quantitative assessment of the intertidal environment of kuwait i: integrated environmental...

Journal of Environmental Management (1997) 51, 321–332

Quantitative Assessment of the Intertidal Environment of Kuwait I:Integrated Environmental Classification

D. Al Bakri∗; M. Behbehani† and A. Khuraibet‡

∗Orange Agricultural College, The University of Sydney, PO Box 883, Orange,NSW 2800, Australia, † Department of Zoology, University of Kuwait,PO Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait, ‡ Department of Environmental Health,College of Health Sciences, Public Authority of Applied Education, Shuwaikh,Kuwait

Received 3 March 1996; accepted 16 June 1997

Quantitative analysis of physical, chemical and biological data of the intertidalzone in Kuwait was undertaken to develop an integrated basis for assessingand protecting this sensitive coastal ecosystem. Cluster analyses were performedto determine the resemblance between the sampling stations based on thesediment composition, the benthic macrofauna and the physico-chemicalcharacteristics of the intertidal sediment/water.

Five distinct sub-environments were delineated within the intertidal zone ofKuwait. Each sub-environment was described in terms of number of taxa,mean density of organisms, sediment type, tidal level and dominant organisms.The physico-chemical parameters investigated were found to be unimportant inthe distribution of the intertidal benthic macrofauna. On the other hand,sediment type was found to be a major factor in the overall composition of thebenthic community. The benthic fauna and related characteristics of the sub-environments could be used as indicators to monitor changes in the intertidalecosystem and as guides to protection and management of the different coasts.The approach described in this paper could also be adopted elsewhere toprovide a sound basis for evaluating environmental impacts and for developingsustainable coastal management. 1997 Academic Press Limited

Keywords: intertidal ecosystem, benthic fauna, sediments, physico-chemicalparameters, cluster analysis, sustainable coastal management.

1. Introduction

The coastal zone of Kuwait is considered of special importance to the country due toa host of historical, social, economic and environmental reasons. Virtually all theresidential, commercial, recreational, and industrial uses are concentrated within 15 kmof the shoreline. On the other hand, the coastal zone contains a variety of uniqueecosystems and represents important nesting and breeding grounds for resident and

0301–4797/97/120321+12 $25.00/0/ev970152 1997 Academic Press Limited

Intertidal environment of Kuwait-I322

migratory birds (Clayton, 1982; Jones, 1982). As a result of development, the coastalenvironment has been under considerable stress since the early 1960s (Al Bakri et al.,1985). Some of the common environmental problems facing the planners and managersof the coastal zone include oil, sewage, thermal, and industrial pollution, as well asloss or damage of natural habitats due to filling and reclamation (Al Bakri, 1996a, b).More recently the environmental impacts were compounded by the huge oil spill andphysical destruction caused by the Gulf War.

Taking into consideration the importance of the coastal zone to the developmentprocess, the uniqueness and sensitivity of its ecosystem and the extent and potentiality ofenvironmental impacts, there is an urgent need to adopt an environmentally sustainablemanagement system to ensure protection of the natural heritage and resources of theKuwaiti coastal zone. To meet this need, it is important to define and assess the bio-physical factors that can be used as appropriate indicators and benchmarks for futureassessment of impacts on the coastal ecosystems.

Most of the studies carried out in Kuwait in regard to the assessment of the coastalenvironment have been limited in area and scope (e.g. Samhan et al., 1980; Jacob andZarba, 1981; Anderlini et al., 1982; Clayton, 1982; Dames and Moore, 1982; Jacob etal., 1982; Jones, 1982; Zarba et al., 1983; Al Bakri and El-Sayed, 1991; Al Bakri, 1996a,b). Most previous studies have adopted fragmented and rather reductionist approachesand have focused on specific aspects of the coastal ecosystems. As a result of theselimitations, which were mainly caused by resource and time constraints, the findingswere somewhat limited in terms of assessing the total health of the ecosystem and inunderstanding the natural constraints of the coastal environment.

