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Gulf of Aqaba International
Collaboration The Gulf of Aqaba is one of the
most celebrated coral reefs in the world. <=
/span>The
Gulf is the subject of intensive conservation and management efforts by t=
he
governments of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. Unfortunately, even with these intensive =
efforts, the reefs have been chronically perturbed by
anthropogenic activities, such as (1) municipal, industrial, and
agricultural effluents, (2) coastal fish farming, and (3) and a myriad of
activities associated with the development of tourism. In Israel, there is over thirty
years of documentation of the condition of its coral reefs in the Gulf of
Aqaba, enabling a comparison of the state of the reefs over time. In rece=
nt
years, there have been a number of studies showing that these reefs are
undergoing significant degradation. In addi=
tion, there
have been anecdotal reports of coral reef decline in both Jordan and in
Egypt. The coral reef decline in Israel has been correlated to overall
increases in human usage, including activities such as marine fish farmin=
g,
tourism, shipping and municipal waste water and street run-off. Surprisin=
gly,
there has been little in the way of investigative studies identifying the
actual sources of stress, and the partitioning of the relative contributi=
on
of each stressor to coral reef decline. Surface currents (to 20-60 m dept=
h)
generally flow in a clockwise direction within the Gulf of Aqaba. Like a
large river, if there is a point source of pollution, the distribution of=
the
pollution would follow along a north-south gradient. This gradient of coral reef
degradation is most obvious on the Israeli side of the Gulf. Recent
scientific findings demonstrate that there is a general north-south gradi=
ent
of coral reef degradation and incidence of coral diseases; the apex of th=
is
gradient of degradation and decline being firmly located in the northe=
rn
part of the Gulf (see figure). New research further documents a gener=
al
reduction in coral cover, reproductive effort and reef growth that tracks
closely with this north-south gradient. In March 2004, observations from =
the
local dive industry indicated that coral reefs from Taba and Outer Taba,
Egypt were also exhibiting decreases in coral reef cover in the past three
years; the greatest decline near the Israeli border with a decrease in th=
e decline
further south. Decline in coral reefs reflects not just the health of the
environment, it can have a substantial affect on local human health (e.g.,
eating of pesticide-laden fish) and regional economics (no reefs =3D decl=
ine in
tourism, property values). The
paramount issue that faces the federal and regional governments in the fo=
ur
countries that border the Gulf of Aqaba is ‘how does one manage the
factors (human activities) that adversely affect coral reefs? To be
able to address this issue, the connection between a human activity and an
adverse effect of a coral reef must be forensically established. However,
before a forensic investigation can be initiated, a substantial amount of
theoretical and applied information on the putative factors that are
affecting the coral reefs must be known. General principles of toxicology
concerning relevant environmental factors (e.g., chemical contaminants in
=
waste water, fuel and oil spills, urban run-off) of coral reef organisms =
must
be studied and documented, as well as specific case studies for localized
regions, such as the effect of fertilizer run-off used by a hotel complex=
on
a specific coral reef. Information and understanding produced by basic and
applied scientific research is the foundation for a standardized methodol=
ogy
in coral reef environmental forensics and impact assessment. Once the nat=
ure
of the problem is understood, all that remains is the construction of a
viable solution to effectively mitigate the stressor, and the political a=
nd
social will to apply it. Haereticus is facilitating
interactions between research groups from Jordan, Egypt, and Israel whose
interests are consistent with coral reef ecotoxicology and environmental
forensics. To date, these collaborative groups has conducted six coral
toxicology projects ranging from cyanide to residues of estrogen, and are
developing forensic technologies to detect cyanide residues in fish that =
had
been taken from coral reef as a result of cyanide fishing. HaereticusR=
17;
mission is to train the collaborators in biotechnologies and contaminant
chemistry methods that are apart of the research agenda, and support actu=
al
experimental research projects. |
Coral
Reef in Aqaba, Jordon &nb=
sp;
Dr.
Esti and Dr. Fuad Al-horani Conducting an experiment on the toxicity of
cyanide to coral planula
April
2006 group photo of Israeli and Haereticus researches as guest of the Aqa=
ba
Marine Science Station, Jordan |
|
Investigators:
Moshira Hassan, Esti Winter, Craig Downs, and Fuad Al-horani |
Craig
Downs and Esti Winter setting up a coral toxicology experiment=
|
|
The
view of Aqaba, Jordon from the shores of Eilat, Israel |
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