going monitoring of coral health and community composition to track changes through time. This projected demonstrated that such large scale movements of corals are logistically possible and a potential mitigation measure for such major coastal development projects. Pulse-chlorination and related work has resulted in a significant reduction in the amount of chlorine being used as the cooling seawater antifouling control strategy and consequently reduced the residual chlorine (oxidant) being discharged into the sea. Pulse-chlorination is based upon scientific ecotoxicological on-site studies. The work involved in implementing pulse-chlorination has lead to increased awareness of the issue surrounding seawater chlorination through organisation a conference in June 2006 that resulted in 12 recommendations being taken forward by a regulator-industry working group. The 2nd International Cooling Seawater Specialists and Operators Conference is schedule for mid February 2009 that will hopefully bring the related regulatory issues to a satisfactory close for all concerned stakeholders. There is often pressure to overlook biodiversity conservation in the planning and current operation of large scale facilities due to the lack of baseline and / or comparative regionally available data that allows for adequate assessments to be conducted. These voids can be filled by co-operative studies between the government bodies / large corporate entities / international non-government organisations / and other local stakeholders. In conclusion, there are significant opportunities for large scale industries and commercial developments to support and / or lead the progression of strategically based national environmental and biodiversity management objectives and goals.

Dr Sven Hammer, Director, Al-Wabra Wildlife Preservation Sustainability and captive management of endangered species at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation The role of modern zoological facilities has changed a lot during the last decades. A major target is the contribution to conservation by providing knowledge, skills and resources through initiatives in zoo breeding, translocations and reintroduction, wildlife health, research, training, education and by funding field activities. In the last years, Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP), owned by Sheikh Saoud Bin Mohd. Bin Ali Al Thani’s, has traveled a long and rigorous path to complete the transition from a private animal collection to a research and breeding centre for threatened

species of international repute. With an international team of specialist wildlife veterinarians and biologists to manage approximately 1800 animals (700 birds, 1,000 mammals and 100 reptiles) of 95 different species, AWWP has overcome numerous logistical and environmental challenges along the way. Today, AWWP is an associate member of the European Association for Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and has achieved pioneering success in breeding and managing very rare and sensitive species. AWWP’s mission is to maintain a healthy reproductive and genetically varied captive wild animal population under the latest scientific aspects, achieved by strict breeding management, optimizing holding conditions and providing appropriate nutrition, with a long term target of being prepared for reintroduction projects, wherever possible. An oasis in the desert, literally and metaphorically, AWWP relies on sustainable food resource management practices to meet the nutritional and husbandry demands of captive animals. The principle of sustainability also applies to the management of species at AWWP, where, unlike zoo’s, which hold a few individuals of many species, AWWP keeps fewer, and often less common species but significantly more individuals of each. Not having the pressures associated exhibiting animals allows AWWP the unique opportunity to specialize in managing captive populations with the view of long-term demographic and genetic sustainability. In addition to ex-situ breeding, AWWP compliments it’s effort in species survival by initiating and funding in-situ conservation projects and by contributing scientific data on hitherto relatively unknown species. In these roles AWWP represents an important force in worldwide conservation of wildlife and their habitats.

Mr Ghanim Abdulla Mohamad, Director, Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Environment, Qatar National biodiversity strategy and action plan for the State of Qatar

Prof Paul Sillitoe, Qatar Shell Professorial Chair in Sustainable Development, University of Qatar, Qatar Biodiversity and sustainable development: some comments In this paper I intend to make a few observations about biodiversity issues from the perspective of sustainable development. While there are close links between initiatives to protect biodiversity and sustainable approaches to development, there are problems. Firstly, these are hotly contested. What do we understand by development and when, if ever, is it sustainable? After briefly addressing these questions, I shall turn to development projects that address biodiversity conservation, that is seek to protect environments and species from the depredations of development. I shall explore some of the issues via the histories of parks established for this purpose. They often prove unsustainable due to conflicts with local communities, unhappy at the imposition of park restrictions in their regions. Such projects often overlook the extent to which humans are part of the ecosystems they seek to conserve –pristine nature is rare. It is argued that appreciation of local practices should encourage more sustainable interventions in both the ecological and cultural senses, as these often represent understanding rooted in highly sustainable adaptations. It is thought that participatory approaches to development are the best way to ensure the incorporation

of this rich knowledge into projects. But we should not romanticise it, as not all local knowledge leads to activities that necessarily respect biodiversity. What then – back to the imposition of conservation areas?