The destruction and oil spills caused by the Gulf War re-enforced the need foraccurate and integrated baseline data for the coastal environment. Several studies havebeen carried out to assess the damage caused by the war to the coastal and marineenvironments of the Arabian Gulf (e.g. Khuraibet, 1992; Readman et al., 1992; Al-Yamani et al., 1993; Downing and Roberts, 1993; Gerges, 1993; Khordagui and Al-Ajmi, 1993; Literathy, 1993; ROPME et al., 1993; Saenger, 1994; Metwally et al., 1997).Some of these studies were based on projections and were speculative, others wereconcerned with specific facets of the environments such as coral reefs or sub-tidalsediments. Another major shortcoming of the recent studies was that their field surveyswere of a reconnaissance nature, covering large areas of the Gulf in relatively shortperiods of time. To date no studies are available to fully assess the impacts of the waron the benthic ecology of the intertidal systems in Kuwait and the Gulf at large.

To overcome some of the above shortcomings, this paper together with Al Bakri etal., (1997—Part II) were designed to adopt a holistic approach to assess the wholeecosystem and to establish an integrated environmental database which is essential fordeveloping appropriate policies for the protection and sustainable management of thecoastal zone in Kuwait. These two papers are based on data obtained from a multi-disciplinary research project carried out in the mid 80s (Al Bakri et al., 1985). Thepurpose of this paper is to undertake a quantitative analysis of the physical, chemicaland biological data in order to characterize and classify the intertidal zone into distinctand integrated sub-environments.

2. Methods and materials

2.1.

Thirty five transects, representing the various sedimentomorphic facies in the intertidalarea were selected to undertake the field investigation (Figure 1). The field program

D. Al Bakri et al. 323

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involved detailed sampling and survey along all the 35 transects once during winterand once during the summer of 1984. Less intensive field survey was carried out duringspring and autumn of the same year by focusing on the following 10 transects: D, G,K, O, Q, V, Y, AC, AH and AI. Field measurements and sample collections wereundertaken from upper, middle and lower intertidal zones. Muddy shore transects were


taken at sites A–I and M–O, transects from rocky shores, with limited sand cover, weretaken at sites K, L, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, and W, and the remaining transects were takenfrom sandy shores with some rocky areas. Details of the field program and laboratoryanalyses are given in Al Bakri et al. (1985).

2.1.1. Sediment samples

A total of 229 sediment samples and 55 rock samples (beachrocks) wer collected. Theparticle size distribution of sediments >0·063 mm was determined by the dry sievingmethod and sediment <0·063 mm were analysed by the pipette method (Folk, 1974).

2.1.2. Physico-chemical parameters

The physico-chemical parameters measured in this study included pH, salinity, tem-perature, total dissolved sulphide (TDS) of the interstitial (pore) water and watercontent and total organic carbon (TOC) of the intertidal sediments. A total of 270stations were sampled in four seasons. The sampling and analytical procedures describedin ROPME Manual (ROPME, 1983) were followed to determine pH, salinity, tem-perature, water content and TOC. The procedure followed to determine the TDS wascarried out according to the standard method (EPA, 1979).

2.1.3. Benthic macrofauna

The benthic macrofauna inhabiting the intertidal area of Kuwait were sampled fromprimary sampling stations representing the three tidal zones, additional samples werealso taken wherever a significant variation in the substrates was evident between theprimary stations. Four randomly distributed replicates were collected from each sam-pling station. A total of 1252 replicates from 313 stations were collected in the fourseasons. In the laboratory, animals from each sample were identified to the lowestpossible taxonomic level. Number of taxa, mean density of organisms per square metreper station, mean density of individual taxa per station, and species evenness weredetermined.

2.2.

