Principles to enable comprehensive national marine ecosystem status assessments from disparate data: The state of the marine environment in Kuwait

This paper presents an approach for preparing a comprehensive national marine ecosystem assessment and its application to the marine and coastal areas of the State of Kuwait. The approach is based on a set of principles to enable diverse data sources, of differing data quality and salience, to be combined into a single coordinated national assessment of marine ecosystem status to support the implementation of ecosystem-based management. The approach enables state assessments for multiple components of the marine ecosystem to be undertaken in a coordinated manner, using differing methods varying from quantitative to qualitative assessments depending on data and indicator availability. The marine ecosystem assessment is structured according to 6 major themes: i) Biodiversity, ii) Commercial Fisheries, iii) Food and Water Quality for Human Health, iv) Environmental Pollution, v) Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms, and vi) Coastal Process and Oceanography. Comprehensive ecosystem assessments are an essential part of implementing the ecosystem approach, however detailed data directly related to clear, specified numerical management targets covering all aspects of a marine ecosystem are rarely available. The development of a State of the Marine Environment Report (SOMER) for Kuwait demonstrate that a coordinated comprehensive ecosystem assessment can be conducted using disparate data, and in relation to partially specified regulatory management objectives. The Kuwait SOMER highlighted the issues of coastal pollution, particularly sewage for human health and the environment. It shows that the rapid urbanization of Kuwait has led to significant changes in the ecology, with clear impacts on coral reef health, the availability of nesting locations for turtles and habitats for migratory birds. Long-term changes in nutrient input, via waste water and modified freshwater inputs is resulting in demonstrable impacts on a range of marine species and habitats within Kuwait marine waters. It also supports the move towards a regional approach required due to transboundary properties of many of the ecosystem components, drivers and pressures

The biology and ecology of the rocky shore crab Leptodius exaratus (H. Milne Edwards, 1834) on the coast of Kuwait

The rocky shore crab Leptodius exaratus is an important economic resource, as bait for recreational fishing in Kuwait. The biology and ecology of this species were investigated through a series of field studies and laboratory experiments carried out along the Kuwait coast between 2013-2015. These studies included population structure, spatial and temporal abundance, hatching, trophic ecology and the fishery. Demographic traits were quantified, including size at maturity, sexual dimorphism, fecundity, seasonal and spatial patterns of recruitment, growth, mortality and reproduction. The results show that growth and reproduction were seasonal, with high growth and spawning peaks between April-September. Abundance increased in summer and decreased in winter. Males, females and juveniles had similar spatial and seasonal distributions. Larval release patterns identified a nocturnal endogenous hatching rhythm with peaks being around neap tides. The results of the study on trophic ecology of L. exaratus and the coexisting crab species Pilumnopeus convexus indicate that adults of both species occupy a high trophic level in the rocky shore community, potentially influencing intertidal community structure and diversity. These species had distinct isotopic niches, reducing resource competition. The results of the fishery study indicates that L. exaratus represented 21.4% of the intertidal catch, with an average harvesting rate of 191 crabs/collector/tide. Fishing mortality was relatively low but habitat damage, caused by gleaning was high in sites with low crab abundance, in which 80% of the rocks were turned over and more than half broken. This indicates the need to protect intertidal habitats and to enforce control of gleaning practices. Such studies are very limited regionally and globally, making the results of the present study valuable in understand the biology of this crab species and its role in the rocky shore community and to inform development of action plans to protect intertidal habitats and control gleaning practices

Temporal and spatial infection patterns of the rhizocephalan parasite Parasacculina leptodiae (Guérin-Ganivet, 1911) in the crab Leptodius exaratus along the shores of Kuwait

Rhizocephalan cirripedes are a very unique group of parasites infecting decapod crustaceans, but apart from a few well- studied species, little is known on their ecology and impact on hosts. Here we report on the results of a 14-month study of infestations of the rhizocephalan Parasacculina leptodiae in the rocky shore crab Leptodius exaratus along the shores of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). Monthly samples along an intertidal gradient revealed a slightly higher prevalence of P. leptodiae in female (18%) compared to male crabs (11%) and marked differences in prevalence among the sampling sites. Crabs from more sheltered locations in Kuwait Bay showed lower prevalence of P. leptodiae compared to crabs from more exposed sites. Seasonal patterns were largely absent, but prevalence in female crabs showed some monthly variation depending on the site. Rhizocephalan prevalence was generally highest in both crab sexes at the lower shores. This possibly resulted from lower exposure of crabs to infective stages in the higher intertidal and movements of infected crabs to lower parts of the shore. Prevalence of ovigerous females significantly declined with increasing local parasite prevalence. This suggests that the well-known castrating effects of rhizocephalans on individual hosts can also affect local crab reproduction at the population level which has not been shown before. Our results indicate that the rhizocephalan P. leptodiae is a com- mon parasite of the rocky shore crab L. exaratus along the shores of Kuwait, with potential effects on the crab’s population dynamics which warrants further study

