[Coral-List] Request for Information - Seagrass of the Gulf - Salinity & Temperature Tolerance

Fadlalla, Yusef H yusef.fadlalla at aramco.com
Mon Oct 6 01:17:41 EDT 2008


Jeremy,

Your observations were made during summer in Bahrain.  Temperatures will begin to drop precipitously during late November and through December, and will reach lows in the teens during January and February.  In general, seagrasses do just fine throughout the year.  Expect significant blade shedding in the spring and early summer, as waters warm up.  The salinity value you reported suggests the study site is on the west coast of Bahrain, or within an embayment elsewhere.  Major seagrass beds occur within the Gulf of Salwah (Bahrain-Qatar-Saudi Arabia) to the south, where coastal salinities can reach 50 ppt and higher.  Phil Basson (pers. comm., also published paper) reported Syringodium isoetifoleum (probably invasive species) in the waters of Bahrain.

Yusef Fadlallah
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia



>-----Original Message-----
>From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:coral-list-
>bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Jeremy Sofonia
>Sent: Sunday, October 05, 2008 5:31 PM
>To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>Subject: [Coral-List] Request for Information - Seagrass of the Gulf - Salinity &
>Temperature Tolerance
>
>Dear List,
>
>I'm currently working on a impact assessment project in Bahrain relative
>to a proposed desalination power production development.
>
>As with such projects, changes in salinity and temperature resulting from
>effluent discharge and their potential impacts to the local environment
>are of primary concern.
>
>In this instance, the benthic community is dominated by seagrass ranging
>in depth from the lower intertidal zone to a depth of approximately -10m
>(LAT).
>
>Unfortunately, however, I don't have a great site specific water quality
>baseline or very good handle on what seagrasses within this region
>normally experience.
>
>Does anyone on the List have any ideas, or know of tolerance values, that
>have been observed and/or utilised in previous studies within the region?
>
>Species present include:
>- Halodule uninervis (most common);
>- Halophila stipulacea; and
>- Halophila ovalis
>
>At the time of field observation, ambient water salinity was approximately
>45ppt. and temperature ranged from 31-33C. Grasses at most locations
>appeared relatively healthy with cover nearing 100%.
>
>Any thoughts would be appreciated.
>
>Jeremy
>
>
>
>
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