In order to classify the intertidal area into distinct sub-environments (quantitatively),cluster analyses were performed to determine the resemblance between the samplingstations based on the physico-chemical, sediment and biological data. The StatisticalAnalysis System (SAS) group of program was used to perform the cluster analyses(SAS Institute, 1982). The annual mean of chemical parameters and the sediment/substrate types were employed to cluster all the stations by two procedures: SAS-FASTCLUS and the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity coefficient. For biological collections,cluster analyses were performed on benthic density data of individual taxon usingthe CLUSTAN computer package (Wishart, 1982) and the Bray-Curtis dissimilaritycoefficient. A separate cluster analysis was run on each of the four seasons, on theaverage of 35 transects sampled in winter and summer, and on the average of 10transects sampled in all four seasons. The Bray-Curtis, based on log-transformed dataand group-average sorting, appears to be the most successful clustering method becauseit joins groups at the average similarity between all members of each group, and has


T 1. Station clusters according to substrate type and sediment composition resulting fromFASTCLUS procedure

Mean grain size composition (%)

Substrate Cluster Number of Mud Fine Medium Coarse Gravel Rocktype stations sand sand sand

Muddy (1) Mud 34 95·94 3·24 0·51 0·22 0·08 0·00Sandy mud (2) Fine 10 60·02 26·09 7·86 4·12 1·99 0·00

sand to mudSandy (3) Fine 17 2·58 78·45 14·52 2·97 1·26 0·00

sandSandy (4) Fine to 19 3·04 34·72 50·41 10·25 1·31 0·00

medium sandSandy (5) Medium 14 0·03 9·05 78·08 11·92 1·04 0·00

sandSandy (6) Medium 11 0·09 7·06 47·00 41·91 4·08 0·00

to coarse sandSandy (7) Coarse 12 0·65 2·89 20·23 45·92 30·27 0·00

sand to gravelRocky (8) Rock 35 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 0·00 100·00

no marked tendencies to form large groups of dissimilar collections or to split similarcollections (Boesch, 1977; Field et al., 1982).

3. Results and discussion

The intertidal zone of Kuwait was subdivided into several clusters according to biota,sediments and physico-chemical characteristics. Dendograms and tables of the variousgroups defined by the cluster analyses for the four seasons and for mean annual dataare given in Al Bakri et al. (1985).

3.1.

Based on the substrate type and sediment grain size data, the stations were classifiedinto eight clusters using the FASTCLUS procedure (Table 1). Thirty four stations witha mean mud content of 96% formed Cluster 1. Cluster 2 consisted of 10 stations, withmud forming 60% and fine sand 26%. Fine sand (mean composition of 79%) dominatedat the 17 stations forming Cluster 3. Cluster 4 comprised 19 stations having fine tomedium sand with mean percentages of 35% fine sand and 50% medium sand. Cluster5 was composed of 14 stations with a mean of 78% medium sand. Cluster 6 was formedof 11 stations dominated by coarse and medium sands. Twelve stations with relativelypoorly sorted material (gravel, coarse sand and medium sand) formed Cluster 7. Cluster8 contained 35 stations comprising 100% rock.

Classification of the stations by the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity measure producedstation-sediment groups very close to those generated by the FASTCLUS procedure.The three major groups were rock, mud to sandy mud, and sand. Within the sandgroup, five distinct stations clusters were identified at the 0·52 dissimilarity level: finesand; medium sand; medium to fine sand; medium to coarse sand; and coarse sand.Within the mud to sandy mud group, three distinct station clusters resulted. The first


comprised stations with mud ranging from 85 to 99% of the sediments (correspondingto Cluster 1 in the FASTCLUS procedure). The second and third clusters were sandymud clusters, with stations having mud contents ranging from 66 to 75% and from 40to 57%, respectively. This clustering sequence differed from the FASTCLUS procedure,which combined the two sandy mud clusters into one (Cluster 2).

3.2. -

Annual mean physico-chemical parameters were clustered by both the FASTCLUSprocedure and the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity measure with group-average sorting. Resultsfrom both procedures showed great regularity across all stations. The average sedimentchemistry was 0·166 dissimilar or, conversely, 0·834 similar. If we exclude station I40,which had a high mean temperature (33·5°C) because a winter measurement wasmissing, the stations were even more similar, with a similarity index of 0·884. At thescale of this study, it seems that the investigated physico-chemical parameters of theintertidal sediments/water do not provide an appropriate basis for classifying theintertidal zone into distinct grouping.