Speaking their language – Development of a multilingual decision-support tool for communicating invasive species risks to decision makers and stakeholdersolders

Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been developed mostly in English language only, which increases linguistic uncertainty associated with risk assessments undertaken by assessors not of English mother tongue and who need to communicate outcomes to local stakeholders. To reduce language-based uncertainty, the ‘ecology-of-language’ paradigm was applied when developing the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), a decision-support tool that offers 32 languages in which to carry out screenings and communicate outcomes to stakeholders. Topics discussed include uncertainty related to language-specific issues encountered during the AS-ISK translation and the potential benefits of a multilingual decision-support tool for reducing linguistic uncertainty and enhancing communication between scientists, environmental managers, and policy and decision makers

Development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for risk screening non-native terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions

Electronic decision-support tools are becoming an essential component of government strategies to tackle non-native species invasions. This study describes the development and application of a multilingual electronic decision-support tool for screening terrestrial animals under current and future climate conditions: the Terrestrial Animal Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (TAS-ISK). As an adaptation of the widely employed Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), the TAS-ISK question template inherits from the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) and related WRA-type toolkits and complies with the ‘minimum requirements’ for use with the recent European Regulation on invasive alien species of concern. The TAS-ISK consists of 49 basic questions on the species’ biogeographical/historical traits and its biological/ecological interactions, and of 6 additional questions to predict how climate change is likely to influence the risks of introduction, establishment, dispersal and impact of the screened species. Following a description of the main features of this decision-support tool as a turnkey software application and of its graphical user interface with support for 32 languages, sample screenings are provided in different risk assessment areas for one representative species of each of the main taxonomic groups of terrestrial animals supported by the toolkit: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, annelids, insects, molluscs, nematodes, and platyhelminths. The highest-scoring species were the red earthworm Lumbricus rubellus for the Aegean region of Turkey and the New Zealand flatworm Arthurdendyus triangulatus for Croatia. It is anticipated that adoption of this toolkit will mirror that of the worldwide employed AS-ISK, hence allowing to share information and inform decisions for the prevention of entry and/or dispersal of (high-risk) non-native terrestrial animal species – a crucial step to implement early-stage control and eradication measures as part of rapid-response strategies to counteract biological invasions

Speaking their language – development of a multilingual decision-support tool for communicating invasive species risks to decision makers and stakeholders

Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been developed mostly in English language only, which increases linguistic uncertainty associated with risk assessments undertaken by assessors not of English mother tongue and who need to communicate outcomes to local stakeholders. To reduce language-based uncertainty, the ‘ecology-of-language’ paradigm was applied when developing the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), a decision-support tool that offers 32 languages in which to carry out screenings and communicate outcomes to stakeholders. Topics discussed include uncertainty related to language-specific issues encountered during the AS-ISK translation and the potential benefits of a multilingual decision-support tool for reducing linguistic uncertainty and enhancing communication between scientists, environmental managers, policy and decision makers

Speaking their language : Development of a multilingual decision-support tool for communicating invasive species risks to decision makers and stakeholders

Environmental changes due to non-native species introductions and translocations are a global concern. Whilst understanding the causes of bioinvasions is important, there is need for decision-support tools that facilitate effective communication of the potential risks of invasive non-native species to stakeholders. Decision-support tools have been developed mostly in English language only, which increases linguistic uncertainty associated with risk assessments undertaken by assessors not of English mother tongue and who need to communicate outcomes to local stakeholders. To reduce language-based uncertainty, the ‘ecology-of-language’ paradigm was applied when developing the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK), a decision-support tool that offers 32 languages in which to carry out screenings and communicate outcomes to stakeholders. Topics discussed include uncertainty related to language-specific issues encountered during the AS-ISK translation and the potential benefits of a multilingual decision-support tool for reducing linguistic uncertainty and enhancing communication between scientists, environmental managers, and policy and decision makers.Published version is available for viewing only. (See "Related URI")「関連URI」より出版社版の閲覧専用ページへリン