Environmental status of Yemen's Gulf of Aden coast determined from rapid field assessment and satellite imagery
Keywords:
coastal ecosystems, cluster analysis, resource-use conflictsAbstract
Ninety-one sites covering 1400 km of the Gulf of Aden coast of Yemen were examined by rapid field assessment, yielding ordinal data on the extent of habitats, abundance of species groups and magnitude of human uses/environmental impacts. Satellite imagery was used to determine sea surface chlorophyll concentrations. Mangroves and seagrasses were largely absent, due to the high-energy conditions and unstable substrata. Coral development was also limited, principally because of cold upwelling sea temperatures. Macroalgal prevalence and abundance were greater on account of high nutrient levels. Nesting sites of three turtle species (Green, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead) were all impacted at low levels. Coastal construction was small-scale and located near larger towns (Al Mukalla, Foua and Shehir), while water- and land-based pollution and fishing were widespread but minimal. Fish abundance showed significant positive correlation with chlorophyll concentration. These and other associations observed probably involve causal links, although habitat effects and other factors may also be important. Classification of sites by cluster analysis using biological data and use/impact data separately revealed considerable environmental heterogeneity. The lack of clear geographical patterns contrasts with results from the Red Sea, where latitudinal related groupings using comparable biological data are evident.
References
Barrett, L., Dawson-Shepherd, A., Ormond, R. and McDowell, R. 1987. Marine Conservation Survey: I Distribution of Habitats and Species along the YAR (Yemen Arab Republic) coastline, Gland, , Switzerland: IUCN.
Huntington, T. and Wilson, S. 1995. “Coastal Habitats Survey of the Gulf of Aden Phase I: Preliminary habitat classification and an assessment of the coast's resources, users and impacts”. In Report to the Ministry of Fish Wealth, Government of the Republic of Yemen, Aden, Yemen: MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd, UK and Marine Sciences Resource Research Centre.
IUCN/UNEP. 1985. Management and conservation of renewable marine resources in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region, UNEP Regional Seas Reports and Studies No. 64
Jobbins, G. 1996. “Development of a database for coastal coastal environmental data with special reference to the eastern Red Sea”. UK: University of Warwick. M.Sc. Thesis
Loya, Y. 1972. Community structure and species diversity of hermatypic corals at Eilat. Red Sea Mar. Biol., 13: 100–123.
Macallister Elliott and Partners Ltd. (MEP). 1998. Republic of Yemen: Fisheries Sector Review, Report No. 501/R/108D Produced under the Fourth Fisheries Development Project, Yemen (Report commissions and funded by the European Commission).
Medio, D., Sheppard, C. R. C. and Gascoigne, J. 2000. “The Red Sea.”. In Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean: Their Ecology and Conservation, Edited by: Maclanahan, T. R., Sheppard, C. R. C. and Obura, D. O. 231–250. Oxford University Press. Chapter 8
Ormond, R. F. G. and Banaimoon, S. A. 1994. Ecology of intertidal macroalgal assemblages on the Hadramout coast of southern Yemen, an area of seasonal upwelling. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser., 105: 105–120.
Price, A. R. G. 1990. Rapid assessment of coastal zone management requirements: a case study from the Arabian Gulf. Ocean & Shorel. Man., 13: 1–19.
Price, A. R. G. and Sheppard, C. R. C. 1999. “Broadscale coastal environmental assessment of the Chagos Archipelago.”. In Ecology of the Chagos Archipelago, Edited by: Seaward, M. R. D. 283–294. 2Linn. Soc. Occ. Publ..
Price, A. R. G., Grassland, C. J., Dawson Shepherd, A. R., McDowall, R. J., Medley, P. A. H., Stafford Smith, M. G., Ormond, R. F. G. and Wrathall, T. J. 1988. Aspects of seagrass ecology along the eastern coast. Red Sea Bot. Mar., 31: 83–92.
Price, A. R. G., Wrathall, T. J., Medley, P. A. H. and Al-Moamen, A. H. 1993. Broadscale changes in coastal ecosystems of the western Arabian Gulf following the 1990-91. Gulf War Mar. Poll. Bull., 27: 143–147.
Price, A. R. G., Jobbins, G., Dawson Shepherd, A. R. and Ormond, R. F. G. 1998. An integrated environmental assessment of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. Env. Conserv., 25: 65–76.
Price, A. R. G., Klaus, R., Sheppard, C. R. C., Abbiss, M. A., Kofani, M. and Webster, G. 2000. Environmental and bioeconomic characterisation of coastal and marine systems of Cameroon, including risk implications of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project. Aquat. Ecos. Health Man., 3: 137–161.
Sanders, M. J. 1981a. Preliminary stock assessment for the Deep Sea Lobster Puerulus sewelli taken off the coast of the Peopled Democratic Republic of Yemen UNDP/FAORAB/77/008/18
Sanders, M. J. 1981b. Revised stock assessment for the cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis taken off the coast of PDR of Yemen, FAO, Tech.. pap. RAB 77/008
Sanders, M. J. and Morgan, G. R. 1989. Review of the fisheries resources of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, FAO Fish. Tech. Paper No. 304 1–138.
Sheppard, C. R. C. 1993. Cluster Analysis (Part 3), Statistical Analyses v. 2.0., Scientific Software.
Sheppard, C. R. C. 2000. “The Red Sea.”. In Seas at the Millennium: An Environmental Evaluation, Edited by: Sheppard, C. R. C. 35–45. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd.. Chapter 55
Sheppard, C. R. C. and Sheppard, A. L. S. 1985. Reefs and coral assemblages of Saudi Arabia. 1. The central Red Sea at Yanbu al Sinaiyah. Fauna of Saudi Arabia, 7: 17–36.
Sheppard, C., Price, A. and Roberts, C. 1992. Marine Ecology of the Arabian Region: Patterns and Processes in Extreme Tropical Environments, London: Academic Press.
Sheppard, C. R. C. and Dixon, D. J. 1998. The Sea, Edited by: Robinson, A. R. and Brink, K. H. Volume 11, 915–931. John Wiley & Sons, Inc..
Sheppard, C. R. C., Wilson, S. C., Salm, R. V. and Dixon, D. J. 2000. “Reefs and coral communities of the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Sea.”. In Coral Reefs of the Indian Ocean: Their Ecology and Conservation, Edited by: Maclanahan, T. R., Sheppard, C. R. C. and Obura, D. O. 257–289. Oxford University Press. Chapter 9
Smith, S. L. 1995. The Arabian Sea: mesozooplankton response to seasonal climate in a tropical ocean. ICES J. Mar. Sci., 52: 427–438.
Watt, I. 1996. Coastal Habitats Survey of the Gulf of Aden Phase 2: South coast of Yemen. Report to the Ministry of Fish Wealth, Government of the Republic of Yemen, Aden, Yemen: MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd, UK and Marine Sciences Resource Research Centre.
Wilson, G. 1999. “An integrated habitat assessment of the Gulf of Aden coast, Yemen”. 71UK: University of Warwick. MSc Thesis
Wilson, S. C. and Klaus, R. 2000. “The Gulf of Aden.”. In Seas at the Millennium: An Environmental Evaluation, Edited by: Sheppard, C. R. C. 47–61. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd.. Chapter 56
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). 1994. Biodiversity Data Sourcebook, Cambridge: World Conservation Press. No. 1
Zahran, M. A. and Al-Kaf, H. F. 1996. Introduction to the ecology of the littoral halophytes of Yemen. Arab GuIf J. Sci. Res, 14: 691–703.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