3.3.

Data documented in Al Bakri et al. (1985) indicate that the macrofauna communityinhabiting the intertidal zone of Kuwait is rather impoverished compared to communitiesin comparable regions of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean (Basson et al., 1977;Clayton, 1982). The paucity of organisms in the Arabian Gulf has been attributed toharsh environmental conditions especially high summer temperature and salinity (Bassonet al., 1977; Jones, 1982). It is also believed that the types of substrate found in thisarea are largely responsible for the relatively poor faunal community in Kuwait’sintertidal flats. The rocky shores, which support the greatest number of taxa (110 outof 235) and highest densities (up to 4800/m2), were found to make up the lowestpercentages of the intertidal zone. On the other hand, the muddy and sandy shores,which together make up more than 80% of the intertidal zone, support fewer taxa andlower animal densities.

Another interesting feature of this macrofauna community is its relatively lowdiversity. About 235 taxa were collected from the intertidal zone, over 50% of themwere found at five transects only. Even where a high number of organisms exist, largesections of the intertidal flats were occupied by a single or a few species. It is believedthat the harsh environment coupled with a lack of suitable hard substratum and thelimited availability of seaweeds have lead organisms to compete with each other andthus reduce the number of taxa. This is particularly true for amphipods and isopods,since very few individuals of these groups were found during the entire study. Anadditional feature of the macrofauna community of the intertidal zone is that over 60%of the recorded organisms are shelled animals, indicating the restricted nature of theenvironment and showing a high adaptability by certain organisms to the harshenvironmental conditions.

3.4.

Cluster analysis of the annual mean of the biological collections from the 10 transectssampled on four seasons resulted in the formation of three major station groups. These


groups were closely related to sandy, rocky and muddy substrates. This grouping wasfound to be similar to that produced from the annual mean data based on 35 transectssampled in winter and summer. Because the classification of the annual data from the35 transects provided more details, and to avoid repetition, the cluster analysis for theaverage 10 transects will not be further discussed here. Cluster analysis of the annualmean biological data from the 35 transects produced five major station grouping. Thedistribution of the various groups by area is shown in Figure 2.

Group (a) contained a somewhat heterogeneous group of five stations, which linkedlate in the clustering sequence. Numerically dominant taxa at these stations weregenerally widespread in other rock-sand clusters. The separation of this group appearedto result primarily from the low total numbers of taxa at each station (2–9). The meandensities were also low generally with values between 105 and 723. The stations in thisgroup are mainly located at the high intertidal zone and paved with hard substratesoverlain by medium to coarse sand. Polychaeta species Pomatoleios kraussi, anthropodaof the species Balanus amphitrite (class cirripida) and Ligia spp. (class crustacea),gastropoda species Nodolittorina subnodosa, and bivalvia species Lithophaga malaccanawere the most common taxa.

Group (b) was formed of 48 stations most of which are paved with rocky substrateand a few with medium to coarse sand. This group had the greatest number of taxa(11–34) and the highest densities with mean values ranging from 13 to 9361, butcommonly between 71 and 3695. These stations were found in all tidal levels of thecoastal zone fronting Kuwait City. Several stations were scattered along the intertidalzone of the open coast in the south (Figure 2). Rocks in the upper intertidal areagenerally had lower numbers of organisms than did the lower and middle zones, andhad communities skewed towards populations of a few taxa. Generally, communitiesin this group were dominated by polychaeta species P. kraussi, gastropoda of the speciesCerithium bifasciatum, C. caeruleum, Umbonium vestiarium, and Cronia margariticola,anthropoda of the species B. amphitrite (cirripidia) and Pagurus spp. (crustacea), andbivalvia species L. Malaccana. Additional numerically important taxa were gastropodaof the species C. scabridum and Strombus persicus, and bivalvia Botula spp. Taxa thatwere occasionally abundant in Group (b) were gastropoda of the species Siphonarisspp., Cerithidea cingulata, Thais intermedia and Atys spp., bivalvia of the speciesSaccostrea cucullata, Arca spp., Barbatia plicata and Gafrarium spp., crustacea Pet-rolisthes spp., echinodermata of the species Asterina burtoni and Echinometra mathaei,chordata of the family Ascideacea, and polychaeta of the families Glyceridae andNereidae.

