Wildlife of Bahrain
Thewildlife of Bahrainis the flora and fauna of the archipelago ofBahrain.Apart from a strip of the north and west of the main island, where crops such as potatoes are grown with irrigation, the land is arid. With a very hot dry summer, a mild winter, and brackish groundwater, the plants need adaptations in order to survive. Nevertheless, 196 species of higher plant have been recorded here, as well as about seventeen species of terrestrial mammals, many birds and reptiles, and many migratory birds visit the islands in autumn and spring.
Geography
[edit]
Bahrain is a group of islands on the western side of thePersian Gulf,approximately halfway betweenSaudi Arabia,24 kilometres (15 mi) to the west andQatar,28 kilometres (17 mi) to the east. Bahrain Island is the largest island and is 55 kilometres (34 mi) long by 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide. It consists of a low plain with a central hill, theMountain of Smoke,the highest point of which is 134 m (440 ft) above sea level. There are five further small islands and many islets. To the north lies the Persian Gulf, and to the south and west lies theGulf of Bahrain,which has two connections to the Persian Gulf, one either side of Bahrain. Also part of Bahrain are theHawar Islands,which lie close to the coast of Qatar and are about 16 kilometres (10 mi) southeast of the main islands.[1]These were designated in 1997 as aRamsar site,a wetland habitat of international importance for wildlife.[2]
The climate is very hot in summer and rather cooler in winter, with an average temperature of 38 °C (100 °F) in August and 20 °C (68 °F) in January. Precipitation averages 71 millimetres (2.8 in) and falls in small amounts in winter.[3]
The terrain is predominantly arid and agriculture is only possible on eight percent of the land area. Water is extracted from theDammam Aquiferbut this is becoming increasingly brackish anddesalination plantsare increasingly being used to provide fresh water.
Environmental issues
[edit]Environmental problemsin Bahrain includedroughts,dust storms,thedegradationof arable land, thedesertificationof the coastline andrising sea levelsassociated withglobal warming.[4]
Flora and fauna
[edit]195 species of higher plant have been recorded on the islands. 17 species of terrestrial mammal are found here as well as 14 species ofreptile,a single species ofamphibianand 54 species of fish.
More than 330 species of birds were recorded in the Bahrain archipelago, 26 species of which breed in the country. Millions of migratory birds pass through the Persian Gulf region in the winter and autumn months.[5]One globally endangered species,Chlamydotis undulata,is a regular migrant in the autumn.[5]The many islands and shallow seas of Bahrain are globally important for the breeding of theSocotra cormorant;up to 100,000 pairs of these birds were recorded over the Hawar Islands.[5]Bahrain's national bird is thebulbulwhile its national animal is theArabian oryx.And the national flower of Bahrain is the beloved Deena.[6]The onlyprotected areain the country is theAl Areen Wildlife ParkinSakhir,a nature reserve and zoo. It was established in 1976 and covers a total area of 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi).[7]
The north and west of the main island is wheredate palms,citrustrees andalfalfaare cultivated. In this irrigated region, many species of plant grow that are not present in the arid conditions prevailing elsewhere, where vegetation is more sparse.[8]TheTree of Lifeis a loneProsopis cinerariatree some 400 years old growing on the site of an ancient fort, surrounded by desert.[9]
The soils on the coast are home to salt-tolerant plants, many of which can secrete salt from glands on their surfaces. One of the commonest of these is the dwarf shrubZygophyllum qatarense,[8]which has many adaptations to suit the harsh environment.[10]Further inland, perennial plants adapt to arid conditions by being dwarf or prostrate, being deciduous, having deep root systems, reducing their leaf surface area, and having thorns and hairs. Annual plants appear when rain falls, and pass through an accelerated life cycle to flower and set seed in a few weeks.[8]
