Search

Biodiversity is under enormous pressure from multiple threats including climate change, land use change, habitat alterations and hunting pressure. One way to ease this pressure on biodiversity and to mitigate the effects of above-mentioned threats, is to establish protected areas. Importance of protected increases many folds in regions that are considered as biodiversity poor regions i.e. deserts. Protected areas have long been a major pillar of biodiversity conservation strategies; the Houbara Protected Area (HPA) is one of the 13 terrestrial protected areas in Abu Dhabi Emirate officially declared in 2017. However, no information regarding the status of biodiversity in the HPA has been communicated to the research fraternity. During the present study, surveys were conducted to fill this gap. The survey area was divided in to 50 grids of 5 × 5 km2 and monitoring surveys were undertaken from January to December 2016. A total of 14 bi-monthly to monthly surveys were conducted within HPA and 196 species of different taxonomical groups were recorded. A year-long survey yielded highly diversified fauna and flora from 19 different habitat types (H) 1.32, (E) 2.28, Shannon Diversity Index). We looked at the influence of habitat breadth and temperature on the species richness and abundance, results shows that in desert setup heterogeneity of habitat is not an important factor in maintaining the biodiversity as total number of individuals as well as species were similar in the grids that have different number of habitat types (df = 34.3, t = -0.472, P = 0.640). However, we did find a positive impact of mean monthly temperature on species richness (df = 154, t = 2.53, P = 0.012). Our study highlights the importance of temperature in driving species abundance and richness in protected area. Abundance and species richness are similar in protected areas indicating that protection is allowing species to explore the heterogenous habitats. Overall, we can conclude that protection is beneficial for species.

Pitfall trapping is an efficient self-sampling method for capturing epigeal arthropods for ecological and faunistic studies. During the present study, conducted between March 2009 and March 2015, pitfall trapping was undertaken in five study sites of different habitats in Abu Dhabi Emirate. During the study period a total of 94 monitoring visits were made to collect data from the pitfall traps at five sites in Abu Dhabi. A total of 36,238 individuals of ground-dwelling arthropods of 121 different species belonging to 14 orders and 46 families were recorded from all the study sites using pitfall traps. The order Coleoptera (beetles) was recorded to be the most dominant order with 46 species followed by Hymenoptera (ants, bees & wasps) with 24 species. On average 37.5 ± 3 (mean ± SE) species were recorded every month from all the study sites and number of species did not vary significantly across the months (df = 11, F = 0.48, p = 0.91 one-way – ANOVA). The arthropod fauna was recorded to be highly diversified in different habitat types, but the number of individuals were not evenly distributed across the study sites (H) 1.10, (E) 0.53, Shannon Diversity Index). The highest diversity of arthropods was recorded from a site Wadi Tarabat, followed by Al Wathba Wetland Reserve (AWWR) and Abu Al Abyed. Our findings indicate that to study ground dwelling invertebrate species, pitfall trapping is an efficient method. Moreover, capture efficiency of pitfall traps can be affected by climatic factors and habitat types of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The ideal period to encounter the highest number of species is between March to April and September to November across all the habitat types.

Wetlands play an important role in ecosystem function, and are known to support rich biodiversity, this becomes even more pronounced in hyper-arid climates. The Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi Emirate is a wetland mosaic that boasts both brackish and freshwater pools. The levels of nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and total organic carbon is much higher and this can be attributed to various factors such as the lake not having a water outlet, seepage of untreated waste water from an adjacent sewage treatment plant and various industries in the surrounding areas that could lead to these high values. A twenty-year biodiversity assessment and monitoring program, has documented a total of 354 invertebrate species, 16 reptile and amphibian species, 262 bird species, 10 mammalian species, and 39 plant species. These represent 21% of Abu Dhabi Emirate’s terrestrial animal and plant species. Out of a total of 44 marine and terrestrial habitats identified within Abu Dhabi Emirate, 6 of these are represented within AWWR.

The taxonomic identity of an unknown Artemia population inhabiting the Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., was determined using phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial marker Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI). The results showed that the examined population belongs to an exotic invasive species, Artemia franciscana. Based on the distribution pattern of haplotypes, the studied population could possibly have originated from that inhabiting the Great Salt Lake (Utah, U.S.A.).

Epipactis veratrifolia is recorded for the first time from Jebel Hafeet, a mountain in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates(UAE). This species had been previously recorded from the northern part of the UAE and other areas on the ArabianPeninsula. The occurrence of E. veratrifolia in Jebel Hafeet expands the eastern distribution limits of the species andunderlines the importance of biodiversity in the region. The new record fills a gap in the distribution of this species onthe Arabian Peninsula.

Since its initial detection in Turkey in 2009, the invasive destructive pest South American tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) has started its new invasion journey to east and invaded most Asian countries. This pest currently causes extensive damage to tomato production and potentially threatens key production areas such as China. To provide an overview of current status of T. absoluta in Asia, we have briefly reviewed the damage and economic impacts by this pest locally and discussed why this species has spread so rapidly among the countries. Moreover, ongoing integrated pest management options are summarized in newly invaded areas with an emphasis of discussing the potential control failures by chemical insecticides. Future research efforts on developing promising management technologies are recommended. Finally, we suggest building a cross-regional network to enhance the sustainable control of this pest.

Little is documented on the alien terrestrial and freshwater species in the United Arab Emirates. To address this, an assessment of terrestrial and freshwater alien species was conducted using various techniques such as a questionnaire, fieldwork data, networking with relevant people, and a detailed literature review. The results of the initial assessment show that there are 146 alien species recorded in the following seven major taxonomic groups: invertebrates 49 species, freshwater fish five species, amphibian one species, reptiles six species, birds 71 species, mammals six species and plants eight species. To inform decision makers a full list of the 146 species identified in this assessment is presented.

The desert areas of the Abu Dhabi Emirate supply suitable habitats for a species-rich ant-lion fauna. A faunistic survey was conducted for adult myrmeleontids, using light traps in 11 desert sites of Abu Dhabi during a five-year period between 1993 and 2004. A total of 27 species were found, of which 24 are recorded in Abu Dhabi for the first time. They belong to 14 genera: Centroclisis, Iranoleon, Lopezus, Myrmecaelurus, Ganguilus, Creoleon, Distoleon, Gepus, Geyria, Neuroleon, Quinemurus, Solter, Cueta, and Palpares. A short diagnosis of each species is given and their geographic ranges are noted.