Group (c) comprised 13 stations of predominantly fine to medium sands and mostlyrestricted to middle and lower intertidal levels of the central sector of the open coast.This cluster displayed low to intermediate numbers of taxa (2–19) and low to intermediatemean densities (15–1010). Gastropoda species U. vestiarium was the most commonanimal found in this group. Additional occasional dominant organisms were crustaceaspecies Pagurus spp., gastropoda of the species C. scabridum, Acteon affinis, Mitrellablanda, and S. persicus, bivalvia of the species Dosinia spp., Donax spp. and L.malaccana, echinodea species E. mathaei, and polychaeta of the families Maldanidae,Glyceridae, Lumbrineridae, and Annelida (P. kraussi).

Group (d) consisted of 17 stations, predominantly of medium to coarse sand fromthe upper and middle intertidal zones of the southern coast. Three stations with finesand from the lower intertidal zone were also included in this group. This group ischaracterized by low total numbers of taxa, commonly <10, and low densities (3 to


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Figure 2. Spatial distribution of the five intertidal sub-environments (width of intertidal zone is not to ascale).


174). Crustacea species Emerita holthuisi was one of the most common animals in thisgroup and at four of its stations this organism was the only animal found. Polychaetesof the families Nereidae, Eunicidae, Aphroditidae, Arabellidae, Orbiniidae, and Ne-phtyidae were also common. Gastropoda of the species C. bifasciatum, S. persicus, U.vestiarium, and M. blanda and crustacea Pagurus spp. were occasionally numericallyimportant.

Group (e) comprised all stations from the muddy shores of Khor Subiya, thenorthern flank of Kuwait Bay and the Sulaibikhat Bay in the northern coastal zone(Figure 2). Sediments were mostly sandy mud and mud, but a few stations had rockyor sandy substrates. Group (e) consisted of 41 stations and generally had low tointermediate number of taxa (2–16) and low to intermediate densities (12–2035), butcommonly between 57 and 1662. The benthic fauna communities in these areas weredistinct from the rock-sand communities occurring in the other groups and had thehighest collection of burrowers. The intertidal benthos of this region also showed clearseparation of community distribution based on sediment/substrate type and tidal level.The upper and middle intertidal zones generally had sandy mud substrates and weredominated by crustacea of the species Scopimera scabricauda and Pagurus spp. andgastropoda species C. cingulata. The low tidal and some middle tidal zones, wheremuddy substrates prevail, were dominated by crustacea species Macrophthalmus pec-tinipes, chordata of the family gobidae (mudskipper species), and polychaetes of thefamily Nephtyidae. S. scabricauda and C. cingulata could also be numerically importantin these areas, but the reverse was rarely the case for the other three taxa.

4. Conclusions

The benthic macrofauna community inhabiting the intertidal zone of Kuwait is dom-inated by a relatively small number of species, which are probably living at the limitof their tolerance to harsh environmental conditions. The intertidal ecosystem cantherefore be considered rather a fragile one that can be significantly affected by large-scale disturbances. Cluster analyses were instrumental in delineating five distinct sub-environments where particular benthic fauna communities occurred within the intertidalzone of Kuwait. The biological clusters of the annual mean of 35 transects were usedto provide the basis for identifying the five sub-environments. The eight sediment/substrate groups defined by cluster analysis were also incorporated in developing theseintertidal sub-environments. Each sub-environment was expressed in terms of numberof taxa, mean density, sediment/substrate type, tidal level and characteristic or commonorganisms. Summary features of the five sub-environments are shown in Table 1 andtheir distribution by area is shown in Figure 2.