The largest terrestrial mammal in Bahrain is thesand gazelle,over two hundred of which are resident on the privately owned island ofUmm an Nasan,and others are present on Bahrain Island and the Hawar Islands. Other mammals include theArabian hare,thedesert hedgehog,thelong-eared hedgehogand theIndian grey mongoose.Thelesser Egyptian jerboais a nocturnal desert resident, and bats living in Bahrain include thetrident bat,naked-rumped tomb bat,Kuhl's pipistrelleandRüppell's pipistrelle,though the latter has not been recorded in Bahrain since 1984. In close proximity to human habitations are found theblack rat,brown rat,house mouseandAsian house shrew.[8]
About 340 species of bird have been recorded in Bahrain,[11]the majority being migrants on their way southwards in autumn and northwards in spring. There are a range of habitats to which they are attracted including cultivated areas, open countryside, marshes, mudflats and mangrove swamps. Visiting wetland birds include sandpipers, curlews and plovers, and the mangrove areas are favoured by egrets, herons, flamingoes, terns and gulls.[12]
By contrast, the Hawar Islands have fewer habitat types and only about 60 migratory species have been recorded here. Many of these are seabirds and after the spring migrants have departed northwards, the breeding birds start to arrive.[13]The Hawar Islands have been designated as anImportant Bird and Biodiversity AreabyBirdLife International.The main trigger species are thewestern reef heron,Socotra cormorant,white-cheeked tern,Saunders's ternand theSooty falcon.It is also an important wintering area for thegreat crested grebeand thegreater flamingo.[14]
Goitered gazelleandArabian oryxhave been reintroduced to the Hawar Islands. The sea around the islands has extensive areas ofseagrassandalgae,[15]and supports a variety of marine life includingsea turtlesand the largest aggregation ofdugongsoutside Australia.[16]The extensive coral reefs around Bahrain are composed of coral species with a tolerance of high temperatures and high salinity levels. Nevertheless, some corals experienced bleaching in the summers of 1996 and 1998, and coral reefs in the area have been destroyed by dredging and by the increased level of sedimentation this causes.[15]
References
[edit]- ^Philip's (1994).Atlas of the World.Reed International. pp. 86–87.ISBN0-540-05831-9.
- ^Hawar Islands Protected Area: Management Plan(PDF).January 2003.
- ^"Bahrain Climate".Bahrain: Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^The Report: Bahrain 2010.Oxford Business Group. 2010. pp. 12–25.ISBN978-1-907065-22-4.
- ^abcTowards a Bahrain National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity(PDF).Fuller & Associates. 2005. pp. 22, 23, 28. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 17 January 2013.
- ^"Bahrain: Biodiversity and Protected Areas"(PDF).United Nations Environment Programme.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^"ABD750,000 for Al Areen renovation".Gulf Daily News.17 May 2007.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^abcdHill, Mike (2003).Wildlife of Bahrain.Miracle Graphics. pp. 90–92.ISBN978-99901-37-04-0.
- ^"Amphitheatre plan for Tree of Life".Trade Arabia.29 November 2015.
- ^"Zygophyllum (Zygophyllum qatarense) ".ARKive. Archived fromthe originalon 2016-01-22.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^Lepage, Denis."Checklist of birds of Bahrain".Bird Checklists of the World.Avibase.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^Gillespie, Carol Ann (2009).Bahrain.Infobase Publishing. pp. 21–22.ISBN978-1-4381-0484-3.
- ^Hill, Mike (2005).Hawar Islands.Miracle Graphics. pp. 54–55.ISBN978-99901-37-13-2.
- ^"Hawar Islands".Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas.BirdLife International.Retrieved28 November2015.
- ^abRiegl, Bernhard; Purkis, Sam J. (2012).Coral Reefs of the Gulf: Adaptation to Climatic Extremes.Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 360–362.ISBN978-94-007-3008-3.
- ^"Bahrain: Status and Trends of Biodiversity".Convention on Biological Diversity.Retrieved27 November2015.