Physico-chemical data were not included in characterizing the tidal sub-environmentsbecause their annual mean values did not show significant variations from one area toanother. The stations were found to be so similar in terms of the physico-chemicalparameters, that they did not form any meaningful clusters. This means that thephysico-chemical parameters investigated were not determining factors in the overalldistribution or composition of the intertidal organisms at the scale of this study. Itshould be noted, however, that some other studies in the Gulf Region have shown,through direct and indirect evidence, that strong relationships do exist between benthicecology and some physico-chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen, dissolvedphosphate and turbidity (Dames and Moore, 1982; Jones, 1982; Burns et al., 1993;Reynolds, 1993). It is, therefore, recommended that further detailed investigations


T 2. Summary of the characteristic features of the five intertidal sub-environments basedon the annual average of 35 transects

Sub- Number Number Mean Sediment/ Tidal Dominant taxenvironment of of taxa density substrate type level

stations (#/m2)

a 5 2–9 105–723 Mostly medium to U Ligia spp.coarse sand with L. malaccanasome rock B. amphitrite

N. subnodosaP. kraussi

b 48 11–34 71–3695 Mostly rock with L–U P. kraussisome medium to B. amphitritecoarse sand C. bifasciatum

C. caeruleumL. malaccanaPagurus spp.U. vestiariumC. margariticola

c 13 2–19 15–1010 Fine to medium L–M U. vestiariumsand S. persicus

Pagurus spp.C. scabridumDanax spp.Dosinia spp.Polychaetes (familyMalanidae)

d 17 1–10 3–174 Coarse to medium M–U E. holthuisisand Polychaetes (families

Nereidea, Eunicidae,Aphroditidae &Arabellidae)

e 41 2–16 57–1161 Mud to sandy mud L–U S. scabricaudaC. cingulataM. pectinipesmudskipperPolychates (familyNephtyidae)

U=upper; M=middle; L=lower.

should be undertaken to better understand the influence of physico-chemical parameterson the intertidal benthic macrofauna. Additional important physico-chemical factorssuch as dissolved oxygen, nutrient and suspended solid may need to be considered insuch future investigations. On the other hand, sediment/substrate type was found tobe a major factor in the overall characteristics of the intertidal benthic fauna. As a result,one can conclude that the study of the intertidal sediments/substrates is fundamental tothe understanding of characteristic features of the faunal community and to theassessment of future impacts on the intertidal biology. This finding, which is furthersubstantiated by Al Bakri et al., (1997—Part I), confirms the conclusion reached by AlBakri (1996a) that alteration of the intertidal sediment type would lead to significanteffects on the intertidal ecosystems.

The quantitative analysis of the bio-physical data provided a valuable integrated


classification of the intertidal environment in Kuwait. The results, therefore, establisheda useful benchmark for undertaking appropriate programs to assess and monitor anychanges in the intertidal ecosystems. The benthic fauna characterizing the differentintertidal sub-environments can be used as indicator organisms to evaluate levels ofpollution of the coastal waters and as a guide to protection and management of thedifferent coasts. As there has been no comprehensive assessment of the coastal en-vironment of Kuwait since the completion of the study of Al Bakri et al. (1985), it isrecommended that a follow up investigation be undertaken, utilizing the approach andfindings discussed in this paper, in order to evaluate the extent and magnitude ofenvironmental impacts on the coastal zone. This undertaking is urgently needed toimprove the understanding of the long term impact of the Gulf War on this sensitiveecosystem.

The approach described here could also be adopted in other parts of the ArabianGulf, Arabian Sea and elsewhere to provide a basis for understanding the characteristicfeatures of coastal environments, evaluating environmental impacts and contributingtowards sustainable coastal zone management.

This paper is based on data obtained from a research project funded by the EnvironmentProtection Council of Kuwait and carried out at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. Aspecial note of thanks is extended to the team members of the project EES-35 for their valuablecontributions throughout the study. The authors are indebted to the Environmental Science andEngineering Inc. of Gainsville, Florida for their assistance with the statistical analysis.

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